Make it Work
when they went to talk to doctors about our products, because it would help me to remain close to the heart of the business. He said I should take a translator, but I only did that once because I didn’t feel I was communicating directly with anyone. So, I decided to learn Portuguese. This was tough at the beginning, but I had a great teacher who got me to a level where I could speak on stage and communicate with others on highly technical content. The highlight was speaking to over 1,000 psychiatrists in Portuguese about our latest product to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disease. Not only could I speak directly to people, but they could see I had put a huge amount of effort into learning their language. I think that there’s an important lesson there that’s applicable in lots of jobs.
Show people you care about them, trust yourself and take every opportunity you can to learn. When I later led AstraZeneca Latin America (a $1.6bn business with over 3,000 employees), I needed to learn Spanish to communicate with the teams. At the first meeting, apparently I spoke in a mix of Portuguese and Spanish, and so only the Brazilians could understand me! But I started again and learned Spanish because it had been so important to learn the local language in my last role. In both cases, moving countries was daunting, but it made me realise that I had the strength I needed to face challenging situations and move into the unknown.
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If you choose to have a family, there can be a moment when you come back to work after maternity leave and it feels like starting from the beginning. I had nine months off with my first daughter, and when I returned to work, I recall preparing for a presentation and it suddenly felt daunting. That first week back, it almost broke my heart to leave my daughter at home, but my husband was a brilliant support. He said, “Give it six months and see how you feel,” which was great advice and led to a very fulfilling career. My latest move to Burberry was a big change because I was moving from the healthcare and medical world to fashion. Swotting up was the only solution; I really had to do my homework. Before I started, I spent time talking to industry specialists, analysts and advisors, and reading about the sector. My new team and colleagues were also a huge support to me. Having a good team around you is crucial to feeling confident and being able to trust yourself. Starting at Burberry was in many ways like moving countries – I had to ask for help when I needed it. There is certainly no shame in asking questions when you don’t know something and that rule applies at any time in your career. When I joined Burberry, I took over from another woman, but generally throughout my career, I’ve been in rooms that were 80% male. But I’ve never felt that I needed to change who I was. I’ve always just made sure that when I speak, it is a meaningful contribution. I remember seeing the notes once on an assessment when I was at AstraZeneca that said I was “quiet but effective”. That has served me well. I have always just been true to myself, trusted in myself and not tried to be someone else.
Lessons from Life in Business