On the day that we officially launched Women’s Agenda at Sydney Town Hall in August last year I announced that the two week-old website would be launching its own leadership awards. We had effectively decided to extend the brand before the brand had taken root.
Looking back it was a bold step to take so early in the life of this new digital brand but one that Editor Angela Priestley and I were convinced was necessary. I’m not known for my patience. If there is a great idea on the table then I wanted it to happen yesterday, but ‘as soon as humanly possible’ is the next best thing.
We took the idea to market almost immediately. I flew to Melbourne to meet with the National Australia Bank’s head of women’s markets Jacinta Carboon and manager of women’s markets strategy and innovation Sandie Pullen. I could tell immediately that we were on the same wavelength. They were passionate about wanting to engage deeply with women to assist in their career and business development, both internal and external. We essentially shook on a partnership and launched a few weeks later.
The mission of the NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards is to encourage women to be brave, take risks by putting themselves out there, be active in their visibility, shout about their successes. I have named Jacinta and Sandie in this column because they acted on their beliefs without fear. Taking a leap of faith with Women’s Agenda took a risk, albeit a calculated one. We have rewarded their commitment with a roll call of finalists that any leadership team would be proud to boast and a sold out event: 250 extraordinary, mostly female leaders of the present and future.
As the awards are handed out today we will pause to reflect on what we have achieved in the six months since inception. Yes, the awards have been positive for both the Women’s Agenda and NAB brands. But they have also served to uncover the names of successful women who may otherwise go unnoticed beyond the boundaries of their own organisation. That is a win for all women and the future of our daughters.
What other media brand celebrates the pipeline of future female leadership on a daily basis? We are constantly throwing up names of impressive women to fill the ranks of the C-suite and Boards. The finalists for our leadership awards are evidence against the old line that there aren’t enough women for leadership roles. We have unearthed them and will continue to do so.
You can help celebrate the winners by tweeting and facebooking their names to all of your contacts when the results are made public later today. Let’s spread the message abut female success together.