The Ruby Connection Interview

Westpac Women’s Business Network interview the "real" Avril Henry.

Avril Henry
Position: Managing Director Avril Henry Pty Limited
Question: What do you save and why?

"I save for holidays and for my retirement through a self-managed super fund. Not that I believe I will ever truly retire from work. I love it too much. I believe it's important but not enough to have a dream. You need to set goals and have an action plan for achieving them."

Avril Henry calls herself "a reformed accountant", is an advocate for Gen Yers and change, a specialist in learning and development and an author. In 1980 she arrived in Australia from South Africa with two suitcases, $500, her boyfriend and a dream to stay. Fifteen months later she fulfilled that dream on compassionate political grounds (she had been on the South African government's list of people to watch) and for her skills as an accountant. Her family had no idea she was emigrating and certainly no idea she had a boyfriend (who became her husband). They also did not know, until Avril Post Scripted them in a letter, that he was "black".

"Certain family members did not speak to me for years, some never again. And it took me until my late 30s to work out that was their problem not mine. In fact, it is one of the things I like people to take from my workshops – the ability to ask the question when you feel guilty and are wondering if you've done the right or wrong thing... whose problem is this? Women are people problem solvers taking on more than their fair share. They're surprised how often the problem is really not theirs."

This thought shoots Avril off along another path. She is one of a particular school of conversationalists who move forward with their opinions and thoughts at pace, relating them back to her own experiences and work as her answers take her.

"Men get kudos, promotions and pay for being technical problem solvers. But when did business function without humans, and why is 'people problem solving' shoved to the bottom of the list? It was Ann Sherry [now a great friend and mentor] who coerced me in to HR from accountancy and economics more than 15 years ago and I thank her for it every day.

"We don't value the stuff around communication, conflict resolution, viewing diversity as a strength rather than weakness. And we don't measure, which we could do in my opinion, the impact an engaged workforce can have on productivity and performance in an organization.

"Of course, there are smart companies who do: Vodafone, Deloitte... They get it – the people stuff. They understand that three things, attraction, retention and development of your people, result in superior productivity and that goes straight to the bottom line."

The power of three – and triangles, which she has been told are symbols of perfection – figure large in Avril's repertoire of life tricks.

"I try to have one focus in my work, one in my personal development and one in my passion – sport and fitness. If I get two out of three in the same year, I'm happy. In my opinion people try and do too much which is when work life balance can get really out of synch. You end up by getting nothing done properly and what that leads to, particularly for women, is re-enforcing self doubt.

"Healthy self-doubt levels are beneficial. But for many women the levels are too high. It's one of my philosophies to teach women on my leadership programs that if they don't believe in themselves, they have no right to expect other people to believe in them.

"You have to begin with positive affirmations, and make a habit of acknowledging your unique ability and your value. We actually do a SWOT analysis of each participant: finding strengths and weaknesses and looking for the opportunities they bring and the threats they may present."

We are sitting in Avril's offices in Pyrmont. She is dressed in a white singlet top and jeans. It's a day in the office and she's sorting through an IT problem. Hackers have got into the system and her email and internet are down. It's the second time in a week and Avril seems unfazed.

"It's about dealing with it," she says matter-of-factly. "I did this course with Dan Millman, The-Peaceful-Warrior-Way motivational guy. You can't change your past but you can change how you think about things and how you deal with them. You can't create the future because it is not within your power to do that. You can, however, prepare for it. The only thing you have control of is the present and what you do with it right now.

"I have always been a runner and sports fanatic. It's what I did from childhood. We didn't get TV in South Africauntil 1978. By then I was at university and so you grew up playing sport and listening to the radio.

"I think best when I am running. I often chant when I run. And I focus as much as I can on the present to help make the future as good as it can be – not just for me but for other people. I want my legacy to be that I left a better place than what I found, to have influenced how people think."

As is often the case with those who run their own businesses and who are doing something they consider to be their vacation and vocation, they find it difficult to turn off. Avril's philosophy on work-life balance comes down to there being no one right or correct way. It's up to the individual to look at what they want and where they are in their career and life-needs and then marry those to a path of action.

"I have this list of 100 things I want to do. Running the New York marathon was one of them, which I did when I was 50. I cross things off and sometimes I drop things from it. Like, I know I don't need to climb Mt Kilimanjaro anymore. And I add things. It has some frivolous stuff on it too. I'd love to own a Collette Dinnigan dress."

Avril also admits, waving intently toward the corporate city skyline, that one of the reasons she works where she does is to remind herself where she does not want to be. Time and experience have helped her reach answers and write lists.

"For a long time, until my marriage ended when I was in my late 30s, I used to think being different and challenging the status quo was a bad thing. I began to realize the more I tried to conform the unhappier I became. In my 40s I understood it was important to say and do what I thought and wanted. In my 50s, now, I couldn't careless what other people think. I just do it."

It is something she firmly believes sets Gen Yers apart, especially from Baby Boomers. In her experience, Gen Yers do not respect because you're older, balder, greyer, but because you lead by example.

"I do a leadership course at the University of Western Sydney . Each year I am given the top one per cent from every course, that's about 30-40 of the top students. I have developed a three-year leadership program, which develops their skills in this arena alongside their academic studies.

"These guys blow me away. They are going to be better managers than any managers they could ever work for. They are beginning to question if there is anyone they want to work for. In fact, in a recent survey by Unimail, 48.3% of uni graduates want to work for medium sized organizations, employing 10-100 people. I think that is scary because I think big organizations should be sitting up and asking, 'what can we do about our work culture to attract people to it and, equally importantly, retain them'. But I haven't seen much evidence of this happening."

Passions and achievements: "When I think about what I achieved as a single mum, then raising well-balanced, seriously nice kids to be responsible respectful young adults is my best achievement.

"The other day we were laughing about the nannies we had. They were my support system. But some of them were a worry... like the one who burned water or the day I came home to find the nanny at home on her own, and I asked where the kids were and she said, 'Oh, they're out for a walk'. They were 6 and 10 years old.

"My work and kids are fundamental to who I am, they are my passions... and my dog, Benny."

For original article click here.