A light, spacious and democratically furnished office, on the desktop next to a laptop there are slices of fresh carrots and celery, lots and lots of bottled water. Along with photos of three children, there is a whole wall of photos of members of a team of bank employees from different cities. Office Friday, you can wear jeans, and Nadia Cherkasova, the only woman on the board of Otkritie Bank, does not miss this opportunity. Not surprisingly, both jeans and the formal two-piece suit, in which she recently spoke at the MC @ work conference, fit her perfectly. Several years ago Nadia gave up meat, bread, sweets and feels that her energy has increased. It seems to me that Nadia also refused to sleep - how else to manage to work in one of the key positions in the bank, invest in a business, give lectures,do charity work and manage to have a big family at the same time? “Yes, I don't always have time to go home in the evening for dinner with the children,” Nadia says. - But in the morning we all have breakfast together and even light candles. This will make up for my absence from home at dinner. And as for sleep, yes, it is not enough. I sleep 5-6 hours a day."
Nadia exudes a thirst for life. She clearly knows the value not only of every day - every second. By the way, at the previous place of work, in VTB 24 bank, she implemented and launched the program for adaptation of employees “Project 219”. When the bank entered the process of integration with VTB - technically and technologically complex - it was primarily stressful for people.
“You don't have a planning meeting in the morning, and then there are no boards and committees, you don't fly to meetings. Your new schedule is to lie on a drip for 24 hours."
Nadia Cherkasova: someone sees himself in a new capacity, someone does not. The process itself went on for a whole year. I thought: people will spend a whole year of their lives in uncertainty! And that's 219 business days. This is how Project 219 was born to adapt employees to changes. The project helps you realize that every day is a part of your life, and on the other hand, it helps to be effective at work. You can live those 219 days talking "what will happen to us?" But I decided: no, my team will not live like this. In 219 days, you can acquire new skills and knowledge. We started our project with an understanding of what everyone wants and how they evaluate themselves. To understand what I want, you need to know yourself and your values. It happens so: we declare one thing, but in reality we react to something else. It is imperative to understand yourself.
MC: Judging by your history, your main value is children?
Last year I was invited to Skolkovo on Saturday to speak at a conference on women's leadership. Everyone talked about how they know how to maintain work & life balance. But not a single woman speaker came to the event with children! I did it without thinking. This is one of my rules - to spend weekends with children. For me, this is an example when the word does not differ from the deed. The eldest daughter, she is now seven years old, and sometimes I take with me on business trips. We recently flew to Riga for a conference together.
You talked about the team - apparently, you are up for it. With colleagues and subordinates who are you first of all? Friend? Chief? Do you include your friend or foe password?
Yes, of course, this is difficult to get rid of, and I include my-or-foe password. At the same time, I try to make it not primary, and in my work I try to see the essence. There are many subjective clichés in society: fat, thin, beautiful, ugly … Sometimes we do not know something more about a person, maybe a tragedy happened, so he does not perform well today. When my mother was finishing college, my father died. The parents already had two children - me and my younger brother. But you won't go up to every teacher and tell them that your husband died a month ago, that one child is a month old, the other is four years old. You collect yourself, pass the exam, raise children, try to live on. I mean, I try not to look through a subjective prism. When I forget, I immediately remind myself: let's go without cliches.
When it comes to the team, I like the story that is usually called delegation. Freedom is primary. By the way, when I came to work at the bank, every time I was afraid that I would not be free, the first six months are always difficult. But he who seeks finds a niche of freedom. The main thing is to be asked for the result, but how I do, why I do, I do not always even want to tell.
In particular, when I came to VTB 24, the business line (I was responsible for non-financial services to legal entities, small and medium-sized businesses) was unprofitable. And at the end of 2017 - 35% of income to the bank. Without freedom to act, without a vote of confidence, I would hardly have been so successful.
“I love being an inspiring leader. The word "coach" is now overused - let there be a mentor"
Freedom is an elevated category, but how do you feel about being late?
Calm down. I'm late myself.
Is that why you are calm?
No, I basically have a high tolerance for this. Well, it didn't work out for a person, there are different circumstances. In addition, in the modern world, you always have mail at hand, or you can hold a meeting via a video call. I proceed from the fact that the person, most likely, tried not to be late, he was not on purpose. Why get turned on, that this is disrespect for me, for the company? Of course, according to business etiquette, people tend to be on time. And I also know when to stop.
Okay, you're loyal to being late. Why are they disloyal?
To no result. We agreed, a week has passed, but nothing has been done. I want to hear very clear arguments. And even after hearing them, I will probably answer: you have a wonderful brain that came up with a cool explanation, but you have a default on terms, so let's admit that these are not arguments, and so that never again … I am for recognition and repentance. Not recognizing mistakes does not allow development. I myself recognize them too, of course.
How long have you admitted mistakes?
Not very long ago. Probably I learned it five or six years ago. There was a period of purely physical inactivity, I was in the hospital on preservation, waiting for my sons. I reviewed a lot. Here you are in the thick of things, you are the chairman of the bank's board, so beautiful, young, self-confident, and everything works out for you. You, perhaps, even bears in an amicable way, rushing. You have money, you can fly anywhere, anytime. You have a family, a child, you seem to comply with all the rules of society. Directly ideal. And then suddenly you find yourself in a vacuum and start looking at life in slow motion. You don't have a planning meeting in the morning, and then there are no boards and committees, you don't fly to meetings, you don't give interviews. Your new schedule is to lie on the IV for 24 hours.
“I can fire a person and return him. I do not accumulate resentment"
Nadia, well, you were broadcasting on the radio in the hospital
Yes, but it's a short turn-on once a week. In general, life then slowed down a lot. And the people who needed you so much to make decisions, who were waiting for your e-mails, but just people close to you from your team, with whom you went through more than one organization - you write them an SMS, and they don't answer you for three days … And you begin to understand: yes, they are busy. They have deadlines, meetings, whatever, and your time flows differently. You just have to accept it. But I was not ready for such a turn. I had a dependence on the approval of society: it seems like you are great from all sides, then - hop! - and you are not. And you are already hearing rumors that - oh, they must have been fired, or maybe she has cancer.
Did it hurt you? To tears? In general, "to tears" something happens to work?
I have, in principle, "to tears" is extremely rare. At the bank, I cried a couple of times - from resentment that they did not appreciate the result. You do, a team is behind you, which also expects gratitude, and your success is obvious - but in response there is such an injustice … And in the hospital it was not that painful. And by the way, I didn't cry. I tried to understand, but in the end I thought: well, okay. I am so - I can turn around and leave.
Do you cross these people, offenders, from life, or can you continue to work with them, communicate?
I can. I can, having fired a person, return him. I do not accumulate resentment.
It's a cool quality.
First, I got rid of the "should" topic. Mom says: you have to help your brother. But it seems to me that I have been "in debt" for quite a long time, as an older sister. Not because my brother was really in need, he is a successful person, but - a family, "so it is accepted." And I never tell my daughter: you are the eldest and therefore you are responsible, for example, so that the boys at school do not forget their sneakers. I ask my daughter and twin sons: who is your boss today? They appoint a boss who is in charge. In general, I got rid of this "must". And I have no guilt either. But I also worked with this. For example, I do not feel guilty towards the children that I do not spend the evening with them. So the other day I'm going to dinner, my daughter is in tears, she doesn't want to let go. I told her clearly: I will go anyway, I made this decision, it is important for me. But when you wake up, I'll be there. We talked about all this in detail with her, and in the end I heard a calm: "Well, everything, mom, bye." It is necessary to include a sober head. Recently I was at an event at Google, talked with Olga Sorokina, she is one of the best in consulting, and she has eight children. Eight! An amazing woman. Olga also has no sense of guilt towards her family.
Children are the biggest manipulators. But at work, employees manipulate each other, and even the leader …
In this sense, it is not easy to work with me. On the one hand, I give freedom, on the other, always direct and honest. Here's an example for you: a few years ago an employee came up to me and said: "Nadia, let's discuss raising my salary, I was transferred from Barnaul to Krasnoyarsk, I have to rent an apartment, and I have elderly parents." And he begins to give arguments that have nothing to do with work at all. I said to him: “Listen, I say this once, I hope it will help you in life. Look, here are our colleagues: Larisa came from Yekaterinburg, Ilnar - from Kazan, I - from Nizhny, Natasha - from Omsk. They all rent apartments. Time. Second. If we're all about the same age, who do you think has which parents? You have a good result, show it, tell us what you have achieved. But remember once and for all:never ask for a salary increase due to personal circumstances. " I love being an inspiring leader. The word "coach" is now overused - let it be a mentor. I believe that my advice will help a person, even if not immediately. I like to ask at an interview: why do you love yourself?
“Money is like energy. I am careful in spending"
And why do you love yourself?
For flexibility. For me, hearing about the circumstances, it is normal to change the rules, schedule, change something in the project with lightning speed. I can come to the airport and change my mind about flying. This ease is from my mother. As a child, we were regularly late for trains. My grandmother lived in Vladimir, we went there from Nizhny for the weekend, on vacation. And I often saw the last carriage leave from under the nose. It never made my mother hysterical. We just took a taxi and caught up with the train in neighboring Dzerzhinsk.
Mom is now elderly, but she has not lost her lightness. There was a case a few years ago: we phoned as usual, and among other things, I shared with my mother: listen, maybe we'll buy something in Spain … We talked, and I forgot. I come home in the evening, my mother met me in Spanish: "Como ce llama usté?" - which means: "What's your name?" I asked: "Mom, what is this?" - "You said - Spain, I went to the store and bought a phrasebook." Mom is like that. Why put off, you have to take it and do it. I also tune children in this way and often say: this is not a problem.
Isn't that a problem? Or do you admit some of their problems?
We try to discuss all situations. For example, my daughter studied from the age of three according to the British system, now she has transferred her to another school, the Russian language has been added. She hasn't adapted yet. This morning we realized that she could not do her homework - stress. I honestly opened the task and did not understand how to complete it myself. I say: "This is not a problem, sometimes you can not learn the lessons." She says, "No, that's a problem." And I decided: "Diyush, let's do this: I'll call the teacher, talk, we'll catch up on the Russian language later, we'll take it from the age of eight." Have we solved the problem?
This is getting away from the problem.
No, not leaving. I realized that we overloaded my daughter. She still started in Spanish.
If in large strokes - three financial rules for yourself and for the child. After all, you work in a bank, and I can't help asking about money
To be honest, I have a reverent attitude towards money. Money is like energy. I am careful in spending.
What is "neat"? Is it not to lend, not to borrow, to live on your own?
First, in a store I often say to myself: "I don't need this." Because money for me is like energy that I can spend on something important. And the second point: I try not to lend. As a banker, I believe that you need to take out a loan. In rare situations, I lend and reconcile in advance with refund delays. Although there was a case, I told a friend: “Listen, since we have an open relationship, let me remind you that you delayed the money for two weeks. I understand that this is nothing, but inside of me my banking essence is experiencing. " One day of delay is bad credit. Five days is a credit bureau … On the other hand, I easily spend money on useful things.
"I'll surprise you, but I'm not thinking about my career, but about what I want to give birth to."
For instance?
For example, as part of my social activities, I made a Russian index of women's entrepreneurial activity. I understood that there is no fundamental instrument in Russia that would assess the level of society's readiness to support women entrepreneurs in a segmented manner. And, for example, I paid for the first index myself.
On my birthday, I usually write to my colleagues that I don't want to be Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev when everything around is filled with flowers. I give a link to the Konstantin Khabensky fund, it is personalized, you can then see how much was transferred. Last year, following the results of my birthday, five children received treatment.
Have you already established financial rules for your children?
I do not encourage consistent shopping. We can spend an hour or two in the store with them. They play everything, but they know we won't buy. We buy only for birthdays and New Years, you can ask for two gifts - from Santa and from your parents. I also like handmade gifts. Children make postcards, cut out something.
And what are you doing that they keep?
Home wall newspaper. It is dedicated to what happened in a month. Everything I click on my iPhone, I drop it into WhatsApp to the assistant, we print out A3 photos, I paste them like a collage on one of the walls of our house, and for the next month the children add whatever they think is necessary to the newspaper. Stickers, Hello Kitty, Spidermen …
The second rule: I try to explain that if we just waste money, it means that I will work longer. And children listen to this.
In ten years, who do you see yourself, where do you live? What do you want for yourself, for your family?
Good question. I think the family will definitely be bigger. I’ll surprise you, but I’m not thinking about my career, but about what I want to give birth to.
And it's all about her
Nadia Cherkasova
Age: 46
Marital status: mother of three children
Education: Faculty of Economics, Nizhny Novgorod State University, International Moscow School of Finance and Banking. Internship at South Shore Bank (USA), EBRD (Austria) and IIMD (Germany)
Career: worked in the Nizhny Novgorod branch of Inkombank (from a loan officer to the head of the credit department). She was the head of the KMB-Bank division in Nizhny Novgorod. She opened the first branch of the bank there. Later - Member of the Management Board, Director of the Business Development Department of KMB-Bank (Moscow). In 2005, she became Managing Director for Small and Medium Business Development at Trust Bank. In 2010, she entered the TOP-50 of the most influential business women in Russia. She was senior vice president, director of the small business customer service department at VTB 24, and was a member of the bank's board.
Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship "Support of Russia". Since January 1, 2018 - Member of the Board of Otkritie Bank
Favorite sport: tennis
Favorite book: Life as a Startup by Reed Hoffman and Ben Kasnochi
Favorite perfume: AquAllegori Mandarine-Basilic, Guerlain
Photo: Julia Mayorova
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