Join us as we celebrate International Women's Day over a month of special features, interviews and videos!

This global day recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, with a mission to champion women of all backgrounds who dare to innovate, lead, and uplift others towards a more equal and inclusive workplace. At Human Synergistics, our mission is “Changing the World – One Organisation at a Time™” through developing effective leaders, innovative teams and positive workplace cultures, but we can’t do that without the help of our incredible network.

This year, we are taking the opportunity of International Women’s Day to celebrate a month of women in leadership and those that strive for constructive leadership and cultures.

As part of our series, we interviewed Sarah Friis from T&G Global about her message she wanted to share with our Accredited Practitioner network.

Sarah Friis
Head of Culture, T&G Global Limited

Tell us a bit about when and why you first became accredited? I was working as the Head of Culture at 2degrees 10 years ago and we needed a world-class development tool for our leadership group and naturally chose HS!

What are some key insights you’ve learnt through this tricky Covid-19 time around constructive leadership? I’m not sure that I have key insights. Maybe just the most obvious observation that behaviours of constructive leadership don’t change in a crisis you still need them all just more often in a virtual setting.

What have you personally learnt about yourself in responding to the challenges of 2020/21 and the pandemic? Each time I’ve chosen to shut down the laptop and chosen to play, rather than force school work on my kids, I’ve recognised that I’m a terrible home schooling teacher but a much better parent.

What does the 2021 International Women’s Day slogan, #ChooseToChallenge mean for you in your work life? It means taking particular notice of the extraordinary women at T&G, especially in our operational areas that have been traditionally male dominated and take time to understand their stories, their challenges and their successes.

On International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to our AP network?  I’ve always believed that my ability to challenge in any context grows exponentially when I challenge my personal and professional growth. As a member of the AP network I really value the PD sessions, podcasts and other resources as a means to challenge myself, and challenge others. It’s a win:win!

T&G Global (originally Turners and Growers) was born in New Zealand over 120 years ago – a place known for open landscapes, healthy produce and welcoming people.

Today, we’re a truly global business that produces some of the world’s safest fresh fruit and vegetables. Like you, we love our food. We’re constantly exploring ways to make it more sustainable, fresh and delicious.

Our growers, marketers and distributors really care about what they do; working gently with their environments to make it easier for people to access, and enjoy all-year-round freshness, wherever they are.