How women can harness ‘personal power’ in leadership

Former federal MP Julia Banks insists that all women can use their personal power to advocate a more inclusive workplace and support other women.

Ahead of her keynote address at the Women in Finance Summit 2024, Banks – who has 20 years of corporate experience as general counsel and executive director followed by a term in office as a federal MP – said that regardless of age, position in an organisation, or level of experience, all women have the ability to advocate greater diversity.

Banks was elected as a federal MP in 2016 under the leadership of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. In 2018, after Scott Morrison took over the leadership, she announced that she would continue the remainder of her term as an independent MP and called out the toxic workplace culture in Parliament.

In 2021, she released her memoir Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and the Boys’ Club, where she outlined the unvarnished realities of any workplace where power disparities and gender politics collide. She detailed how she used her personal power to challenge the status quo and hold influential players to account.

Speaking to Super Review, Banks said that women who are passionate about diversity and inclusion could similarly use their personal power to create frameworks that enable other women to rise to leadership positions.

“We’ve all got positional and personal power at some level so it’s about tapping into it to effect positive change,” Banks said.

“We need to be confident, authentic, and stick to our core values to achieve this. You’re never too young, old or inexperienced to challenge the norms and support other women at work, regardless of whether you’re the CEO, manager or a junior employee.”

Banks recalled that she involved herself in leadership and diversity committees during her corporate career.

“I didn’t see it as a job just for HR,” she said.

“Everyone can contribute to designing frameworks within an organisation, whether that’s in the public or private sector, finance or law. That demonstrates your leadership capabilities.”

Banks said the most effective avenue to show women how they could challenge powerful opponents is through telling stories about personal experiences and lessons learned to illustrate the barriers and bias and provide solutions to overcoming them.

During her keynote address at the summit, Banks will elaborate on how she used her personal power, both in her corporate and political career – including during the turbulent time of the leadership change and when she became an independent MP. 

“I’m also looking forward to offering specific examples of amazing women with a background in finance who rose through the ranks by addressing those challenges,” she said.

Banks encouraged women to unshackle themselves from stereotypes on their leadership journey, particularly labels like “intimidating”, “difficult”, or “pushy”.

“The term ‘ambitious’ has different connotations for women and men,” she said.

“If a man is described as ambitious, he’s a go-getter who gets things done. But if a woman is ambitious, she’s often ascribed terms like pushy or too outspoken. I think women should always be aware of these stereotypical labels and of that inner critic.” 

Alongside this, Banks urged women to align themselves with allies throughout their leadership journey, including men they respect who share similar values.

“I think it’s equally important for men and women to work together on inclusion and equality,” Banks said.

She said that she would like attendees at the Women in Finance Summit to appreciate the “sheer strength” of their own individual personal power and understand how to leverage it.

To hear about how Julia Banks challenged the status quo against powerful opponents in Parliament and her tips for how women could use personal power to make their workplace inclusive, come along to the Women in Finance Summit 2024.

It will be held on Friday, 15 November at Hyatt Regency, Sydney.

Click here to book your tickets and don’t miss out!

For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.

This summit is produced by Captivate Events. If you need help planning your next event, email director Jim Hall at [email protected]

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