Michelle Bagnall says her career success comes down to grit. When asked what attributes have fuelled her progression, NAB’s General Manager for its Specialised Sales Integration division, answers without hesitation.
She is emphatic that sheer determination, business acumen and a desire to contribute and achieve have all underpinned her success.
But she is also refreshingly candid about the help she has at home, with two children under the age of seven.
“What I don’t take for granted is that I have a partner who is incredibly supportive, who believes in me and our vision for our families’ lives,” she says. “I don’t think I’d be where I am without that.”
Bagnall’s partner, who held a demanding and rewarding job in senior management at PwC, made the decision to work closer to home, slow down his career and take on more of the child caring responsibilities which allowed Bagnall to devote more time to her role.
It was a decision she says not only brought the family much closer together but also gave her children great opportunities. Still, it wasn’t an easy one to make, and one which results in plenty of quizzical comments from outsiders. The couple also made the decision to have their children attend day care (“we made sure we paid through the nose for a wonderful facility”) from the age of six months – something Bagnall says has contributed to the two confident, well adjusted children she has. It’s another decision which critics sometimes raised their eyebrows at.
“People often look to your family situation to see whether, in their opinion, you have done the right or the wrong thing,” Bagnall says. “I’ve faced comments such as ‘What kind of mother are you?’ and occasionally a customer will say ‘Who’s looking after your children?’. I usually respond with a sense of humour and say ‘Well, someone more qualified than me!'”
Their children have not suffered for their choices. “For me, it is wonderful to achieve that balance and for people to look to your children and see they are extremely happy and well adjusted and comfortable in a range of environments. That’s the proof they are not damaged by the fact I have a career and I’m a mum.
“My partner gets countless comments from other fathers saying how jealous they are. He gets to spend a lot of time with his kids and they are very, very close and it’s just wonderful.”
How she juggles her family with a demanding and complex career is a question she’s often asked and she is adamant there is no single way that works for everyone.
“I really have no specific advice for juggling career and family, everyone’s version of that chaos is completely different,” Bagnall says. “But I have never viewed my family as a barrier to anything work wise. I met my partner 20 years ago, when we were just babies, and now he takes the lead on the home front to allow me to commit the hours I do in my role. I feel absolutely no resentment whatsoever. I love what I do and adore my family and the balance I have achieved, I am very grateful for his choice … and I couldn’t have operated it in any other way.”
Bagnall describes her career as one of constant transition. She’s worked for a small consultancy, in government policy, corporate affairs, marketing and sales, and corporate strategy. She worked as a NAB regional business executive, and later took a role in head office as a general manager.
“I really put my hand up for everything. And then it’s all about delivering results, when you get to the higher level,” Bagnall says.
“I often get asked about career planning – the planning has to be more about focusing on opening up options rather than relentlessly pursuing a single pathway – be brave to go sideways or even backwards to go forwards. Be courageous.”
Bagnall’s current role at NAB is all about people. “My team have been recruited for their skill set and capability, my job as a leader is not to do their job for them, it is to create the best environment and get barriers and hurdles out of the way.”
She says while she is a mentor to a number of women outside of her team, she sees herself as a role model for those on her team.
“Some people say mentoring is ‘collecting people’ but I think if you open yourself up to this and you attract people it’s a sign of success. There haven’t historically been a lot of female mentors in the business banking sphere,” She says.
Over her 22 year career she’s watched gender equality in the workplace evolve ‘incrementally’. She says she would love to wake up in a world where we didn’t have to talk about our differences but that moment is probably generations away.
“You had a fairly limited range of careers people could see women in when I left school. It was really just exceptional circumstances where women were outside that space,” she says. “Things have moved massively, the dialogue is a lot more open and diverse. Where the test is for me is when the economical cycle goes in a negative direction, what happens then? When times get tough – the test of an organisation is how they respond in those times. I have to say NAB through all times has stayed committed to its diversity agenda. There is no perfect organisation but an organisation’s expectations on itself say a lot and NAB has those.”
Earlier in her career, Michelle’s inspiration was her mother, who “came from abject poverty but was a mathematical genius who left school at 13 to work”. She feels immensely grateful that her parents’ main goal was to educate their ten children and get them out of that space. She’s now inspired by her own children: “I want them to see us be brave and have that work ethic and I want to provide for them”, along with her own desire to do something meaningful and make a difference.
She encourages others to trust themselves and accept that perfection is unrealistic.
“You will face other people’s different opinions and you have to have confidence in your decisions and your acumen. You have to back yourself,” she says.
“No one is perfect and there is no single right way. Focus on the value you have instead, look for roles that add value to an organisation. And lastly, be brave but don’t shy away from unchartered terrain, make your voice bold and one that is heard.”