Direct from Shanghai, the EVE webmagazine team shares highlights from the third EVE Asia-Pacific seminar.
The first participants to arrive started EVE before it officially began with a Qigong/Taiji session given by Juliann Liu. What better way to get into the mood than this experience of deep breathing and concentration on the force of your vital energy to tackle our leadership seminar, which is focused on the strength of being yourself!
Anne Thevenet-Abitbol, Editorial and Artistic Director of the EVE Program, Christine Descamps, Executive Producer, and Oliver Sonntag, VP for HR at L’Oréal’s Asia Pacific zone officially opened the third EVE Asia Pacific seminar at 9 o’clock. Taking a look at the origins and ambitions of the leadership program which addresses the issue of the glass ceiling through motivational change, as much within individuals as within organizations, they expressed their pride about seeing how this initiative, which began six years ago in France, has become an international movement, driven by the universal theme, “be yourself and unleash your potential”.
The message was immediately demonstrated during the plenary session with Joanna Barsh, founder of the McKinsey Centered Leadership Project. After analyzing around a hundred careers of talented women and closely studying what they share with their male counterparts, Barsh laid out the five essential qualities that make an excellent leader, with no sexual, cultural or origin-based distinction: the ability to give meaning to action, fair positioning of yourself in your environment, a culture of sponsoring, sincerity in commitment and the ability to continually replenish your energy.
Joelle Saadia, VP & General Manager of L’Oréal China’s Luxury Division, shed dazzling light on these findings during the testimony she gave to participants. This woman of action and conviction talked about the benefits of inclusive management in building shared success by growing individual talent.
Her message corresponded perfectly to that of Margaux Alamartine, Senior Consultant at Right Management, part of the Manpower Group that focuses on career management. Her experience in talent management and leadership development consulting has brought her to understand that there really are solutions that can accelerate diversity and make equal access to responsibilities for women and men a reality.
Prof. Alain Lampereur, an internationally recognized expert in negotiations, mediation and conflict management, then shared his vision of “eye of the storm” leadership during crisis situations. Giving a preview of an important article that is to appear in the American Journal of Mediation, the researcher shared the results of his most recent research into non-verbal information and how to integrate the hints of an individual’s emotional state into management.
The first day was wrapped up by an emotional encounter with Zahrah Zaid, who after 25 years experience in major international groups, decided to focus her energy on entrepreneurship. As Director of HR for Malaysian Airlines from 2012 to June 2015, she bore witness to one of the darkest times that the company had experienced throughout its history. The tragic events of 2014 made a permanent impact on her, she said, without attempting to hide the still raw emotion she felt. Consequently, she decided to give new meaning to her life, by refocusing her priorities and by committing to a professional project that matched her personality and deep-seated values: guiding organizations through cultural transformations by focusing on people themselves.
EVE webmagazine team.
Translation : Ruth Simpson.
