Transcript | Episode 2 - Navigating sticky situations & finding your true north | Emma Press

Medtronic - Talks Asia Emma Press Podcast English Subs 
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Introduction: 0.07 – 1.37

 

Hello, and welcome to Medtronic Talks Asia.

 

I am Masooma, your host, and today I have my second guest on the show, Emma Press. Emma is the Vice President for Legal for Asia RLM, ANZ, and Japan for Medtronic. So, let’s welcome Emma Press.

 

Hi, Emma. Good to have you here.

 

Hi, Masooma. Thank you for the invitation.

 

Early morning in the Singapore office. Thank you for joining us and I am really glad to have this chat with you. Where we kind of explore leadership styles and try to understand a little more about our leaders in Asia RLM.

 

So, Emma, you’re a Legal & Compliance leader in APAC as well as, you’re a certified coach. I know you a little bit more because I resonate with your personality so much, which is quite similar to mine, but let’s listen a little bit more about you for our listeners.

 

Of course, looking forward to this discussion.

 

So, tell us more about your background, and a little bit of introduction about yourself.

 

Sure. I am a wife and mother to 4 children aged between 22 and 14. I love sports. I play tennis, golf, and skiing, and recently I have gone back to sailing on Sydney Harbour-

 

Wow.

 

on Tuesday nights, which is great fun and a sport that you’re focused on and can’t think about work while you’re out there racing in the harbor.

 

 

 

The Questionolgist: 1.38 – 2.42

My background is, that originally I wanted to be a journalist, so I love stories and storytelling. I love asking questions. I consider myself a ‘questionologist’. A friend’s father encouraged me to consider studying law.

 

I did a lot of debating in school and a lot of negotiations with my parents during my teenage years. So, they saw the skills I have potentially for law. I went into private practice, and I spent 15 years as a Litigator in large law firms in Australia and London, and then, I had the opportunity to move in-house to a corporate role with another life science multinational company.

 

I was there for nearly 11 years, before moving to Medtronic 6 years ago. Wow, what a journey!

 

And you wanted to be a journalist.

Yes!

 

And what a combination of storytelling and law. The facts but maybe in a better style.

 

Yeah, relatable.

 

 

Delivering Results the Right Way! 2.43 – 5.27

Thanks for sharing that with us. I am going to come back to sailing a little later into our podcast.

 

As a Legal Counsel, how are you and your team cultivating this mindset of delivering the results the right way? I think that’s so important, particularly in the industry we operate in. How are you making each one of your team members accountable, and also, the employees of Medtronic at large accountable to operate at higher standards of ethics? How are you doing that?

 

I think if we take the first part of that mindset, delivering results, in my team it means that we’re really having to be focused on making sure we’re spending our resources where it’s going to add value. Making sure we’re aligning the work we are doing with the business goals and objectives and focusing on where there are really unacceptable risks.

 

So, we’re hoping to move the boat faster in a sustainable way and then on the ‘right way’ piece, there are so many elements to that. Part of it is making sure we’re strong business partners and we’re delivering results the right way.

 

In that, we’re developing our understanding of the business. That we’re solution-focused. We’re strong collaborators. We build those strong trustful relationships. So, I see that as all of the partnering in the right way. As well as, of course, we have to be ethical role models.

 

You know, act with integrity all the time because the business looks to us to be the gold standard. With our stakeholders, with our business and functional colleagues, I think it starts with building those trustful relationships, making sure we’re approachable so that no one feels concerned to come to us with questions or issues that they can do that in a safe way.

 

It’s building the understanding and knowledge within the business to empower them to make those decisions the right way and really making them think long-term around the decisions they are making to ensure they are sustainable for the long term. And that we can continue to deliver results over the long term in the right way.

 

Thank you very much for that. I think, while the Legal and Compliance team does that, I think, it’s so innate to each one of us to have that integrity in us, so thanks to your team to kind of keep reminding us of the right way of doing things.

 

 

Navigating Sticky Situations: 5.28 – 8.33

I want to shift to something more individual. In our everyday work, we sometimes come across crossroads of maybe what is right and what is wrong. It’s a sticky situation.

 

I mean, something which is way easy to do, not the right thing to do. How do you suggest that each one of us can navigate a situation like this?

 

Yeah. I think navigating sticky situations should be on my business card. But yes, I mean we do come across those shaky situations, where it is not black and white. And we have to exercise good judgment. I mean there’s a whole lot of tools out there, so people should think about what works for them.

 

But, there’s the newspaper test. So, imagine you go ahead with your decision and it’s on the front of the newspapers the next day, how does that make you feel? Can you live with that? What are the implications of the people outside the organization becoming aware?

 

There’s the friends and family test. You explain the situation to your partner, your children, and your neighbor. How do you think that would make them feel? How would that make you feel?

 

Then, there’s the gut test. Does this feel a bit wrong? A bit uncomfortable? And if you are then, the steps you can take.

 

And finally, there’s the sleep-on-it test. So, just let it percolate for a day or two before you make that decision. And of course, we have our formal channels, so you can reach out to your manager, or your one-over manager can reach out to anyone in the Legal & Compliance team, HR.

 

And then we have our amazing, anonymous, voice your concern line. So, anyone can raise a concern anytime. Very happy to do it with their name if they feel comfortable. But if not, it will be seriously considered even if it’s anonymous.

 

So, these are a few ideas.

 

Oh, that’s so amazing. I like the way you put it – the newspaper test – so true, you know. And I think whatever you say in your personal life also. Many times you really want to say something but you better sleep over it. And then you speak to your partner, or someone in the family maybe the next day, after you kind of, you know, sleep over the topic.

 

The gut, I think, is something that comes very naturally to many people. Thanks for slicing that for us.

I personally like the newspaper one – coming from Communications. What is going to be the headline tomorrow and is it going to be comfortable for the organization?

 

There is one final tool that Medtronic has, which is called navigating the gray. And it’s a series of really good questions. You can find it in our Compass code of conduct.

 

Oh, that’s nice.

 

So, I got that printed out in my office, just to remind me of those questions I can ask myself in order to make a decision.

 

I think that’s a good tool. I will also go and check it out and maybe have it on my desk at home.

 

 

Approaching Decision-Making Responsibly: 8.34 – 10.22

So, Emma, I move to my next question now. Many times, as a leader, we need to make decisions.

Do a lot of problem-solving. It is sometimes people-related, stakeholder-related, customer-related, or even simple processes within the organization. How do you think a leader should approach problem-solving and decision-making responsibly?

 

I think there’s no silver bullet. There’s no one way. It depends on the nature of the decision. Certainly, analysis paralysis will create more issues for us. So, we need to be able to make decisions. Sometimes, they have big ramifications and big risks, and in those situations, I think we need to think about the right decision framework.

 

And there are many available. You can download lots of tools about how to go through the process of making a good decision, gathering the facts that you need, and thinking of all the what-ifs I don’t take this action.

 

What are the resources and time required? Then what I think is really important is that we do good documentation. If it’s a critical decision and is high risk, then we need to make sure that we document how we came to that decision.

 

Because we’re all humans, we’re all fallible, mistakes can be made. But if we have made them with reasonable analysis and with good intent and we have documented that, then that protects our employees and protects Medtronic.

 

Thanks for that. I think it takes me back to your tool of navigating the gray. I think that’s another thing a leader can go back to and look at, as you also do, to really kind of use that tool to make a decision.

 

 

Elevating Diversity & Inclusivity: 10.23 – 13.22

Moving on, you know, every year Medtronic has this Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (GIDE) award. And I know personally that you were a recipient of the FY22 GIDE award. Congratulations on that. Thank you very much for strongly driving the D&I agenda within Medtronic. How do you advocate the whole agenda of D&I within your team?

 

I think it’s part of everything I do. The way I operate, I am passionate about building a strong culture, one in which our employees feel comfortable to be their true selves. We spend a lot of time at work, so let’s make sure it’s an environment where we can have fun and enjoy what we are doing and we feel we can do our best possible work.

 

I think we’re blessed to be working in a multinational company which allows us to work across cultures. So, making sure we elevate those diverse teams we have in a global company and make them feel very included so that we get the benefit of that diverse team.

 

I think these are the three cornerstones in our D&E. We have to focus on a growth mindset, so we need our employees to be open-minded. And to be curious to try new things, and not be afraid to fail. Because that’s the way we learn. If you think about a toddler, they don’t go from crawling to walking without falling over.

So, the same applies when we’re trying new things and we are out of our comfort zone.

 

The second element is inclusivity. Making sure everyone’s voice can be heard, being very thoughtful about how you operate with your team and the final element is psychological safety.

 

To reach that high-performing team, where everyone can be candid about their views, they can censor ideas. To me, this is important because one, part of my role is to build an ethical culture and so I want everyone to feel they can speak up about their concerns early. So, we need those elements to optimize that.

 

The second is one of Medtronic’s key strategies, to build growth through innovation. So, we need our employees from every level to be sharing ideas, to be iterating, to be making mistakes, and improving things. So, I think that’s all part of that ecosystem of I, D&E.

 

Thank you very much for that. You actually touched upon a really important three cornerstones, which I actually built the environment for a team. And also brings a lot of success to the team.

 

Because, if you’re talking about diversity of thoughts, being inclusive to those ideas, you leading a pretty much culturally diverse team, I think that becomes so much more important to really have that kind of cohesiveness within the team.

 

 

Take Charge of Your Happiness: 13.23 – 15.24

You are actually playing a lot of roles per se, you know, like you have a big team, sponsoring young talents, and you’re also supporting the D&I agenda, also driving the D&I agenda. Busy with the kind of stuff that we do at Medtronic. What is your advice to people who would like to pursue their passion outside of what they are doing as a regular one?

 

I think, thinking about what makes you feel fulfilled in life and what brings you happiness, in that may change over time, so being really self-aware about that. And then setting up your own personal operating mechanisms and boundaries you need, in order to make that happiness goal is important.

 

We all have to be the masters of our own destiny, no one’s going to step in and do that for you. So, I think, spending time self-reflecting, knowing where you are in your life, and what you need to feel fulfilled is important.

 

And self-care is critical. So, it’s really important that we all understand what helps us to rest and renew and for some that might be running a marathon, for others that might be doing Yoga or pottery, you know, we are all very different, which is wonderful.

 

But we need to connect with what we need for self-care and then make sure that you build that into your day, your week, your year. Because, actually, rest and renewal allow us to be high-performing at work.

 

I had a bit of an a-ha! moment when I read a really old article from the Harvard Business Review, called The Corporate Athlete. And it was really showing the science that you can’t really just work long hours and work harder and achieve better results. You actually do need to give your body and mind that rest and renewal in order to be a high performer.

 

 

Importance of Setting Boundaries: 15.25 – 16.53

That’s so true and I think something that really really puts so much of an onus on you, I wonder where you get the time for sailing.

 

Oh, I did put those boundaries in place, so you know, Tuesday afternoons and evenings are my time but I am happy to do a late call another night.

 

Of course, I have a bit of flexibility, if it’s a critical thing then I make other arrangements.

 

My kids are older now. I couldn’t have done this job when they were little because what made me happy at that time was to be around to tuck them in and read them a story.

 

Your career isn’t linear, it changes. Right now, I am feeling passionate about what I am doing at work. Perhaps my balance looks different than it did when my kids were toddlers.

 

No, but it is amazing, what you rightly mentioned, you know, going back to relaxing, renewing, it’s so essential, and many times, I think we just forget that and then we keep it for the end of the year for the last two weeks of the year after working for almost 300-plus days and then we believe that our body can really manage those 300 days and the next 50 days are going to be magical to renew us for the next 300 days.

 

But as you rightly mentioned, it’s very essential to have those breaks in between and do what you love to do.

 

 

 

Journalism, Storytelling & Coaching: 16.54 – 20.08

So that brings me to this question, you actually wanted to be a journalist – do you plan to explore that at some point in time?

 

I don’t know, I mean, on my wishlist is writing a book or you know poetry or changing careers isn’t on there but I do like the opportunity to post on Yammer from time to time. So, I do write articles from time to time on Yammer.

 

I try to get that creative storytelling out through the way I train, and the messages that I send. In the past, I have done Compliance training through film festival themes or {inaudible} tours. I think there’s a way to use creativity even in Legal & Compliance.

 

I remember, in one of your presentations where you used Formula 1 in Singapore to really talk to people about ethics and compliance. I think storytelling into something which can be so, I don’t want to call it dry, but then we all know the legal aspect can be very–

 

Yes, we have a brand issue.

 

Okay. Okay. I was trying to find the word but thanks for that.

 

I think with true storytelling, there are some unique ways to get the message across. I think in these current times, where everybody is looking for that emotional connection, their personal story, I think that really works so well.

 

You also touched upon something you do, I think coaching. You are a certified coach. How did you go about that? I would like to know more. How are you kind of utilizing that now?

 

I have always done a lot of mentoring throughout my career. Very passionate about developing our junior female talent in the organization. I got the opportunity to join one of Medtronic’s signature programs, which is the Coaching Certification Course–

 

Oh, yes.

 

that Medtronic runs. It’s an amazing course and I was fortunate to do it just before Covid hit. We did it face-to-face with a cohort of about 24 like-minded employees from Medtronic, who came from all different functions and businesses around the world.

 

It’s a six months program and you have to coach for 50 hours. You go through an exam to get qualified and then having done that course, we give back to Medtronic by coaching some of our high-potential talent for at least 2 years. I have gone through my 2 years and I find it a really rewarding thing to do, so I continue to coach and I am now coaching in our Barrier Breakers I, D&E Leadership course for Vice President.

 

Oh, wow. That’s a pretty fun group to work with. Yes, yes. And sometimes, you could feel that group could be so uptight but it’s so amazing to see–

 

Nope. They’re all life-learners. All open and curious. Wanting to do better.

 

 

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 20.09 – 22.41

Good. I mean you did touch upon, you know, maybe you’ll write a book sometime. But now, I have a question, is there any book or podcast – I know you listen to a lot of podcasts – a book or podcast that has inspired you and you keep going back to the podcast or the book from time to time and is there anything like that?

 

Well, I was trying to be an overachiever, so I will share two books.

 

No worries.

 

My podcasts at the moment are mainly on compliance topics. So, the first book that has always resonated with me is, Oh the Place You’ll Go! by Dr. Suess. It’s the story about the journey of life and it’s all about the adventure and getting stuck in the waiting space, where you’re procrastinating.

 

Trying to make decisions, it’s not easy. I think that really resonates with how I approach life. The journey is the joy and some of that is difficult. It’s not about, of course, we need to have goals and work towards something. But actually, it’s the journey that’s wonderful and we need to embrace that with an open mind about things that we may come across. They may be challenges or opportunities, so I love that book, and it’s quite fun.

 

Okay.

 

So, it’s a children’s book by Dr. Suess. The other book is very practical and connects to our talk on boundaries is called Time Wise, and it’s a book of tips from leading CEOs about how they make the most of their day.

 

Very practical tips, like putting a rubber band around your phone, just to make you more self-aware about every time you touch it. Or create a to-don’t list. Prepare yourself for when you get requested. You decided you are going to add value, so you’ve already got the response, and you’re not put on a spot. Some great tips in that book.

 

Oh, great. Thank you very much. I am really going to look for these books. Add them to my list of readings.

 

Thank you very much, Emma, for really sharing your thoughts today with us.

 

Covering various aspects and I think the tips that you spoke about are not just something that can help us in our professional life but I really resonate with them from a personal perspective also.

 

So, really glad to have you here today with us.

 

 

Our Guest for Next Episode: 22.42 – 23.06

With that, we come to the end of our second episode of MedtronicTalks Asia. It was amazing to hear Emma’s views on doing things the right way. And also, as a leader, how she tries to balance it out between her passion and her daily work.

 

With that, I am really looking forward to bringing you the next episode.

 

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