Juanita Ward is no stranger to women empowerment and leadership as she lives these values daily in her role as Head of Diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers.
When asked about the theme for this National Women’s Day in South Africa she recalls a news article that she recently read where Jeff Bezos announced his trip to space in July 2021 and Wally Funk, age 82 who would accompany him. Wally was the first woman trained to fly in space during the 1960s but was excluded from the journey on account of her gender. And while this has now become a momentous moment for Wally to fulfil her lifelong dream, as women of the new generation, we are reminded of the sacrifices made by those who came before us and how far we have already come in achieving generation equality.
Juanita believes in empowering women and this starts with the strong positive influence from the people in her life. “Young women need to be encouraged to follow their dreams and supported whenever they encounter stumbling blocks along the way. Having a stable mentor who has walked a similar path before is also a great way to lead and empower our youth. Sometimes it can be the simplest thing to just listen and be a sounding board; allowing a young woman to have a voice at the table.”
There are many stories that can be shared over the decades that quantify the gender discrimination and struggle for women in history. For Juanita, women supporting women is important in overcoming the generational equality gap.
“When you discover the absolute satisfaction of giving of yourself to teach another woman, to share experiences and life skills, there is no turning back. Just think of yourself – there are things that you learned the hard way. Situations that may have left you feeling not good enough and even pushed you close to giving up. It makes all the difference if a successful woman shares her own tough moments and failures. It stirs hope and a can-do attitude. Let’s be the shoulders the next generation of women can stand on.”
Confidence can be the defining quality in success. Juanita attributes her confidence to tackling and achieving success on something that is greater than herself. The reward in learning so much more out of her mistakes than just achieving the goal is worth it. At the same time failure can also be good. We need failure to grow our character and to keep us grounded and to have a gratitude for life. She applies the Possibility-Statement methodology often. By creating a statement that describe the preferred future picture. “I am able to achieve this (preferred future picture), when this (possibilities) is in place.” Don’t ever start by thinking up reasons why it will never work!
Juanita gained a sense of pride when she stopped striving for a level of perfection or the image of perceived perfection. She believed in breaking down the walls and just being real, seeing the uniqueness in each individual.
“My motto in life is to find out what is unique in every person I meet. If I fail to do this, I will miss out. Often, we need to ignite this uniqueness in one another because we have not discovered it ourselves yet. We need to affirm one another.”
Self care is an important personal practice for Juanita. “We cannot make a difference in the world and people around us if we don’t take care of ourselves first. The greatest stress is mostly experienced before you start and not while you are doing it. Just get started!” She confesses that while she does enjoy a healthy meal plan; chocolate and copious amounts of coffee are her indulgences but she balances these vices with regular pilates and exercise.
One aspect is really important to Juanita when supporting other young women achieve success in their careers: “We need to be intentional by always having someone we mentor and having a mentor ourselves. If you don’t plan it, it won’t happen. We learn just as much mentoring someone else through their questions. It challenges us to be introspective and be truthful about our own journey.”
On National Women’s Day, Juanita shares an important message to young women thinking about their careers?
“If you think you can do it, you can.” John Burroughs.
On the other hand, if you think you cannot do it, you can’t.” Your mind is a powerful thing. Stop thinking you are a victim. Start thinking how you can co-create a better future with others.
Leadership starts with being self-aware and intentional of how you go about your interaction with people. We first need to learn what it means to lead ourselves and take ownership not just responsibility. Invest time to connect with people not just doing the job.
Leadership is all about igniting people to reach their potential. John Maxwell says: “If you are successful, it becomes possible for you to leave an inheritance for others. But, if you desire to create a legacy, then you need to leave something in others.”
“My motto in life is to find out what is unique in every person I meet. If I fail to do this, I will miss out. Often, we need to ignite this uniqueness in one another because we have not discovered it ourselves yet. We need to affirm one another.”
