“I love challenging others to go further in their career.”

What does it take to run a region? Margrith Appleby has a wealth of knowledge. An award-winning channel chief, she is currently General Manager of the Australia and New Zealand region at Kaspersky. In the Women in IT podcast, Margrith shares her advice on how to be a good leader and offers special insight into achieving a successful job interview.

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Margrith Appleby
General Manager of
the Australia and New
Zealand region,
Kaspersky

As a General Manager, Margrith’s goal is to grow the market share for Kaspersky across Australia and New Zealand and ensure the regional office runs like clockwork. However, her role stretches far beyond this remit and covers every aspect of the business. Margrith jokes that she could be an HR professional, a real estate manager or even a facilities manager because her colleagues often ask for help and advice on a wide range of issues.

One aspect of her job Margrith loves is that it doesn't have a clock-in-clock-out element, her work is never mundane, and no two days are the same. She also enjoys the opportunity to challenge others to go further in their career.

“One of the greatest aspects of my career has been encouraging individuals to apply for internal positions for which I knew they would be awesome and seeing them get the job and go on to achieve their goals. Being part of someone’s career development gives me a lot of job satisfaction.”

How to become a good leader?
  • Margrith has her own formula:
  • \\ Be patient and flexible. It is paramount that you understand that not everybody works on the same priority list as you or has the same set of skills.
  • \\ Understand that there will be people in the business that know more than you do. It is crucial to understand how people can contribute with their expertise to create a collaborative working environment so that the business can benefit from it.
  • \\ Set an environment where you can clearly communicate what is the ultimate objective you’re trying to achieve. If your team understands this, people will contribute to achieving this goal collaboratively and lead a company to success.
  • \\ Be truthful, and always act with transparency and integrity.

Consider a job interview as an opportunity to learn

The path to success is not always easy. Like many of us Margrith has experienced doubts and dilemmas along the way. She recalls early in her career, Margrith’s manager suggested that she apply for a senior position. It wasn’t a role she was interested in, but Margrith felt that she should apply if she wanted to progress her career. She went through a series of highly stressful interviews, and during the final one, Margrith felt she must remain true to herself, and declined the opportunity. Eight months later, she was offered her dream role.

“Don't ever be afraid to attend an interview because it's a good opportunity to learn a little bit about yourself,” recommends Margrith. “Remember, interviews go two ways: they’re as much about you and what you want as the company that is interested in hiring you. Make sure the interview process goes two ways - the organization needs to sell themselves to you as much as you need to sell yourself to them.”

Listen to the full story in our Women in IT podcast.