Female Leaders at Spielfeld
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Across the world people come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.
To celebrate we sat down with some of Spielfeld’s female leaders to discuss the challenges of this past year, their ideas on how organizations can support gender equality and what advice they would give to up-and-coming leaders.
Makedonka Stamatova serves as Location Director for the Berlin office of the swiss-based Software powerhouse Netcetera who boasts teams in over 20 locations. Stamatova leads a diverse team of thirteen engineers, product managers and content managers from Netcetera’s Berlin office located on Spielfeld’ second floor.
SF: What advice would you give to other women looking to become leaders?
Stamatova: Leadership is about inspiring, guiding, supporting and empowering others. If you feel like you’re outgrowing the box you’re in then move on. Become someone else’s inspiration and support! Lead with empathy and remain caring. Be authentic — it’s okay to be vulnerable too. Have a trustworthy peer beside you. Be the leader you wish you had! If you need additional motivation or a confidence boost, look for female leadership communities, podcasts or books of successful women. That always helps.
SF: What are some of the things you’ve learned about leadership during this past year?
Stamatova: Last year’s experience was one of a kind! The usual routines and practices in leading, managing and behaving became mostly inapplicable. It was all about accepting new situations and adapting. More than that it was about staying positive and working to inspire. It was about the continuous reassessment of priorities and managing urgency vs. importance. I learned to focus on finding where I was needed the most and how to best invest my time and energy.
SF: How would you like to see organizations and individuals supporting women working towards leadership positions?
Stamatova: Leadership support shouldn’t relate to gender. I’d like to see the organizations supporting everyone who is keen to grow! I am in the tech industry, where the gender gap is narrowing, but still a topic. We have more and more women in the industry — including in leading positions. My wish would be to have more representation on the executive level. At Netcetera we have different leadership programs. Some of them focus on people management, others focus on growing technical leaders. There are also coaching and mentorship possibilities and programs are open for everyone. I encourage women to apply for these kinds of opportunities! Organizations should be expected to ensure the programs are always well diversified and gender balanced.
Anna Esakova serves as Head of Community at Leaders for Climate Action (LFCA). She’s responsible for engaging over 1000 worldwide members of LFCA — including some of the world’s most prominent tech and VC companies — in an effort to combat climate change and set new sustainability standards for the tech industry.
SF: What advice would you give to other women looking to become leaders?
Esakova: Put on your own oxygen mask first! I believe good leaders are very self-reflective. Successful leaders keep track of their own energy level and know how to refill it in time. If a leader is burned out it slows down the whole team. If you care about yourself you’re able to better care about your business, project and team.
SF: What are some of the things you’ve learned about leadership during the last year?
Esakova: Last year was all about uncertainty. I think uncertainty is familiar for leaders. It’s our natural environment. Our job is to keep moving forward in situations of full uncertainty — just one step after another.
Leaders are flexible and focus on opportunities instead of hurdles. I believe leaders are those who are able to build strong strategic plans but can quickly change them at any moment if the situation calls for it.
Leaders have a strong inner core. External shocks can’t stop them because they find support within themselves. Confidence in any situation helps you to lead — it gives your team a necessary feeling of safety.
SF: How would you like to see organizations and individuals supporting women working towards leadership positions?
Esakova: I think it’s important for a younger generation to see female leaders speaking on behalf of companies and organizations. This sets the right mindset and inspires young women to become leaders themselves. I believe a company looks much more appealing for talented young women if there is a publicly visible female leader.
Marie Kowollik serves as Member & Operations Lead at Spielfeld. She knows the building inside and out and oversees daily operations at the facility. She’s the contact person for over 120 members. In 2020 she took on the role as Climate Officer and is currently moving Spielfeld towards becoming a climate neutral space.
SF: What advice would you give to other women looking to become leaders?
My advice is to stay true to yourself and to stay focused on your mission. Be aware of your strength and do not let your inner doubts slow you down. Most importantly: work for the cause and not for your status.
Dori Szep is Spielfeld’s Senior Events & Partnerships Manager. Dori and her team are responsible for organizing and putting on hundreds of events every year. Her clients range from small tech startups to industry giants like Volkswagen Gruppe and Spielfeld co-founders Visa and Roland Berger.
SF: What advice would you give to other women looking to become leaders?
Szep: Work hard, stay humble and don’t be afraid to ask for what you’ve earned.
SF: What are some of the things you’ve learned about leadership during the last year?
Szep: The importance of soft skills.
SF: How would you like to see organizations and individuals supporting women working towards leadership positions?
Szep: Provide equal pay, introduce a zero tolerance policy against sexual harassment at the workplace (and enforce it!), speak up against gender inequality, educate of leadership and all employees on gender equality, allow and encourage men to go on longer paternity leave.
