In the second of my series of interviews with some of the women Interim Managers (IMs) in the Valtus UK network, I was joined by Magdaline Pistola to discuss her career and the state of play for women in the sector.
Magdaline has more than 30 years’ experience in interim management working in the tech space, with companies such as IBM, JP Morgan, T Systems and O2 on her CV. This gives her a unique perspective on how the industry, and the role of women within it, has evolved for the better.
Family flexibility is on the rise
As a mother of seven children and a grandparent to five, Magdaline has experienced firsthand the changing attitudes to families that are enabling more women to move into senior management and, in turn, take on IM roles.
In her early days, she explains, it would have been frowned upon to arrive late or leave early to fit in the school run. Today, there is far more willingness to shape the working day around family commitments, by scheduling meetings after 10am for example, and not holding work events in the first week back to school after summer holidays. This gives women the confidence to take on more senior roles gaining the necessary experience to become an IM.
As an IM that travels extensively, clients also understand that family takes priority if Magdaline needs time at home. Equally, she has developed her own strategies to manage time away from family, demonstrating how she can successfully integrate work and family commitments.
The current IM demographic is formed by career decisions of decades ago
Becoming an interim manager requires a track record of success; IMs must come to the table with substantial proven expertise. Transitioning directly from education into Interim Management is not a feasible path. When Pistola began her engineering career 20 years ago, the industry had few women, and even fewer were advancing into strategic management roles.
Inevitably change takes time, but combining shifting attitudes with the growing numbers of girls taking STEM subjects at school and university is making a difference in the tech and digital spaces in which Magdaline operates. She has seen this in her teams: “Seven years ago my team of over 3,000 people was just over 1% female. But my current team is around 60-40% male-female.”
Personal connections continue to count
However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to encouraging more women into Interim Management.
One clear area of focus is networking. Magdaline points out that all her roles have come through personal recommendations, but in her experience women are often less confident to create beneficial connections and put themselves in positions to take advantage of opportunities.
The right support opens doors and Magdaline is keen to provide this for women interested in Interim Management. For example, when a former colleague left permanent employment after 15 years and was struggling to work out her next step, Magdaline helped her to access Interim Management. Two years later she has a network of returning clients.
One of the advantages her colleague has is a specialist skillset, which is key for anyone seeking to make their way into an IM career. “Understand a subject area and become a respected subject matter expert. The rest is networking,” says Magdaline.
Lean into your talents
As an IM, taking tough decisions comes with the territory, since you are often required to make a positive difference in a relatively short space of time. But that doesn’t mean women should try to mimic the male stereotype of a tough leader.
Empathy plays a key role in leadership, particularly in difficult situations. As Magdaline explains, IMs step into fires and bring calm, control and structure. “Effective IM leadership puts clients at ease, so they feel you are somebody who understands their pain points, who they can work with to drive solutions,” she says.
Each leadership role that you negotiate successfully, incrementally builds the networks that play such a pivotal role in developing a thriving IM career. Maintaining relationships with leaders today opens doors tomorrow, as Magdaline proves – her previous four positions have come through people she worked with 20 years ago, who are now CFOs and CEOs.
By joining the Valtus UK network you’ll have access to the kind of exciting and challenging opportunities that Magdaline has built her IM career around.
We’re keen to encourage more women to join us, so if you’re working at a senior level and are interested in an IM career, connect with me on LinkedIn and I’d love to discuss how we can support you.
If you enjoyed this article, revisit the first interview in the series with Anna Chokina, an IM specialising in the FMCG sector with senior experience at companies including Proctor & Gamble, L’Oreal, PepsiCo and Avon 👉 https://valtus.uk/encouraging-more-women-to-take-the-leap-into-interim-management-with-anna-chokina/