Senior Director of Customer Relations
Business Admin' and Management

I’m glad I’m in an organisation where it is definitely about ability and not about whether you’re a woman or a man.

This is Lena Wilson talking about Scottish Enterprise, where she works as a Senior Director of Customer Relations.

Scottish Enterprise is the primary Economic Development Agency for Scotland.

“Our role at Scottish Enterprise,” says Lena, “is to help stimulate the Scottish economy, help people get jobs, help them with their skills, help businesses grow and go into new markets.”

Lena, who is still under 40, is the only woman working at her level, which is the highest of the management team. She reports to the Chief Executive and has five directors reporting directly to her. Lena’s work involves International Marketing, Public Affairs, promoting relationships with the media, customers and with politicians from the Scottish Parliament, Westminster and Europe.

But this is a long way from the dream job Lena had as a child which was to be a typewriter!

 “I said to my mother that I wanted to be a typewriter! I am sure I meant secretary and that was because I’d heard of someone’s mum being a secretary. At school I had an inspirational teacher and for a long time, I wanted to be a teacher. Either that or in musicals or on the TV. In my job now, I do a lot of speaking events - explaining the work of Scottish Enterprise at conferences and to the media  - so that’s maybe the performing side of it!”

Does Lena have a typical day in her job?

“One of the things I love about my job is that there isn’t a typical day!  This morning I was at a Glasgow Hotel  for the launch of E-Business week. Tomorrow, I have a two hour meeting with the other senior directors and the Chief Executive. Tomorrow afternoon I am in Edinburgh. I serve on the board of the Scottish Leadership Foundation, which is trying to improve leadership in Scotland. Sometimes during the week, I have events in the evening that I would have to go to. But tomorrow, I’ve got a night off!”

One of the areas of her job that Lena really likes is the opportunity she gets to travel.

“I am really lucky in that I get to travel all over the country and go abroad to visit our international offices. I did a recent trip to the United States and the East Coast and I’ll be going out to Asia in November. So there is a lot of variety in my job which I really do appreciate.”

Does Lena feel it is more difficult for a woman to achieve the level she has achieved in her job than a man?

“At my level, there are maybe nine of us and I’m the only woman.  I’m also the only one under forty. But, if you look at the next level down, we’ve changed a lot – I think it’s 50/50.  It wasn’t like that ten years ago. I know women have other pressures like childcare and taking time out of a career; but I think many employers are becoming more progressive.”

One of the downsides Lena sometimes feels about being the only woman in a management role surrounded by men, is that there is not another woman to talk to.

“Sometimes conversations can become quite male orientated and women and men often communicate in different ways.  But I try not to think about it. My basic grounding from my parents was, ‘treat people as you would like to be treated and try and not give people labels.’ ”

Lena says her mother has been a very important role model for her because she encouraged Lena to believe that she could do and achieve anything: but that she also had to be a good person at the same time. High achievers who take risks and are strong people but who also have integrity and honesty inspire Lena. And to be a high achiever, Lena doesn’t believe you have to be ruthless or a tyrant.

“People say to me you’re really normal! I didn’t think you’d be so normal.”

Enjoying her work is important to Lena. What gives her the most job satisfaction?

“That I’m involved in something which is trying to help my country in some way. When you see people benefit from the projects we are involved with and businesses doing well.”

Has Lena encountered any obstacles or barriers within her own organisation on the way to achieving the position she occupies now?

“No. But once I was running a part of the organisation looking at developing industrial parks. I was only twenty nine and I was going to be leading men my father’s age who were qualified architects and civil engineers. I did get a couple of backhanded jibes from some men, who thought it was a bit strange that I was doing that job. One man said to me, ‘Congratulations you got that job. If I’d have known YOU were going to get it, I’d have applied for it.’ He didn’t realise how awful a thing that was to say.”

Lena has two degrees, one in Public Administration and the other an MBA - Master of Business Administration. She has also had a lot of operational experience in delivering the services she is involved with.

What skills or abilities does she feel are most important in her job?

“Leadership skills because I’m leading a big part of the organisation, good management skills, good people skills and probably the most important, the ability to clearly communicate with customers and stake holders and definitely the ability to work under a lot of pressure.”

Support in her job, Lena says comes mostly from her own management team.  She has learnt to delegate more and also receives support from her direct boss and her colleagues on the management team. But the job does have pressures. Does Lena feel her personal life has suffered with having such a demanding job?

“I think there are certain things that you have to compromise or sacrifice. But I make time to socialise. I meet my friends on Friday night and two nights a week after work I run with some friends. I might have to go home and do some work afterwards so sometimes it’s exhausting fitting it all in. If you’re going to do a job like this, you have to accept that you can’t come in at 9 and leave at 5.”

In the future Lena says her next move might be to lead an organisation but her main goal is to achieve more balance in her life between when she is working and her leisure time. Does Lena have any advice for a young person making a career choice?

“It’s about confidence and ambition. Don’t listen to people that say things that you can’t do. Try and be around people who are positive and who talk about what you can do and what is possible. BE YOURSELF. You don’t have to change your accent or talk posh. Work hard – nothing comes easy. The most important thing in your working life is to have a job that is rewarding. I get a tremendous satisfaction from my job.”

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