I believe in ‘participative leadership’, let your team participate in decisions, share their opinions and make them an active part of the company culture
Interview with Anja Heck
Managing Director and Owner of Skywave Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Hello, Anja could you briefly introduce yourself? What do you do in Thailand and how long have you been here?
Hello Team, I am Anja Heck, Managing Director and Owner of Skywave Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., an IT company that I founded in 2014 after managing IT companies in Bangkok for several years before. However, I came to Thailand as “Expatriate Wife” with my family 20 years ago, and I started working only in 2009 when my son was old enough to take care of himself.
From my academic background, I am an Organizational Psychologist with a Master in Social and Cultural Sciences, I am not an IT person at all, but I love working with customers.
What brought you to Asia? Apart from Thailand, have you ever lived in other Asian countries before? If yes, could you let us know which country do you love the most?
I never really thought of living and working in Asia but I got married to a Logistics expert who was offered an interesting position in Jakarta, Indonesia. At that time, I agreed to follow him because I was in Maternity Leave, and in Germany companies keep the job for you for 3 years. So I thought, ok why not, 3 years abroad could be fun. I did not expect to stay longer than that 🙂 I loved Indonesia and the mentality of its people. I got to create a charity project called “Proyek Masa Depan” to help students finish their education which still exists today, but after 4 years I had to leave, we moved to Thailand, again for my husband’s professional career.
At the beginning, the change was tough, because in Indonesia everyone welcomed us very openly and warmly, in Thailand foreigners are treated with more distance, the cultural gap is deeper. That was difficult for me during the first years, but everything changed when I started to work again. I met wonderful colleagues, clients and friends, a completely new world was opened to me. It is hard to say what country I love most. I’d say, I love both countries, Indonesia and Thailand very much, in both countries I was given the chance to contribute to society and build something special, I am very grateful for that to both countries.
How did you get involved in IT? What were your primary goals to set up the company, Skywave Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd.?
I got involved in IT very accidently, I got the offer to manage a well-established IT company in Bangkok, and I took the chance gratefully and with both hands, because it is very difficult as an expatriate wife to find a good job. I did not know much about software development etc, and the first year was extremely hard, as you can imagine. A woman, a psychologist, supposed to manage 30 IT guys who look at you with suspicion 🙂 But I learned every day, I learned so much, and I also enjoyed the international environment, the support from great clients a lot.
My primary goal to set up SWT, after all these experiences and apart from simply making a living, was to create a unique work place.
A place where people can grow, share ideas, respect their individual minds, trust each other and are happy to come to work every day. I believe in ‘participative leadership’, let your team participate in decisions, share their opinions and make them an active part of the company culture; that’s what I wanted for my company.
The IT industry seems to be a male-dominated area, do you have any different management styles between male and female employees?
I don’t think I manage gender-based, I hope I don’t 🙂 But of course, I try to encourage women, female employees to be confident and learn, learn, learn. As I said above, my style is participative, so I try not to be the “leader”, we are a team, and everyone has something special, some great talent to contribute, no matter how old, what gender. I also try to adjust the salaries to an equal level, sometimes women start amazingly low compared to their male colleagues, and in our company we just do our best to reward good work for anyone.
In your view, what is the reason that some people, especially at a certain age, are getting bored with IT, or do not see the value of digitalization? What would you like to recommend them to think about IT in another way?
I don’t think that people get bored with IT – they might feel overwhelmed, scared, because they do not have someone to explain IT to them in a simple way. It is a matter of training and willingness to learn, at any age. It also happens to younger people; they do not like to use certain software tools because they just did not get trained well. IT is not a matter of age at all, but we need to have a good training. Even my 90-year-old Uncle wanted me to help him buy a tablet, so he could do Skype with me. 🙂
So, if we understand IT, we also see how IT and digitalization help us, support our work and make life easier, overcoming borders and limits.
This has become very clear during this Corona crisis. Suddenly teachers were supposed to teach from home, some got really scared because they were not trained well for this situation. Nevertheless, IT and Being digital means freedom, independence, efficiency, just to name a few benefits.
Could you share with us a bad working experience that you will never forget?
Luckily, I learned that in all bad experiences there is something good to take with you. The worst experience I ever had at work was being bullied at unbelievable levels by my boss to make me resign, just because he thought I am more in control of his company than him…Still today, I feel a bit traumatized…but without this, my company probably would not exist, it made me decide to take my future into my own independent hands. And I also experienced wonderful unexpected support from so many people during that time. So I am ok with it now.
Apart from working with more than half of male colleagues at your company, you also cooperate with other organizations where the majority of co-workers are also male. How do you do to overcome the gender gap and enjoy working with them?
That’s another tough question, hard to answer 🙂 I think I was educated to enjoy working with men from childhood because my friends mostly were boys, so I never really noticed a gender gap in my daily life, also not as an adult. Honestly, I had more issues working with women and over-coming the competitive factor. However, there still is the problem of the “Old Boys Club” that we sometimes have to face, and that still is hard to deal with for me. On the other hand, this problem will disappear soon…I have high hopes for my son’s generation. 🙂
What do you think women should learn from men, and what should men learn from women?
I think women could learn from men to have more Courage, Confidence, Self-Belief without too many doubts, like when you walk into a meeting room full of men and just be yourself, head high and voice strong – and don’t think: “How do I look?”
Men could learn how to listen, how to encourage others, to be supportive, without always trying to show off the “Leader”.
While you are dedicating most of your time and energy towards running a successful business, how do you maintain a good relationship between your friends and family?
I call my Mom every week-end, and I usually fly back to Germany to see my family 1-2 times per year. Of course, this is not enough, I wish it could be more. Luckily my son is a student in Thailand, and we regularly have lunch together on week-ends. I am not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that many good friends I have are in our business community, but I enjoy this very much, it keeps me going. Otherwise it could be quite lonely as a foreign female entrepreneur in Thailand. 🙂
What are the reasons/background stories behind the initiative of the project "Digital Business Women Thailand or DBWT"?
I always wanted business women in Thailand to easily connect with other international women and build a strong intercultural network. There are so many prejudices about and between Thai and foreign women, and I intended to bring women together, to support each other and their careers. The digitalization brings women so many advantages, even if you are a mother at home with kids, you can run a business with the right digital tools. It also helps us a lot to promote ourselves, our work and makes us more visible. DBWT is based on all this, the intention to provide business opportunities, meet great people, connect, be visible and to share inspirations very easily with digital means. So on our portal, you can read great stories about wonderful, talented Thai women, in Thailand and abroad, as well as foreign Women who made a career in Thailand.
In your opinion, what is the ideal definition of Digital Business Women? What would you suggest to the young women in Thailand and worldwide to be well-prepared for working in the Digital Innovative Era?
Digital Business Women support and respect each other, inspire each other with new ideas beyond borders. Enjoy digital tools, the advantages they bring to our work without taking it too seriously, but also are aware of Digital Security and Data Protection. Young (and older) Digital Business Women should stay curious, open-minded and confident, able to make good judgements based on facts, not emotions or assumptions. Avoid gossip and competitive thinking. Don’t copy. Stay true to yourself.
Do you have any role model, male or female?
My role model in life is my Dad who has always encouraged me to pursue my goals without being afraid of anything, he truly gave me wings. My business role model is Jean-Louis Graindorge, owner of Gallothai Chocolate. I admire his authentic, energetic personality, his sharp wit and excellent judgment, creativity and innovative mind. You have a meeting with JL, he listens to every idea, immediately gets the full picture and asks the best questions. He’s a great businessman and person.