01
作为女性，有没有过什么特别的经历？
What is an experience that you’ve had that’s unique to a woman?
Farra：第一点是保持自信，享受你的人生。第二点是引领多样化变革。关于第一点，我希望所有的女性都能享受自己的人生之旅，要非常乐观而不是对自己有所怀疑。我觉得是一个“战士”专家，每次当我结束一个会议，就会扪心自问：“刚才我表现得够好吗？表述够清楚吗？大家对我的看法是什么？”回顾我的职场生涯，90%的时间我好像都在挑战曾是男性当道的职位，而我相信我做得甚至比他们更好。
The first is about being confident, then enjoying the journey personally. The second is around driving gender diversity. To all the women out there, please be sure that you enjoy the journey, stop doubting yourself and be positive. I’m an expert worrier — not a warrior. I would leave a meeting, and multiple voices in my head would ask: ‘Was that good enough? Was that clear enough? What do people think about me?’. As I reflect on my journey, 90% of the time I’m moving into a role previously occupied by a male counterpart. What I’ve noticed is that I have done just as well or even better in some cases.
02
对女性高管，最大的挑战是什么？
What are the biggest foreseeable challenges for women leaders?
Farra: 我觉得比较大的挑战是如何在新常态中做好领导者，以及如何组建敏捷灵活的团队。我之前看到过一篇麦肯锡的文章，谈到对于一些成功的领导者，改变会是他们所面临的难题。因为他们会面临一些难以解决的情况。现如今，我们越来越容易遇到危机，领导层需要有应对能力，同时在危机中仍能达到商业目标。女性领导者在决策过程中相对会更具反思性和协作性，因为他们也更容易采用积极思考的领导风格。
I think the biggest challenge is to lead in a time of uncertainties, how to develop an agile and resilient team. There is a Mckinsey article that talks about how change can be especially difficult for successful leaders because they are finally faced with the possibility that things might not work out. More than ever, in this dynamic world, we need leaders with the ability to recognise the fears and risks, and how we can actually still deliver on our goals and be successful. Female leaders are relatively more reflective and collaborative in their decision-making process, and this actually means that it will be easier for them to adopt a positive-thinking leadership style.
03
在你的职场生涯中，有什么印象深刻的领悟吗？
If you could give just one leadership lesson that you’ve learnt over the years, what’d it be?
Farra: 对我而言比较深的领悟是在职场上光有IQ是不够的。真正好的领导很清楚自己不是万能的，他们通常很谦逊，知道自己的可为和不可为。从我来讲，一个领导者就是要清楚了解公司想达到的目标，需要有哪些环节去实现目标，以及我的团队需要哪些人才，帮助我去达成目标。
One of the key things for me is that IQ alone will not cut it. I think really good leaders don’t actually believe that they have all the answers. It’s really about having the humility to know yourself and what you can and cannot do. Personally, being a leader is about finding the vision of what winning looks like, the steps needed to get there and who do I need on my team to make it happen.
04
是什么让你的工作保持动力？
What energises you about your work?
Farra: 我很幸运能从事农业领域的工作，这让我有机会领略了亚洲各地非常漂亮的农场风光，以及让我能和脚踏实地的农民接触，从他们身上汲取力量。多年前，我在菲律宾参与一项农业部的教育论坛，我们向那里的农夫介绍最新的技术，让他们可以改进自己的农田。我在那里遇到一个女性从业人员，她告诉我，10年前，她会担心肚子和生计。当你没有土地的时候，你就失去了收成。所以她和我们的农艺学部门合作，改进她的农田从而获得丰收。慢慢地，她开始存钱，并有能力自购土地。10年后的今天，她已经拥有了自己的土地，并主动回馈社会。这些类似的故事真的给了我很多正能量。
I feel very fortunate to be in the agriculture industry because I get to travel to the most beautiful farming areas across Asia, and I get to meet really down-to-earth and inspiring farmers. About a year ago, I was in the Philippines and we were launching an education forum with the Department of Agriculture. We educate them and bring them the latest technology so that they can improve their yields. There, I met a female corn farmer who told me that, 10 years ago, she was worried about feeding and supporting her family. When you don’t own your own land, you are losing your harvest. So she worked with our agronomy team to have better harvest and yield. Eventually, she started saving money and started buying up land. Ten years later, she now owns her own land and is actively contributing back to her community. So these stories energise me the most.
05
在职场上有过什么牺牲吗？
What have you sacrificed along your career journey?
Farra: 我想说可能是我和我儿子在一起的时间。我的儿子19岁了，他对我而言是最重要的事情。当他小的时候，每次我出差都觉得很愧疚。我一直都会反思我是不是做了对的选择，我是不是一个合格的母亲。我的母亲曾给过我建议：要专注于质数比，要让我的孩子知道，即便我和其他母亲不同，无法参与他每天的生活，但我不会错过他人生任何一个重要时刻。
I would say time with my son. I have a 19-year-old son, and he is my priority. When he was younger, it was difficult for me, whenever I had to go for a business trip, I felt guilty. I questioned if I was making the right choices and if I was a good-enough mother. My own mother, who is also my best friend, shared a good advice: focus on quality versus quantity; to let him know that even though I couldn’t be the mom who’s there every day after school, I wasn’t going to miss an important event in his life.
06
对你职业有较大影响的建议是？
What’s one advice that greatly impacted you and your career trajectory?
Farra: 我得到过的一个非常好的建议来自我的上司，Peter Ford（科迪华亚太区主席），他让我始终要关注好自己的健康。他和我的另一个同事，提名我参加了一个强生举办的一个研讨会，让我学会如何通过健康金字塔来管理好我自己。这个活动之后，我开始每天健身，保持好睡眠，以及改善我的饮食习惯，这些都让我的生活有了很大改变，变得更快乐，以及更乐观，更敏捷。
The best advice that I have ever received was from Peter Ford, President of Corteva in Asia Pacific and my current line manager. He told me to take care of my wellness. He and a colleague of mine nominated me to attend this excellent two-and-a-half-day wellness workshop by Johnson & Johnson’s Human Performance Institute, and I learnt how to manage my energy through a wellness pyramid. After the workshop, I started to exercise every day, manage my sleep better, improve my eating habits, and the results were phenomenal. It impacted my overall happiness and my ability to be more positive, agile and resilient.
07
如何建立自信？
How have you developed your confidence as a leader?
Farra: 我并非生来自信，我也是通过长期训练来获得自信的。我觉得首先是要认识到自己并不完美，其次是能够接受有些事情即便使劲努力也可能失败。你需要懂得从错误中吸取教训。另外因为我学的是数学，所以当我遇到问题，无论多复杂，我都习惯于拆解问题。对我而言，自信不意味着无所畏惧，而是说你有能力去克服它。
I was not born with it. I had to work on it and build it up over time. I think having the humility to know that I am not perfect is one thing. The second thing is to know that, sometimes, things fail no matter how hard I try. It is about the ability to learn from your mistakes and rebound from failures. Also, I was a math major, so my approach is to look at problems, no matter how complicated they seem, and break them down into little pieces. So to me, confidence is not about having no fears. It’s realising that you have the strength to overcome those fears.
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