Saham Insurance CEO speaks of her values

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Saham Insurance, Mrs Mabel Porbley, has outlined integrity, performance and family as the three core values that have influenced her as a business leader.

Speaking on the Leaders’ Digest on Springboard, Your Virtual University, a radio talk show on <I>Joy FM<$>, she said those pillars formed a key part of the values that had helped develop her life.

Integrity

Mrs Porbley explained that as a business leader, integrity was important because, “you cannot say one thing and do a different thing”.

She noted that a leader must walk the talk in order to be trusted, adding that that was very crucial in the success of a business.

“I must be able to say something and you would believe that what I have said is what I am going to do so that is important,” she noted.

Performance

Mrs Porbley said performance was also key in business leadership. “Where are we going without a focus on performance?” she quizzed.

She added that people performed well in organisations depending on how their personalities suited the culture of the organisation.

“You find companies that are a bit relaxed and are easy-going with work, so for such companies a laid-back and easy-going personality might fit in, perform well and succeed.

“If you put the same person in an environment where it is all about Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they are likely not to fit in that space,” she noted.

Looks out for intelligence

When hiring people, Mrs Porbley said she always looked out for intelligence depth, and outliers who brought changes into businesses.

She said brands always needed something new to keep businesses growing.

She said one had to be intelligent and should have a bit more depth in thinking..

“There are certain roles that yes, the person must come from the industry, but there are other roles that I think if you brought someone from outside the industry they come with a fresh set of eyes, different way of thinking and that brings innovation within the company so I look out for that unique thing the person would bring to the team to contribute to development,” she noted.

People performing badly

When asked about the possibility of helping people who were performing badly to improve, she said she shared in that principle, however, there were some people who wouldn’t improve no matter what.

“There are people who will be performing poorly and no matter how much you help them, they will never grow from that stage and sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on.

“But I believe in the principle that if people are performing badly, help them to grow and help them to improve,” she stated.

Innovation

On the importance of innovation in leadership, she said innovation was very key.

“Whether in your social life, career or family, you need something fresh and new every time to keep you going and be in tune with the world, otherwise, you will become flat and cannot step out of the pack.

“You have to reinvent yourself and make yourself relevant. I love to present myself in a certain way and I look out to do that consistently because it gives me some level of contentment.”

“I have always tried to do something new. If you look at my career, I have worked in a lot of industries. From social marketing to health insurance, life insurance, non-life insurance and pensions,” she said.