Being elegant and calm, while forging ahead - A conversation with Cindy Tai, Vice President of Amazon Global and Head of Amazon Global Selling Asia Pacific

"Choose to Challenge" is the positive attitude of working women in the post-epidemic era to face the unknown and uncertainty, rise to challenges and embrace life.

Writer Liu Tong once said, "You have to work very hard to look effortless." Every professional woman has her own sense of accomplishment in the workplace, and also has challenges she has to face. Every seemingly effortless ordinary working day is the result of their efforts.

On this festival for all women, we invited Cindy Tai, Amazon's global vice president and head of Amazon Global Selling Asia Pacific, to have a conversation. She will share with female friends how to view challenges and changes in the workplace, the balance between career and life, and the thinking and efforts behind elegance and calmness.

Cindy Tai , Vice President of Amazon and Head of Amazon Global Selling Asia Pacific

The following is a transcript of the conversation with C indy :

Q : In 2020 , the epidemic has had a lot of impact on everyone's lives. Can you share with us your most impressive experience?

A:   First of all, the epidemic has made us feel that the world is a whole. In the past year, we have fully witnessed the power of global collaboration and deeply realized the responsibility and commitment of a global enterprise. While ensuring the health and safety of employees, Amazon adheres to the customer-first concept, gives full play to its international advantages, mobilizes global resources, and helps global customers overcome difficulties. Under the epidemic, traditional foreign trade faces bottlenecks and challenges. The cross-border e-commerce channel has also become a boost for Chinese foreign trade companies to expand their future development.

What touched me was that when the epidemic was at its worst in China last year, our employees actively coordinated with global suppliers to donate much-needed epidemic prevention materials to China's anti-epidemic frontline . Later, when the domestic epidemic improved and the epidemic continued to spread in other countries , we worked with Chinese sellers to provide daily necessities and medical epidemic prevention supplies to medical institutions and customers around the world, and at the same time did a good job of product quality control. I am proud of our company and team.

Q : Facing the epidemic, many working women have to put more effort into balancing work and family. Especially when working from home for a long time , everyone has various needs in terms of emotional management and stress release. Can you share your feelings and suggestions ?

A :   The epidemic has brought many changes to the lives and work of each of us, and women have assumed more roles and responsibilities. "Working from home " has brought challenges to the lives of many people, but at the same time, everyone can try to see it as a positive change. For Amazon employees, they usually need to communicate with many teams around the world. "Working from home" is more like a "balancer", allowing everyone to communicate under the same remote conditions and gradually get used to this online way of working.

In the new working mode, we need to understand our biological clock and habits , take the initiative to grasp the rhythm of work and life , learn to make choices, and arrange time reasonably . For example, without the space switch between work and family, working from home often makes us work late without realizing it. At this time, we should deliberately divide the time and set a time point for ourselves to leave the computer and work and spend time with our family.

When it comes to emotional and stressful challenges, it is especially important to love and care for yourself.   Always pay attention to your energy level. At the same time, it is also very important to face it together with your family.

Q : As a female manager, can you share your management philosophy?

A:   When it comes to excellent team building, I think there are several important points. First, we should take the initiative to build a diverse team, including team members with different skills , expertise, and even different ideas and personalities . Diversity can bring complementary effects and more comprehensive thinking, thereby reducing the team's " blind spots " .

Secondly, having a diverse team does not mean that an inclusive and open team culture will come naturally. We still need to work hard to create a transparent and free working environment and communication methods. I strongly encourage everyone to share different views and respect the opinions of each colleague to avoid "group thinking" . Learning from mistakes is often the fastest way to grow. Therefore, I sometimes publicly reflect on my mistakes to let everyone know that everyone has things they don't understand and will make mistakes. I hope that through these efforts, employees can be themselves and share their true thoughts and suggestions with the management team .

Third, even if the proportion of female employees and female managers in the team is high, it does not mean that there are no diversity challenges. How to encourage female employees to build confidence ; how to help them achieve a balance between work and life at different stages of life ; and how to overcome "unconscious bias" in the workplace are all issues we are concerned about . In addition, we also encourage everyone to express their ideas in different ways, such as in writing, in an environment where there is relatively less pressure.

Q : What are the characteristics of Amazon's culture of diversity, equality and inclusion? How do you view the significance of this culture to the company?

A:   Creating a diverse, equal and inclusive workplace culture, supporting women's innovation and demonstrating women's leadership have always been an important part of Amazon's corporate culture . Diversity is a combination of unique skills, experiences, perspectives and cultural backgrounds. Fairness ensures that everyone has access to opportunities, resources and recognition, while inclusion provides our employees with an environment where they feel valued, trusted and can communicate with each other.

Amazon has hundreds of thousands of employees around the world, and diversity is our strength. When we have an inclusive and supportive work environment, employees feel a sense of belonging. Recognizing and respecting each employee's different life experiences and backgrounds, and using their unique abilities and perspectives, determines what kind of company we become . While continuing to maintain the vitality of corporate innovation, our customers will ultimately benefit.

Q : What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in your career as a new employee and your career path to becoming a senior executive? How did you deal with these challenges?

A:   Most of the female leaders in everyone's impression are good at speaking and can talk endlessly. However, I am a bit introverted and I have the experience of not daring to speak out my own ideas. It sounds like this seems to be the biggest barrier to becoming a manager, but fortunately, I know my interests very well and I chose a career related to my interests from the beginning. For my own choice, I began to adapt and change myself little by little in the workplace, and the workplace became my training ground.

There are not enough female employees in the technology field . Women need to share their opinions in a more confident way, even if they are not sure. In this way, I force myself to "speak up" for myself , which is also the only way to build "personal influence" in the workplace. And it is the gradually accumulated influence that paves the way for the "leadership" needed to move to a management position.

Q : Based on your career experience, please give some advice to female friends who are just entering the workplace.

A:   Career development also requires long-term planning. You must think about what kind of person you want to be in the next few years, and take the present as the starting point and set this goal as the first end point. Such planning can allow you to devote yourself to your work and achieve your goals with half the effort.

Secondly, women in the workplace should always maintain their curiosity and keep learning. The knowledge we have learned before will eventually be gradually consumed in a long career.   , drawing nourishment and inspiration from learning anytime and anywhere will add a lot of highlights to our career.

Third, learn to make choices, and focus on "quality" rather than "quantity". This choice is not about choosing between work and life, but about making reasonable arrangements based on priorities regardless of work tasks or life problems. With a positive attitude, turn challenges into opportunities and try to balance them under the new working model .

Finally, I wish all my female friends a happy holiday. In the new year, face “challenges” with “change” and find your own elegance and brilliance !

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