ZenAuto's Female Leaders

This International Women’s Day (IWD) we’re celebrating the amazing female leaders driving ZenAuto forward.

We spoke to some of our awesome team members to understand their experience as a female leader in the automotive industry, learn about their career highlights and get some advice for young women aspiring to leadership levels.

Nicola Oliphant – Credit Manager

How long have you worked in the automotive industry?

For over fifteen years now.

What is the most important message you want to send out to young women aspiring to leadership levels?

Nobody is the same, but everyone can achieve the same outcomes. Practise resilience, be adaptable to change, accept new challenges and take risks.

What do you enjoy most about being a female leader in this industry?

The automotive industry is well known to historically have been male dominated but I feel lucky that this hasn’t been my whole experience.

While I have seen predominately male senior leaders in the past, the next generation is on its way to changing this.

I enjoy encouraging and developing my team and ensuring each of my team members have the right tools to reach an equal outcome. 

I understand that everyone needs to be managed differently and therefore I adapt my style accordingly.

This year’s IWD theme is #EmbraceEquity, what does this mean to you? What are the biggest steps you feel that need to be taken to ensure equity in the workplace?

Equity to me means recognising that each person has differences and understanding what their needs and goals are.

We need to educate the workplace on what equity is vs what equality is. We can do this through starting conversations and holding workshops.

Emily Kendall – Customer Service Team Leader

How long have you worked in the automotive industry?

About four and a half years now.

What is your proudest career achievement?

It’s so hard to say!

I took the plunge into office life when I was about twenty-two after 6 years of working in retail and managing teams in retail.

I was so apprehensive as I enjoyed the retail environment but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

My biggest career achievement has to be progressing from an Executive to a Senior, into a Team Leader in ZenAuto in less than 4 years and seeing the business grow so much in that time.

What is the most important message you want to send out to young women aspiring to leadership levels?

Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.

You may feel overwhelmed or like people won’t appreciate what you say because you’re young and/or a woman surrounded by older, more experienced team members

But if you know your stuff and you speak up, you’ll excel. Don’t undermine yourself!

Also, I’ve spoken to a lot of women and young people who are trying to progress and so many of them feel like they should work late or work weekends to earn respect.

This shouldn’t be the case.

It’s so important to have a good work/life balance and ultimately this will help you succeed in the long run.

Are there any resources that you have found particularly useful that you could recommend to women on a similar path?

Not necessarily – this being said, when I started my career, I used to listen to Fearne Cotton’s ‘Happy Place’ podcasts.

These are great as she interviews a whole range of people, many of whom are successful women.

Andrea Olsen – Supplier Performance Manager

How long have you worked in the automotive industry?

Eighteen months.

What do you enjoy most about being a female leader in this industry?

I see leadership as being immaterial towards an industry or gender.

The automotive industry is exciting.

I have the privileged position of learning new skills, developing my knowledge and being at the forefront of innovation in engineering and technology in one of the most exciting industries there is.

Being a leader is also a privilege. One that gives me the opportunity to help and support my colleagues and team members to be the very best version of themselves.

Are there any resources that you have found particularly useful that you could recommend to women on a similar path?

I’d recommend two books, Start with Why by Simon Sineck (also a TED talk) and The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters.

You should also take the time to find the right podcasts for you. I’m currently loving The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett.

What does embracing equity mean to you? What are the biggest steps you feel that need to be taken to ensure equity in the workplace?

Embracing equity to me, is acknowledging the inequities people may face and working to redress that imbalance.

I would suggest educating your workforce to know the difference between equality and equity. Businesses could start a mentoring programme and prioritise equity representation amongst their employees.

Nicola Ellis – Risk Manager

How long have you worked in the automotive industry?

Two years.

What is your proudest career achievement?

Without a doubt, my journey with ZenAuto.

Two years ago, I joined a newly developing business with a largely blank canvas.

Now I have a high performing, multi-disciplined team and developed risk, governance, and oversight structures.

I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone and realised skills I didn’t even know I had.

When I look at my team, I feel incredibly proud of what we have built and accomplished together.

What has been the biggest career challenge you have faced as a woman and how did you overcome it?

Maintaining a healthy balance between work and my children.

I found opportunities to enter a company on a part time basis were limited.

As it happens, agile working at Zenith allows me to strike this balance as a full-time employee without compromising my relationship with my children. However, gendered roles are still very real. The statistics speak for themselves in respect of women vs men taking part time roles after becoming a parent.

There is more work to be done in creating part time opportunities in the market. We must de-stigmatise part time working for men which sadly translates to limited opportunities for women in the UK.

What is the most important message you want to send out to young women aspiring to leadership levels?

Leadership doesn’t mean being forceful, dominating or ‘bossy’,

The strongest leaders I have come across are inclusive, collaborative, empowering and kind which is how they inspire and motivate.

 

Happy International Women’s Day 2023! We’re so proud to have such wonderful women at the forefront of ZenAuto.

So, how will you embrace equity? Visit the IWD official website to learn more about this year’s theme and how you can get involved.