Honesty is the best policy as a leader, according to Maureen Duffy-Tan, vice president of marketing and sales at BBC International — even when it’s uncomfortable.
Duffy-Tan recalled a time during the COVID pandemic that she opened up to her colleagues during a town hall about her personal challenges with mental health and the support she received from the company’s human resources department.
“COVID was an unprecedented time, and the best way I knew how to support women was to share my experience and to encourage them to feel empowered to ask for what they needed,” she said, adding that she felt incredibly exposed in sharing such personal information, but was ultimately proud of herself and happy that others benefited.
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In the wake of her statements, Duffy-Tan said, “I received a handful of messages from women at BBC thanking me for sharing my experience.”
For the most part, though, she added, the biggest challenge facing women in the workplace is struggling to create work/life balance. “The fashion industry moves fast, often requires regular travel and can be unpredictable,” Duffy-Tan said. “These factors can be particularly challenging when one is balancing raising a family and a career.”
So for managers and executives, it’s important to be understanding of personal and family responsibilities, while also encouraging female employees to take leadership roles. She recalled how BBC’s late-founder, Bob Campbell, did just that.
“Bob would ask how he could help when I was trying to balance selling campaigns and attending important school events for my son,” said Duffy-Tan. “Bob created an environment where I could ask to move an afternoon meeting up, so I could catch my son’s basketball game. Then he called that night to ask if my son’s team won.”
In the end, that made her a better employee. “I was able to show up to BBC as a ‘whole person’ — a mother, a wife and a committed professional,” she said. “Because Bob was invested in me and my happiness, I doubled down on my investment to him and BBC.”
A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 3 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On Feb. 4, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation will honor these women at the annual live event in New York City.