Female Manager Interview(Y.U., Local Field Manager, Medical)
Local Field Manager, Medical spoke about her management career from before she joined the company to the present and the challenges women face in their careers.

-Please tell us about your career from before you joined the company to the present.
I majored in mathematics at university. After graduation, I started my career in quality assurance at a medical device manufacturer. When I was a new employee, I was not very good at writing documents and was often received advice from senior employees to improve my lack of writing skills. Thanks to their patient feedback, I was able to become a reliable quality assurance staff member. Later, my manager appointed me a management position, and my management career started. After heading the Quality Assurance Department, I joined TÜV Rheinland Japan in 2020 as a Section Manager of the Medical department and was appointed as a Local Field Manager which oversees the department in September 2024. This year marks 13 years in my management career.

-Please tell us about an episode that you faced difficulty in your management career.
When I first started my management career, I often had a hard time. Sometimes I sat in the corner of a room because I could not switch my mind even at home. My main concern at the time was how to train my team members. Based on my own successful experience, I had a belief that if they did things the same way I have done, it would work out. Anyone could do anything if they tried hard enough. However, it was misconception. Each member has different experiences. The more different experiences, the more ways of thinking. I realized that there is a way of training that fits each person, and that it is important to fit it like a puzzle. By changing my own mindset, I am now able to lead effectively.

- What are your recommendations for personal growth?
What I started to do to change my mindset was to create a "who I want to be" list. I wrote down in a notebook the issues I needed to fix in my daily activities with the goal of becoming the person and went over the list regularly. I made a conscious effort to take action by saying, "This week I will do this task on my list.

-What is a hint for keeping a management career going for so long?
I have learned to accept that what I cannot influence and cannot solve through my own efforts is inevitable. I am also conscious of my work life balance. No matter how busy I am, I turn off my computer at a fixed time.

-Please tell us what you found attractive about our company through your management work at TÜV Rheinland Japan.
The appeal of TÜV Rheinland Japan is the employees and their ability to build up the team and the business even in the face of adversity. I had a hard time because key people who supported the business of the section left soon after I joined the company. As a result, some customers left us. However, I am still grateful for the support I received not only from the remaining team members, but also from former employees. I was once asked, "Don't you ever want to quit?" To be honest, I have never come across such an idea. Now, the new team members have gained experience, and the team was grown its capacity. I feel that we have stabilized as a team.

-What do you think are the challenges for women in their career development at TÜV Rheinland Japan?
I can think of several female employees who might want to take on management roles. However, it seems that not many women actively promote themselves to their supervisors. Perhaps there is still a tendency, not limited to our company, to be hesitant about communicating one's career aspirations to one's superiors. I feel that it is necessary to spread a culture in which female staff can freely express their desire to be involved in management or business in the field.

In order to communicate, they need to have a concrete vision of their own career development. However, some people may not have time to think about it in the midst of their busy daily lives. I believe that coaching is effective for those who are unable to come up with their own answers to career development. I have participated in coaching sessions at my previous job. When I talk with my coach about my daily happenings, he picks up on things that I may have overlooked. Coaching is just giving you hints, but patiently guiding you through the questions until you find the answers yourself. It is also recommended that you consult with a mentor or someone you know.

～After the Interview～
In promoting women’s advance in their career at TÜV Rheinland Japan, we recognized that one of the challenges is the lack of an atmosphere and place where female staff can feel free to discuss their careers in the company. We would like to take this opportunity to increase the number of opportunities for women to think about their internal career development, not only by internal trainings, but also by external trainings.