Kasia Moczarska insights on gender balance and leadership
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Building inclusive cultures: Insights from Kasia Moczarska
Oksana Lavri Future work expert 6. June 2024 4 min read
Table of contents
Leadership and career journey
How do you view the importance of gender balance and diversity, especially in leadership positions?
How have you built and sustained your confidence in a title-2-1leadership role within the business?
Considering your recent experiences, what is one significant insight you’ve gained recently that you might not have believed before?
Reflections on the past, future trends, and mentorship
Can you share any mistakes you’ve encountered in your professional journey?
When hiring for senior roles within your business, what specific criteria do you consider, especially concerning gender diversity? What aspects of your business do you believe attract top talent?
Meet Kasia Moczarska , Regional Internal Communications Manager, Europe, Keywords Studios. This interview shares Kasia’s leadership and career journey, highlighting the importance of gender balance and diversity in leadership roles. Kasia shares her personal experiences and strategies for building and sustaining confidence in leadership, emphasizing continuous learning, mentorship, and the courage to voice opinions. She discusses the role of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives in fostering an inclusive organizational culture, advocating for genuine commitment and active promotion from senior leadership. Check out the insights below!
Leadership and career journey
The significance of gender balance and diversity in leadership roles emphasizes that a diverse and inclusive environment fosters innovation and success. It describes personal experiences and strategies for building and sustaining confidence in leadership, highlighting the importance of continuous learning, mentorship, and the courage to voice opinions. Below, you’ll see the role of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives in creating an inclusive organizational culture, advocating for genuine commitment and active promotion from senior leadership.
Q: How do you view the importance of gender balance and diversity, especially in leadership positions?
Gender balance within any organization, business, or industry is crucial. It’s not only numerical parity in managerial or leadership roles. It’s about fostering a holistic approach where diverse perspectives collaborate to drive innovation and success.
A mature organization understands that gender balance is more than just a checkbox but a strategic goal.
Long-term, we cultivate an organizational culture with mature leaders capable of collaborative problem-solving, adapting to challenges, and making efficient decisions. It helps the organization grow and creates the best workplace for everyone.
The well-being of our teams is equally important. A balanced gender diversity in an organization sends a powerful message to both current employees and future talents. It communicates a commitment that skills and competencies are valued above all else while placing diversity at the heart of a company’s core values, enhancing the overall well-being and satisfaction of the team.
Gender balance should be embedded in every organizational culture, fostering an inclusive workplace where every voice is heard, respected, and recognized.
Q: How have you built and sustained your confidence in a leadership role within the business?
Building confidence in a leadership role is a long process that requires some years of experience, building upon both successes and failures. Our most significant growth often occurs when we step outside our comfort zones despite fearing failure. However, when achieving our goals, our self-confidence naturally increases.
No one builds confidence at the workplace overnight. It’s a long and complex process of learning what is essential in our career and how others influence us.
Personally, I see three key elements affecting our confidence as we grow into leadership roles.
First , continue learning, whether focused on leadership skills or competencies. Effective leaders should seek opportunities to listen and learn, gaining different perspectives that help decision-making.
Second , the guidance of coaches and mentors is invaluable. Learning from experienced leaders who serve as role models and possess expert knowledge has been instrumental in my career journey. Each mentor has offered unique insights and perspectives, guiding me in ways I hadn’t previously considered and helping boost my confidence in senior positions.
Third , you need the courage to speak up and voice opinions with your peers, team members, company, or industry leaders. As I progressed in my career, I tended to sit quietly in a room rather than express my thoughts. From a time perspective, I learned that the best we can do is to actively contribute to conversations, share points of view, ask questions, and be brave enough to challenge the status quo. I believe that every opinion holds value. It helps to make the right decisions if we can listen to all parties who may contribute to problem-solving. In retrospect, I’ve learned that my voice contributes meaningfully to discussions.
Q: Considering your recent experiences, what is one significant insight you’ve gained recently that you might not have believed before?
With the increasing need to focus more on topics related to DEIB initiatives in the workplace, I see a strong value and need to promote them. This also requires active advocacy from senior managers and board members.
True commitment shouldn’t be only high-level statements on a website or a mission statement.
True commitment means investing and demonstrating through actions, processes, and initiatives that DEIB is essential at every organizational level.
Throughout my 22-year corporate career, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging have only sometimes been at the top of my priorities, often due to managerial oversight or lack of awareness. However, in my current company, DEIB is not just a buzzword. Still, a comprehensive approach focused on initiatives, events, partnerships, and highly aware team members who cultivate an inclusive culture daily. I’m proud to contribute to these efforts as Regional Internal Communications Manager, collaborating with our European teams to leverage these vital initiatives.
Reflections on the past, future trends, and mentorship
Reflections on the past, future trends, and mentoring draw on the experiences and insights of a seasoned professional. They explore common issues such as impostor syndrome and the importance of confidence in one’s skills and abilities. Kasia Moczarska emphasized the value of dedication and passion for work as key indicators of competence and the need to nurture talent through mentoring and coaching. She also addressed the importance of gender diversity in leadership roles, emphasizing how diverse perspectives add value to an organization.
Q: Can you share any mistakes you’ve encountered in your professional journey?
Frequently, as we embark on our professional journeys or transition into more senior or leadership roles, doubts can creep in — am I good enough?
We may question our suitability for the role or ability to handle new challenges. Reflecting on my own experiences, I realize that in the past, I tended to feel impostor syndrome, overly concerned with the opinions of others rather than trusting my instincts and acknowledging my capabilities, skills, and expertise with confidence. Looking back, I recognize this as a mistake.
Dedication and passion for work speaks volumes and should serve as the primary indicator of competence and potential for any manager when assessing and promoting employees.
Nurturing talent within organizations is crucial to providing mentorship, coaching, and fostering a culture that values and encourages equal opportunities for all employees. By doing so, we create an environment and a culture that cultivates equal chances for all employees in a workplace.
Q: When hiring for senior roles within your business, what specific criteria do you consider, especially concerning gender diversity? What aspects of your business do you believe attract top talent?
I strongly believe that when hiring for senior positions, leadership skills, and competencies should always play a major role in selecting the best candidate. However, many companies across various industries and sectors continue to struggle with achieving gender balance.
There’s still much work to be done in this regard. Throughout my 22+ year career, I have had the privilege of encountering exceptional female leaders — senior managers, board members, and CEOs — who consistently demonstrate how unique professional perspectives women bring to boardrooms adding immense value to teams and organizations.
Supporting the careers of female professionals plays a crucial role in any company striving to cultivate the best workplace environment and attract top talent.
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