從《二十不惑》到《三十而已》，再到話題王「浪姐」，今年夏天女性話題的熱度居高不下，幾乎涵蓋了女性從初入社會到成熟沉澱的整個過程。大家在不同的劇集綜藝中吃瓜點評，也從中找到一點和自己的共鳴。
Page Executive近期推出"女性領導力"專題，採訪了微軟、喜力、安進等亞太區各行各業的女性高管，從她們的分享中一探女性職場的晉升與發展，感受「溫柔的力量」。
As part of Page Executive Leading Women series, we want to highlight the professional challenges and career aspirations of the women we work with here in Asia.
LeadingWomen
從伐木場中工作的唯一女性到如今成為眾多職場人的生活與工作導師，Irene經歷的一切都可以用「女強人」三個字形容。目前作為美國知名化學品公司Tronox的亞太區VP，她的職場生涯經歷了困難，也獲得過幫助，以下是她與我們分享的故事。
In this story, we speak to Irene Buhrfeindt, Vice President of Tronox, a US-based producer of titanium dioxide and inorganic chemicals. From being the only woman working on a lumberyard to mentoring others in work and life, this is Irene’s journey as a leading woman. (Full interview video below)
（視頻為英文，總長約14分鐘）
01
作為女性領導，有什麼特殊經歷想分享？
What lessons and experiences can you share as a female leader?
Irene：最讓我難忘的一段經歷是，當時我還在加拿大工作，那是我第一次作為技術支持的角色去解決問題。那個工作環境幾乎是沒有女性的，因為那裡是一個伐木場，是一個男性佔更多主導的地方。但我在那裡工作期間得到了很多幫助，我自己感覺很重要的一點是你要認清自己是誰，以及女性力量是我們的優勢之一。
I was, at one point, living in Canada, and it was my first time going out into the field to resolve an issue as a technical service personnel. Not many women were there because it’s a lumber yard, and it’s a very male-dominated workspace. I also spent a lot of time in Canada when I was much younger. So the most important thing for me is femininity. That’s who we are as women and it is one of our strengths.
02
在你的職業生涯中，有誰能給予你啟迪嗎？
Throughout your career, who were your biggest inspirations?
Irene：提到這個問題，我想到的是兩面，那些啟迪我的部分，和無法啟迪我的部分。能啟迪我的人往往都非常真實，他們非常明確地知道自己是誰，想要什麼，以及他們會在過程中給予你幫助。另一方面，我們也會看到一些人拼命去迎合，或者「表現得像男性」，覺得這樣才能融入男性的世界，這些並不值得提倡。
There are two sides to the coin when I think about inspirational figures: those that inspire me and those that do not. People who inspire me are the ones who are authentic. They are genuine in who they are, who they want to be and they help you along the process. On the other hand, it’s disappointing to see people who behave in certain ways or adopt certain tendencies just to 『fit in』 and 『act like a man』, just because they feel that that is how they break into a man’s world.
03
作為管理者，你如何為你的組織定調？
As a leader in your business, how do you set the tone for the team?
Irene：我的性格比較開放和直接，所以無論何時，我覺得我在團隊中的角色都不單是一個領導者，而是我們是一個團隊，所以我更傾向於「我們」而不是「我」。當我們以團隊的方式工作，我們就好像是共同上緊了發條，共進退。這是我與我的團隊分享的一個很重要的概念。
I am a very open person. I am very direct. That’s my character. So whenever I work with my team, it’s not about me being the supervisor — it’s about us. I believe that when it is about us, then we can start to see how things would work as a team. Once everyone believes in the 『we』, everything sort of works, like clockwork. That’s what I share with the entire team, even though most of mine are men.
04
作為女領導，工作中有遇到過阻礙嗎？
Over the years, have you encountered any barriers to your success or growth as a female leader?
Irene：無論是否有意，生活和工作中都有很多的問題和阻礙。總的來說，我覺得工作了那麼多年，真正的阻礙其實都是來自我自己，因為有很多時候會感情用事，它會影響你的判斷。我覺得與其說是衝破阻礙，不如說是尋找更好的方式繞道而行，我在生活和工作裡經常需要在面對阻礙的時候學會理智以及如何繞過它們。
There are always going to be barriers, be it intentional or unintentional. And it is not just in my career, but everyday life as well. Ultimately, after so many years in the working world, the real barrier is actually me, because there’s so much emotion about where you want to go, they actually cloud your judgment. I』ve learnt that, instead of trying so hard to knock down barriers, you could find a better way by walking around it. I』ve done a lot of that in my life and I』ve started to learn.
05
在合作過的領導中，你最欣賞哪些特徵？
Irene：我很幸運遇到過很多領導者。在我現在的公司，管理層比較核心的價值在於員工關懷，這不僅是身心健康層面的，還包括對員工個人職業發展的培養。其實口頭上說說核心價值很容易，但要在組織中真正執行和實現很難。我們需要時間去建立這種文化。
除了我剛才提到的真實性，我覺得簡化思維也常被忽視，作為一個女性領導者，我們比較容易想太多，我經常會在決定後思考其背後的邏輯，然後發現其實沒那麼複雜，所以我覺得，能做到簡單直接也很重要。
I』ve been very fortunate to see an array of leaders. Tronox is a mining organisation and the leader built a set of core values around taking care of its people. Whether it’s from a safety perspective or grooming individuals through their career paths. Ultimately, it is easy to create core values and stick them on walls. But it does not mean that it’s going to be lived throughout the entire organisation. It takes time to build this culture, and I believe that culture has been embedded in Tronox for some time now.
As for specific traits, aside from authenticity, simplicity is often underrated. Sometimes, as women, we overthink, and part of that is because of who we are. I often go back to the facts and the logic behind certain decisions, and I realise that it’s actually not that complicated. So simplicity, too, is a characteristic that I do admire very much.
06
你如何建立自信心？
Irene：我小的時候很內向，直到20歲，我都很不習慣於在人群裡。不過我慢慢意識到，我需要去不斷練習來獲得自信。後來我成了一個受過良好教育的化學家，並在這個領域工作了30多年。越來越多的人會找我問一些技術問題，然後我開始花很多時間在會議演講上。在90年代，亞太區每年有4-5個大型會議，我們需要做路演。我就是通過不斷地重複，反覆演講，來建立自信，並從中吸取教訓，做得更好。
I was very shy as a teenager, and I was very uncomfortable because I was taller than most women. Even in my 20s, I was still awkward around people. But I realised that, in order to gain confidence, I needed to practise. Eventually I became a trained chemist, and I have been in this profession for 30 years. I realised that a lot of people came to me with technical questions, and I started to spend a lot of time presenting at conferences. In the early 90s, there were four or five conferences around Asia Pacific, and we would then do roadshows. I started to build confidence by pure repetition, repeating the same presentation and figuring out what I could do better.
07
對想成為導師的女性，你有什麼建議？
Irene：這個詞有點讓我受寵若驚，導師這個詞太大了，這個問題也很大。我經常給到一些個人建議，我覺得關鍵在於每天都要接觸很多人。最近我和一個男性員工進行了指導活動，他有一個女兒，除了關於他的工作，他也會問我如何帶女兒。所以我們的指導有時候也包括對下一代的影響，不是嗎？這其實是一個父親角色的精神轉變，他希望他的女兒未來能成長為像我一樣的女性，以及像我一樣投身工作和職場。
『Mentor』 is a word that sometimes overwhelms me. It’s a big word, and it’s a big ask. I』ve been mentoring individuals, men and women, and I think the most important thing is that we, as mentors, reach out to as many people as we can every day. Here’s something interesting: my latest mentor-mentee activity is actually with a man. He has a little girl and, on top of working on his approach to work, he also asks me about how he should manage his child. It’s also about bringing up those little ones, right? It’s about having that mental change for the father, because he sees me as someone whom he wants his daughter to be like when she grows up and joins the workforce.
08
你目前遇到過的最大挑戰是什麼？
作為一個專業的化學家，我職業的起步其實是一個技術人員，但我很快意識到我可能更適合投身商業。我更喜歡和人打交道，而不僅僅是在實驗室。當然，我也發現要從商沒想像中那麼容易，我花了差不多10-15年來完成角色轉變。當你只有技術方面的能力時，你很難說服企業或老闆去聘用你。
讓我改變的這個機會很意料之外，在00年初，一家位於中國的外資公司找到我，他們是一家經營聚合物工廠的公司。這是一個看上去比較尷尬的工作機會，因為當時該公司正處於撤資中。沒有多少人願意進入，但我還是擔任了這個職位，因為它使我可以從事更多的商業工作。所以我收拾行裝，搬到中國，出現在蘇州的工廠，並在那裡呆了四年。一夜之間，它徹底將我從技術角色轉移到了商業角色。所以我在機會出現時，抓住了它。
As a trained chemist, I started off as a technical person, but I knew early on that I will be better off in the commercial world. I wanted to spend time with people rather than being cooped up in laboratories. However, I soon learnt that the transition was not that easy. Moving to a commercial role takes at least 10–15 years, and it is difficult for companies and leaders to hire you, especially when you only have technical skills to show for.
What changed for me was an unexpected opportunity. In the early 2000s, I was approached by a big multinational Dutch company based in China, where they were operating a polymer plant. It was a curious job offer because, at the time, the company was in the middle of a divestment. Obviously, not many people wanted to go into a situation like that, but I took up the role anyway because it allowed me to move into a more commercial role. So I packed up, moved to China, showed up at the plant in Suzhou and spent the next four years there. It completely uprooted me from a technical role to a commercial one overnight. So I guess it’s about taking the opportunity when it presents itself.
關於女性領導力的分享，未來我們還將推出更多內容，敬請期待！
More stories of Leading Women will be shared in coming weeks.