Women CEOs of Kazakhstan’s exporting companies
On the eve of March 8, we offer to get acquainted with the bright leaders of Kazakhstan’s enterprises supported by the national export insurance company KazakhExport. Beautiful ladies today head companies in almost all industries - pharmaceutical, construction, agricultural, textile, transport and engineering. They manage trade networks and large-scale industries, providing products not only to the domestic market of the country, but also to foreign countries. And at the same time remain the guardians of the family hearth.
Women-CEOs of Kazakhstan’s business shared with us their answers to the questions: what rules they follow in management, how they manage to maintain a balance of leadership and femininity, and why it is easier for women to unite the team around them.
Gaukhar Nasyrova, director of «AGF GROUP» LLP - the first specialized factory for sewing bed linen and home textiles. 95% of products are made for export (Russia, USA, Canada, Finland, Belarus). The main partner is the Swedish company IKEA. Co-founder of the bed linen brands SUAVE® and ARUA® (www.arua.kz). Since 2019, the company has been developing a retail direction in the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are company stores in four cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Shymkent, Nur-Sultan, Uralsk and Almaty.
What rules do you follow in management?
I try to trust and delegate as much as possible to my colleagues. In making decisions, I always adhere to the values of the company that have developed over the years of work, namely: customer orientation, mutual respect, honesty, positive thinking, frugality, care for nature and continuous development.
How do you manage to maintain a balance of leadership and femininity?
Maintaining a balance of work and family relationships is very difficult, especially since we work together with a spouse. A working woman always has to be a juggler, balancing somewhere on the edge. Internal endurance and constant support of relatives - this helps a lot in life.
Why is it easier for women to rally a team around themselves?
Perhaps, thanks to empathy and great patience, it is easier for women to rally a team around themselves.
Elena Belentseva, General Director of “Kamont” JSC - the largest manufacturer of electrical equipment in the Republic of Kazakhstan and Central Asia with a voltage class from 0.4 kV to 220 kV. The equipment is used in various industries: metallurgical, nuclear, chemical, mining, oil and gas, industrial energy and energy systems, agriculture and housing construction, social, cultural and household facilities. Export countries: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Georgia
What rules do you follow in management?
Efficiency, the principle of delegation and distribution of powers. Combining the efforts of the team to achieve the goals and objectives of enterprises.
How do you manage to maintain a balance of leadership and femininity?
A sense of responsibility for the team determines the leader regardless of gender, and the main thing in the manager's family, first of all, is the team.
Why is it easier for women to rally a team around themselves?
Any woman by nature always tries to avoid conflicts, which is very important for team building. And the maternal instinct makes any woman take care of every member of the team.
Saule Makisheva, director of “Dolce-Pharm” LLP - Kazakhstan's largest manufacturer of disposable medical products, professional consumables, disposable clothing and linen, as well as medicinesThe company covers the needs of medical institutions in Kazakhstan and also exports products to Central Asia and CIS countries.
What rules do you follow in management?
First rule: discipline comes first. I myself am never late for work, meetings and do not like it when others are late. The second rule: constant development. The world does not stand still and you always need to develop yourself and your employees in order to be on the same wavelength. The third rule is do not be afraid of failure! All the same, they will be, life is not predictable. It is better to spend your energy not on fear, but on finding solutions to problems and mistakes.
How do you manage to maintain a balance of leadership and femininity?
Somehow it works out. Sometimes you have to sacrifice personal time, especially when I first started working, there were no days off for me, I almost never left work on time. But thanks to the family that they understood me, supported me and allowed me to develop, to achieve my goals. Of course, without family support it is difficult to make a career, especially when you have small children.
Why is it easier for women to rally a team around themselves?
I think that a woman is the same leader as a man, and team building methods are universal: to have common goals, a common dream, a single leader who leads the team to the goal.
Natalia Sladkova, director of “Kolobok & Co.” LLP, a plant producing Algin caviar under the trademark "ENERGY OF THE OCEAN". The product is ideal for iodine deficient regions and is successfully exported to the countries of the Customs Union.
What rules do you follow in management?
First of all, it is important for me to direct the activities of the company to achieve the goals and objectives set by the owners. The rules are simple - safe activities of the company in all areas, team cohesion, focus on quality results, getting better and establishing partnerships both within the company and in the external environment.
How do you manage to maintain a balance of leadership and femininity?
Is leadership all about strength, courage and masculinity? This stereotype. The leader is the organizer, directing and controlling the process, responsible for the collective result. Both men and women can be good leaders, it's just that management approaches differ. Therefore, I do not balance between leadership and femininity, I combine them. But the combination of the professional and natural role of a woman in the family, objectively, should not be allowed. It is very important to learn how to quickly change from one role to another. Just remember. As soon as you come home, you leave all your planning meetings and reports outside the door.
Why is it easier for women to rally a team around themselves?
Women have much more pronounced empathy, interaction, emotions, it is easier for us to build trusting, partnership relationships in the professional sphere thanks to these qualities. In a team, it is important to be able to understand, to delve into, regular feedback from management to employees is required. In addition, feedback is a powerful motivating tool.
Aigerim Turlibekova, head of LLP "Tikkurila" - the official representative of the Finnish concern of paints and varnishes in Central Asia. Tikkurila's trademark portfolio in Kazakhstan is represented in all price segments, offering the consumer both premium, medium and economy class paints. The company has a well-developed distribution system in all cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Export countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.