Interview with GSK general manager Anjana Narain: Stop blaming yourself for imperfections

Women have superpowers. Have you ever heard of it?

Anjana Narain is the general manager of GSK, a major international pharmaceutical factory, and the director of the British Chamber of commerce in Taipei,bcct, Taipei City, where she stepped into a woman's fan, first with her eyes wide open and curiously around the environment, Look like a girl coming to the theme park. Anjana, full of heart, is also a "keynote-sharing of the global women's Impact Forum, the 2018 women's mystery annual event. Before we started the interview, we talked about what she wanted to share in the global women's impact forum, but she asked me one question first: "Do you know that women actually have superpowers?" 」

I nodded and said I believed, more willing to smell its details. She continued to share, "women, in fact, are built into very tough creatures,"anjana, for example, society often detracts from women's feminine temperament, in fact, contains a lot of superpowers, such as making people more empathy, easier to find the crux of the problem behind; "The ability and task of giving birth to children is often unique to women [Note 1]. However, the way women are treated by society often makes people forget that we have superpowers ah. (Recommended reading:2018 "Time" hundred influential people: from high school students to dancers, the ordinary people who promote change )

Women tend to be like hero movies, do not find themselves to have superpowers, in the world dominated by men and define power"Power/power", easy to underestimate, derogatory, she said, should not be so, women do not have to use men as a template, from the understanding of their own, give themselves value, and then think about the impact you want to play, What it's like.

"In leadership and management, the use of masculinity as a template is particularly common. But what we have to remember is that we have to be ourselves, understand our negative traits, less feminine parts, balance the use of these traits and energy, to influence the community and the world around us, to be successful. 」

"It is very important to put the sincerity and authenticity of the person (authenticity) on the table. "Before talking about influence, leadership, Anjana said that sincerity (authenticity) is just as important, and she talks to us from her own story.

Having worked as an English teacher and factory worker, Zhi's business sometimes came unexpectedly

"My first job was actually an English teacher in India. The second job is to work in a factory that comes to the United States. "She smiled slightly, and we were a little surprised, not only across regions, but also in different types of jobs, working and living in the United States from India, where she flew abroad for the first time."

In an age when there is no internet, cross-border movement is to throw itself into a completely unknown environment. ' It's conceivable that my mood on the plane was really both exciting, intense and scary. 」

At the age of 22, she and her husband set up a new family in the United States, working in a factory and groping for the next step, thinking about how to build a solid life in the new world. A year after the factory worked, she decided to pursue an MBA and plan to enter the financial industry, "because that was the hottest area of the time." "She winked with a playful wink.

I didn't expect a career conversation to change her decision while I was in school. "That day, someone from a pharmaceutical factory, I remember talking to us slowly and very patiently about the mission, philosophy, and work in the pharmaceutical industry, how it can help prevent disease, improve the lives of many people, and give people the opportunity to work with patients." "anjana said of the past, the speed of speech slowed down, there is light in the eyes," I am very concerned about these things, drugs and improve daily life is closely related, I have always hoped that my work can make me feel: what I do every day, it makes sense. " 」

Helping people without resources to improve their lives and get more fair treatment, Anjana says he is actually deeply influenced by his father. Anjana's father, a lawyer in India, often represents the bottom of society and the rights of the people, and struggles with the powerful who oppress. "I see from him that the courage to do the right thing, the ability to stand up for others, is the primary value. What I learned from home is that if something is unjust, it has to be said. 」

But to put it out, there is no guarantee that it will be heard, and Anjana, looking back on his experience in the workplace, said that whether you want to say it right or not, the method of communication is just as important, "If you want to say it and find that your voice is not being listened to, don't rush to think it's another person's fault, We are in communication, where can be improved, my frustration, is actually from myself? 」

Your voice may be right, but the other side doesn't necessarily understand why your voice is helpful and important to him, "We have to use the right approach, at the right time, with the right emphasis." And, you have to have the courage and perseverance to continue to say, sometimes we have a hard time to muster the courage to say, the first time we say no one to hear, or no one to listen to, we think of failure and turn away. I think you can keep trying and remember to make sure that it's properly communicated. 」

Sometimes we finally get up the courage to express our opinions, the results may not be heard, or not to listen to, do not think that this is a failure and turn away, you should keep trying!

"It doesn't just come from the experience of the workplace,"anjana laughs that living in a family of 16 people since childhood, with grandparents, uncles and aunts and their children, to make their voices heard, needs to work very hard, "after all, adults have to deal with a lot of things, often say to our children," go next to, go next to ", Maybe from that time on, I began to find a way for others to hear my voice. 」

The deepest thing that has affected me is still my mother.

However, it is not the father, but the mother, who has the deepest influence on Anjana. "My mother was a homemaker [note 2], she took care of 16 people, my grandmother passed away very early, when she married into the house, my uncle was even a baby, the mother has been the main carer in the family, she not only raised us, but also raised my uncle." Her perseverance brought me a lot of influence, although she never worked outside the family, but she was a very remarkable woman. 」

Anjana's mother, in particular, influenced her views on housewives. "Our society has never given enough value and attention to mothers who choose to bring their children at home. What they do is marginalized by society, people take them for granted, and they think they have no value to society. 」

"But the truth is that mothers who choose to be at home have a huge influence on the family, as well as on society. "She thought about how to explain it," patriarchal, not a culture of male power, and a lot of times, it's a consolidation and replication from women. To confront the paternal authority and allow an affirmative society to emerge, it is very important for mothers, such as raising children in an equal way, to form the basis for people to interact with others when they grow up. Mother's Rules/powers (the rule of the mother) actually have a profound impact. To my own point, my mother is still my moral model. 」

But Anjana also said that she also had many places that had to get rid of her mother's influence. "In some cases, mothers are very perfectionist. For example, she might want her daughter to appear in front of everyone in a specific shape, and I think we should all go through the stage where the mother wants you to "behave and how you should wear it." 」

"My mother was a perfectionist, which made me a very serious perfectionist in my early days, because it was easy to ask for perfection and to be afraid of a lot of things." "She paused," There are times when you have to overcome some of the influences from your native family to discover your superpowers, which I would love to share with readers, and you don't have to be perfect, sometimes a mess doesn't matter. 」

s okay to be messy

Women are often expected to juggle everything, Anjana said, adding that when she set up her family and started working, she found that perfectionism almost suffocated her. "I find it impossible to balance family and work with perfection on both sides: if I were a perfect mother, I would go to work with guilt, and if I were to be the perfect worker, I would be guilty of the child." It is impossible to survive as a human being in a situation full of sin and self-deprecation. (Recommended reading: interview with "Tipping Point" screenwriter Wang Liwen: I want to tell women that you don't have to be perfect, you don't have to do everything (popular national film, Thunder Inside))

She recalled the moment when she felt most frustrated and helpless, "you know what? Once, I took the children home from work, found that they are very hungry, and I opened the refrigerator, see there is no food in it, really is, God, feel that they as a mother, really failed to the extreme! Then compared to the neighbors, other housewives and mothers prepared a whole series of healthy diets for their children, and I, I have nothing. "Society puts too much pressure on mothers unilaterally, so that mothers take on tasks on their own, and empty refrigerators are probably nightmares for many mothers."

"Sometimes my children resent me because I can't get involved in their activities at school, and I'm not the mother who can accompany them to breakfast, and I sometimes feel like a failed fool!" 」

She later discussed the situation with her husband, who also recognized her stress, "my husband told me that you don't have to carry everything on your own, you can ask me to do it together!" "Since then, the two have been coordinating the division of household chores. ' I love and am good at cooking and he's in charge of washing dishes. He would take care of bathing the children, I would put the children to bed, even if a lot of times coax halfway, I fell asleep earlier than the children. "She laughed.

Gradually, she learns to forgive her imperfect self and tell herself that it's okay, because you can't have the same time in all places, caring for and meeting the needs of all. "So I learned three things: it doesn't matter if it's not perfect, it doesn't matter if you ask for help, it ends with the ability to have self-healing." 」

"Don't let bad experiences define who you are, don't let others, or other events define you, you have the ability to define yourself." ' She's gentle shouting, "it's okay to be messy, and a lot of times we think we have to stay perfect, in fact, nothing will be perfect in our lives, so you have to learn to live with chaos, try to find some balance, learn to let go, don't cling to being a perfect mother, perfect worker , stop blaming yourself, is the beginning of self-healing ability. 」

D&i let different ethnic groups shine together

Anjana has worked and lived in the United States, Belgium, India, Taiwan and other countries, for many young people who aspire to cross-cultural work, she provides experience advice, first of all, to clarify the reasons why they want to go abroad, "Sometimes we go abroad, is to contact different cultures, but we can first ask ourselves, There is also a multicultural culture in the land in which we live. Do I have enough care for these cultures in the past? 」

In the case of Taiwan, do we have the same concern for the cultures of different ethnic groups, Han Chinese, indigenous peoples, different genders and sexual tendencies? Perhaps from the perspective of understanding the diversity of Taiwan, you will find that Taiwan is bigger than you think.

"If you want to be clear about going abroad, be firm: Tell yourself that I'm just going to do it." "At the time, she got on a one-way plane from India to the United States, too. "Living abroad, different cultures, will certainly encounter many difficulties, you have to ask yourself, there is no willingness to overcome all this perseverance and courage?" 」

Because she has lived in different countries and cultures, she is more aware of the importance of multiple d&i,diversity in the Workplace (Inclusion). After all, the composition of the world is pluralistic and rich. "Therefore, it is very important to recruit people who use different races, genders and sexual tendencies. Why is it important? Because the market is so many yuan, only in this way, the output of enterprises, in order to truly respond to the needs of the world and the market AH. 」

Anjana said that GSK's CEO is a woman, but also a multinational pharmaceutical biotech enterprises, the first and only female CEO. "In Taiwan, the general manager of GSK is an Indian woman (that is, Anjana himself), and more than 50% of my team's leaders/supervisors are women. More than 58% of senior management is female, and the company wants to be able to make decisions in decision-making, with 65% of its partners promoted in 2018 being women. (Recommended reading: Let employees have a sense of belonging, the rapid growth of the enterprise D&i have you ever heard of it? )

GSK also has many d&i projects, and the Human resources department works with women's organizations to develop a multi-technology portfolio of women, "and there are LGBT communities and Asian communities within the enterprise." With my own experience in the United States, discrimination and unkindness, many times from a lack of awareness, our human resources department also trains more than 100,000 GSK employees through staff training courses to let them know that there are different ways of life, thinking and so on in the world, and when these partners return to their communities, They can also educate their families and communities to respect the lives of different ethnic groups. 」

This year, GSK also won the BCCT D&i award shortlist, Anjana said happy, but still worthy of sustained efforts. D&i is not only enterprise homework, sometimes enterprises take the lead, after all, is the hope to return to the community with value, so that people can see and appreciate different cultures, to see everyone, regardless of ethnic groups, have her/their superpowers, from business to society, should be prepared for a more friendly environment, Let their superpower force feedback to the community, glowing fever!

Women fans of the annual event "Gwis Global Women's Influence Forum ", from the female influence, hope to take readers to dig, Polish, willing to recognize their own value, multi-influence, need your definition!

Anjana's influence gold sentence with walking (2018 Gwis Live will have more yo):

It is very important to put the sincerity and authenticity (authenticity) as a person on the table.

Sometimes we pluck up the courage to express our opinions, the results may not be heard, or not to listen to, do not think that this is a failure and turn away, you should keep trying!

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if there's a mess.

Don't let bad experiences define who you are, don't cede the right to define yourself to others or events, you have the ability to define yourself!

Don't cling to being the perfect person, nothing in our life will be perfect, you must learn to live with chaos, find some balance on the good, learn to let go.

Stopping blaming yourself is the beginning of self-healing ability.

Want to live abroad, sometimes want to contact different cultures, but we can first ask ourselves, for the current land on all the culture, I have paid attention to it?

It is very important to recruit and Jin people with different races, genders and sexual tendencies. Why? Because the market is so many yuan, only in this way, enterprises can really respond to the real world and market demand.