Thirty months after
she left her post as Telecom CEO in 2007, Theresa published her
autobiography of her life to date (she's still in her forties,
let's not forget!). She remains a unique figure in the New
Zealand business landscape, as the only woman so far to head an NZX
Top 10 listed company. This position also led her to be named
several times on Fortune's list of the 50 most powerful business
women internationally and also to be recognized by Forbes on its
broader list of top influential women globally. It will therefore
come as no surprise to Professionelle readers that we were keen to
read her book and to review it here for you.
Three Reasons
I can't claim to be an experienced reader of autobiographies,
but I suspect most offer three substantive areas to their readers,
and so it is with Bird on a Wire:
- The career content - how did she become CEO, and what really
went on behind the scenes at Telecom in those intense,
change-filled years?
- The private individual - what were her early years and family
like, what loves and losses has she had, and what hobbies and
sports, even fashion preferences?
- The personal philosophy and hard won wisdoms - what are her
values and what does Theresa think about leadership, feminism and
the glass ceiling?
For me it was the last of these that was the real drawcard.
Would her views coincide or at least overlap with Professionelle's,
or would she provide radically new perspectives?
Alignment
I confess that my strong curiosity on this led me to start
reading the book at Chapter 23 - there are 24 chapters in all -
because it was entitled "Women's Business". Pretty soon I
could see that Theresa and Professionelle share a number of
perspectives and opinions. For example, one of my real
concerns is that younger generations of professional women, brought
up under a female Prime Minister, female Chief Justice, female
Speaker and Theresa herself, think feminism has passed its sell-by
date and that there's no need for vigilance on the gains made thus
far. On this, Theresa says:
Feminism has become something of a dirty word in the West,
particularly among women in the corporate suite, but if it gets to
the point where there are no feminists, we will wake up one day and
find a lot of opportunities for women are shutting down… I feel
quite keenly that the life I enjoy is possible because other women
fought for the right to go to university and the right to vote.
These things are not enjoyed by all women today and should not be
taken for granted.
Amen to that!
Sexism and Leadership
Theresa also addresses the issue of sexism, particularly of the
unconscious and systemic variety that is so hard to pinpoint.
She tells a personal story of a post-Telecom opportunity that was
denied to her because of her leadership "style" - essentially the
old chestnut that where he is forceful and
go-get-'em, she is a ball-breaker. Her story
reinforced my observation that men and women alike still struggle
with the notion of a strong female leader, while equally tending to
overlook the less assertive woman because she doesn't "look like a
leader". We're damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
Several times in the book, Theresa records her sincere gratitude
to Roderick Deans for advocating her appointment to CEO.
Everyone needs a champion, and professional women aiming for
high office perhaps more than most.
Have it all?
For all that Theresa is upbeat about women's opportunities she
is also deeply realistic. I think one of the sentences that
lingered longest with me after I read the book was,
As a woman I believe you can have it all - just not
necessarily all at the same time.
She and her long time partner had no children by choice. Her key
stated reason was that she did not believe she could get to the
top, which had been her ambition from the age of 20, and also
manage a family. The book makes very clear the toll that
remaining at the top took on her, and the near impossibility as a
CEO of leading a balanced life. Indeed, the other (highly personal)
comment from the book that I will long remember is that amid the
unrelenting pressures of the last two years at Telecom, her periods
stopped. In a healthily nourished woman still only in her mid
forties that's some stress…
Frankly, I would buy the book for Chapter 23 alone!
Authentic
I have twice had the pleasure of hearing Theresa speak at
length, most recently as one of the keynote speakers at the
Tauranga Regional Business Women's conference. Theresa is a "firm
believer that women need to support other women" and her talk that
evening was part of this vein of giving back in a way she hoped
would make a positive difference. Much of what she said in Tauranga
about her background, the influences on her and her key lessons
from her career are echoed in the book.
That high level of congruence speaks to her authenticity, which
comes over as one of her defining and cherished values. During the
halcyon period between being appointed CEO and actually taking up
the reins she realized the importance of keeping grounded and
real. She therefore set out to build a senior team of people
who would have the guts to tell her the truth, rather than let her
walk around in imaginary emperor's clothes. Since then she has met
some of the world's richest and most influential people, including
Bill Gates, but I can say from my limited personal interactions
with her that she comes over much more as "the bright girl from
Rotorua" (to quote the book's back cover blurb) than as some
distant, self-absorbed magnate - and in my consulting career I have
run into one or two of those.
If you decide to buy this book, I believe you will come away
feeling that you have been given a straight-up, take-it-or-leave-it
insight into what makes this woman tick, smile and hurt. Her
willingness to admit weaknesses and confusion was for me touching
rather than disappointing, especially her frank admission about her
difficulty finding her way again post-Telecom:
All my life up to this point I had a really, really clear
and strong career direction. It seemed to have left me, which has
given me more empathy for those people who struggle to find
vocational fulfillment, something I'd always taken for
granted.
Career content
Readers who want to discover the insider's view of Telecom's
strategic development and the events leading up to the Government's
announcement of operational separation that was so disastrous for
the share price will not be disappointed in this book. At times
there are almost thriller-like elements in the revelations and
pacing of the writing! The interactions between Telecom and members
of the Labour Government are a key part of this and are covered in
some detail.
Likewise, Theresa extensively covers her views on leadership and
her objectives for Telecom both internally and externally, in part
through engaging stories. She also explains her path to the top
('Project CEO'), the choices she made, such as the sideways move to
National Mutual, and the elements of fortunate place and
timing.
However, if you are hoping for a similar bird's eye view of a
CEO's day-to-day management of staff and of interactions with the
board, you will look largely in vain. References to such events as
shrinking the senior leadership team from 12 to 8 are glossed over
in a couple of sentences. I would have loved to have understood
more of the mechanics of how she planned and handled such a fraught
issue.
Cartoons and handicraft
This is candid book from a woman with unique experiences in the
New Zealand corporate world. It contains approaching 40 private and
professional photos, ranging from Theresa's mother's embroidery
work to political cartoons and newspaper headlines. On
reflection, I think I enjoyed Theresa's comfort in sharing her love
of female-centric handicrafts almost more than anything else. I
don't sew or knit but it takes a confident woman to admit
unashamedly that she delights in such craft work… Perhaps this is
part of her recent journey to embrace more of what she refers to
her as her 'feminine energy', in place of her career-long emphasis
on the masculine side.
Where to find it
If you'd like to read it for yourself, Bird on a Wire
is published by Random House and is available (for Kindles) at
Amazon.