In fast‑paced, global industries like financial services, the traditional 9‑to‑5 has never reflected how work truly happens. Yet many organisations still rely on visibility during those core hours as a proxy for commitment. This model no longer serves today’s reality—nor the people working within it.
For anyone operating in a global role, time zones blur the boundaries of the workday. You may step out mid‑afternoon for school pick‑ups or start your morning responding to messages from teams who are already deep into their day. When I lived in Montreal, I would wake to several hours of UK activity. I had to consciously resist the urge to dive straight in and instead focus on getting my children ready and out the door before opening my laptop.
Accepting that my working hours would rarely be linear was liberating. It made me realise that rigid visibility‑based measures of performance are not only outdated—they actively limit who can thrive. If we design systems that accommodate the ebb and flow of real life, we don’t just retain talent; we unlock it.
Bridging the Career Gap: The Return‑to‑Work Moment
If organisations want more women to reach senior roles, we need to look closely at the points where career trajectories diverge. One of the biggest of these is maternity leave.
Returning to a fast‑moving environment after time away can feel daunting. Too often, there’s no structured support to help people re‑enter at pace. Assumptions are made about what a returning mother might want—lighter responsibility, fewer hours, or reduced pressure. But many women are ready to step straight back into impactful work; they simply need systems that recognise the strengths they’ve gained along the way, such as sharper prioritisation and efficiency.
When my budget approval for a global operating model coincided with the birth of my son, I felt both immense pride and a sense of disconnection. Stepping away from something I had fought hard to build was difficult, but returning reinforced a belief I now hold strongly: we must create structures that not only support someone during leave, but protect the integrity and value of their role while they’re away.
When we extended paternity leave, an interesting shift happened. More men began to experience the same questions women have faced for decades: What did I miss? How do I re‑enter smoothly? It broadened awareness of the universal need for structured return‑to‑work pathways. Designing such pathways benefits everyone—not just women.
Building Systems That Scale, Not People Who Stretch
A resilient organisation doesn’t depend on individual heroics. It depends on consistent, well‑designed systems that remove single-points‑of‑failure and support sustainable performance.
That means focusing on:
- Eliminating “hero culture”: Any process that relies on one person holding critical knowledge is a business risk.
- Strengthening knowledge transfer: Documented ways of working ensure continuity and stability when someone steps away.
- Prioritising outcomes over hours: What matters is the value delivered—not how many green lights are monitored or when someone happens to be online.
Early in my career, I often found myself in reactive, always‑on cycles. Over time, I led the evolution of our operating model to one that values predictability, shared accountability, and proactive problem‑solving. This has transformed not just workloads, but the wellbeing of the people behind them.
A crucial part of this shift has been embedding better visibility and controls throughout the lifecycle of our services—not just when incidents occur. Strengthened observability, earlier performance insights, and consistent documentation have helped us move from firefighting to greater release confidence and operational stability.
Today, when unexpected issues arise, our instinct is not just to fix them, but to capture the knowledge that prevents them recurring. This approach de‑risks the system and empowers our people to fully disconnect when they take time off.
The Role of AI in Sustainable Leadership
I often describe my mind as having a million tabs open. Without a dedicated assistant, I use secure, enterprise‑grade AI tools to help me organise complex workloads, structure my thoughts, and prepare for conversations. AI has become a way of managing cognitive load—helping me keep clarity while operating across time zones, teams, and priorities.
And I find comfort in the fact that even sophisticated systems aren’t perfect. It reminds us not to hold ourselves to impossible standards either.
When Systems Support Women, They Support Everyone
At FNZ, we champion a challenger mindset—not as a slogan, but as a daily practice. I encourage my team to question assumptions, propose better paths, and challenge outdated ways of working.
Too often, the conversation around International Women’s Day focuses on asking women to adapt themselves—to speak differently, lead differently, or fit into legacy environments. I believe the focus should be the opposite: we must evolve the system, not the women.
When we design working environments that don’t rely on overperformance, always‑on availability, or unwritten rules of visibility, we create organisations that are healthier, more scalable, and more inclusive for everyone.
The systems that support women are the same systems that support sustainable, resilient, and high‑performing teams—regardless of who is in the role.
