Women in top leadership is a hot button issue globally. Strategies for improving gender equality in the workplace and training for women who are firmly climbing the corporate ladder aren’t uncommon. Yet, Deutsche Bank Chief Operating Officer, Josie Zhao holds a refreshing view that women don’t need to be taught leadership; instead, the workplace needs to change and leaders must learn to embrace the innate leadership qualities that women bring to the table.

Josie sat together with host Ally Mona of LimitlessLaowai for over an hour and walked through her journey to the top of the male-dominated banking industry. They talked about her challenges coming back to China after 20 years abroad, how she managed to win the respect of her team as a female senior leader, not seen as fully Chinese, nor fully ‘laowai’. Josie is honest when it comes to balancing life and work, her family, her view on successful mentoring, and career sponsorship. For Ally, it was incredible to sit with Josie and hear her story.

LimitlessLaowai is one of IPWS’s partners, and is a podcast about the incredible expats all over China, capturing bits and pieces of what it looks like to thrive while living and working overseas.

The interview is long, one of their longest yet, but they promise, it’s worth listening to every second. Thanks Ally for featuring IPWS and catching up with Jury Member Josie Zhao! Connect with Josie on LinkedIn.

And don’t forget the winners of this year’s Women Leadership Awards will be announced at the IPWS Leadership Summit, Friday 27th May. Register now!