Your transcript

[00:00:00] Gillian: Navigating a fast-paced environment isn't just about keeping up. It's about staying ahead, making smart decisions under pressure, and ensuring you're seen for the value you bring. And today's guest knows exactly how to do that. Rita Yeoh is a senior leader in banking and finance and a past participant of RISE Accelerate, our 90-day career program.
[00:00:25] Gillian: She's someone who doesn’t just manage change. She really embraces it. And you'll get that strong impression through our conversation today. Rita has a career spanning over 20 years. She's worked across multiple business areas, led high performing teams, and built a reputation for tackling challenges with both insight and agility. In this episode, Rita shares how she's navigated industry shifts, major restructures, and the ever-evolving landscape of finance.
[00:00:55] Gillian: We talk about the biggest mistakes people make in times of change, how to stay informed in a high-pressured role, and the habits that have helped her thrive. It's going to be great. So, let's dive in.
[00:01:07] Gillian: Rita, welcome. It is great to have you here on the Your Brilliant Career Podcast.
[00:02:25] Rita: Thank you for having me, Gillian. I'm really excited to be here.
[00:02:28] Gillian: Well, I'm equally excited and I know we both feel very refreshed after our beautiful breaks and feeling all poised for another big year, but let's dive in. We need to start from the beginning with you and build some context. So maybe just start with a very brief overview, like what do you do?
[00:02:47] Rita: I've been in banking for over 20 years, and I've worked in many different roles, from helping customers in the telco and media segment with their banking needs, through to running a trade finance business and owning a P& L. Now I'm leading a team of risk professionals, supporting the transaction business to help them manage risk. I've had a diverse career so far.
[00:03:08] Gillian: You certainly have. But I'm really, I'm really interested, and one of the things we want to focus on today is your experiences of working in these fast-paced environments and having done a lot of work in banking and finance myself over the years, I can vouch that as an industry, it is definitely a fast paced environment. But maybe just tell us like, what is your day to day look like right now? And like, what are some of the biggest challenges you're working through?
[00:03:35] Rita: Totally agree. The last 20 years, we've seen so much change in banking. Remember the time that we had to go to the branch to transfer funds and…
[00:03:43] Gillian: I know. And queue up.
[00:03:45] Rita: And these days we can just use our mobile phone to transfer payments and the payments are in our account real time.
[00:03:53] Rita: That's how quickly the world has changed in banking, and it will continue to do so because, you know, technology is here, and we need to adopt it. We need to think about how we use it in our day to day to support our customers and for ourselves. So, I've seen significant amount of change from a management perspective it really means that we need to be on our front foot. At the moment cybercrime is a key risk area for us.
[00:04:17] Rita: You read about consumers being hit by scams. You know, the scam romance is one. And people putting up fake emails, pretending they are ABC companies, and then people accidentally, transfer funds. It's everywhere. So this is my day to day role. How do we manage and protect the bank and the customer?
[00:04:38] Gillian: Wow, that's really big. I mean, only because everyone has a story about it these days, whereas once it was a distant kind of scenario, but even my dear Mum, left her credit card at the shopping center recently and it wasn't retrieved, so she had to cancel everything, and it is such a big deal for the oldies to reignite all their accounts simply because, I mean, the processes are very good, but it's all on tech platforms now.
[00:05:05] Gillian: You know, they haven't done that journey, whereas we're doing that journey. We're used to doing all our banking and everything on our phones or on our computers. They're still really challenged by that. It's interesting, isn't it? It's, it's interesting.
[00:05:19] Rita: It is, it is, it's a catch 22 because technology helps us to expedite, get things done quicker, but at the same time it's a double-edged sword because once the money goes, and especially if it goes into the crypto land, it's very hard for us to retrieve it if it's a, scam scenario.
[00:05:36] Gillian: Yeah. So clever. They're just too clever. They're too clever.
[00:06:17] Over your career how have you approached handling this constant pace of change? Like, are there strategies or things that you do to help you navigate change more effectively, Rita?
[00:06:23] Rita: My approach now is to lean in, try to anticipate the change and embrace it. But to be honest, this hasn't been always the case for me, I had to learn along the way.
[00:06:33] Rita: So I have a story here, many years back I was impacted by a restructure, one that I did not anticipate. So I was offered a package uh, or take up another role in another area. Reflecting back, I had really, truly thought doing a great job was sufficient.
[00:06:50] Rita: But that's not enough. Essentially, I had neglected to build relationships with a broad base of stakeholders in the organisation. But things change. Everything's so dynamic, internally and externally.
[00:07:02] Rita: So we got to be really be one step ahead. So, in the end, I left the organisation and took time out to focus on my young family. It was a difficult decision at that time, but the experience has helped me to be more resilient.
[00:07:16] Gillian: I think so many people go through this experience and it feels very personal at the time because you've been this high performer and then you hit this incredible disruption and you don't land the way that you anticipated because there’s change that you couldn't have anticipated.
[00:07:32] Gillian: How did you feel? Like what was your thought processes at that time? And then how did you recalibrate?
[00:07:37] Rita: So I agree, Gillian. I was very shocked and disappointed. But, at the end of the day, it's not personal. At that point we had to consolidate the roles, which I totally understand.
[00:07:47] Rita: And it did shake me up a bit, to be honest. But I believe that it's made me stronger. I've become more resilient. It's taught me that a network is so critical. So now I'm very strategic and I'm very conscious about building a broad network in the organisation and externally, because it's all about building a brand.
[00:08:08] Gillian: What do you think are the common mistakes people make when navigating that kind of change in their work environments?
[00:08:14] Rita: The first one is people may tend to resist the change and think, oh, I'll be right. It won't apply to me. And I'll just sit back and see what happens. But I think everyone needs to plan. You've got to always think about, you know, different scenarios and what would happen if, a change impacts you personally. What does that mean to the family and to your career plan?
[00:08:33] Gillian: Not even the execs know all the answers when things are unfolding. There's always going to be uncertainty and I think that's what derails people because when we have that uncertainty, we just make things up.
[00:08:43] Rita: That's right.
[00:08:44] Gillian: But if you're making up really negative stories, you're just fuelling yourself with the fear. And that is just not going to help. Whereas what I'm hearing from you, Rita, is this idea of be more accepting that there's going to be change, be open and receptive, be curious about it, have a look and ask good questions. So then when you do have that opportunity, you can evaluate really well.
[00:09:10] Rita: Because at the end of the day, you know, it is fearful, right? Change is daunting. But what I've learned from this is important to have a broad supportive network and talk about, you know, I'm fearful of these. So I think about AI, what does that mean for my job? What does that mean for my industry? Talk to people. And in, in periods of high change is even more important to look after yourself, like exercise, sleep, eat well, those are key things and sometimes we forget them because we are so busy doing more and more and more to try and cope with the change. But it's really important to step back and just think, how can I be the best version of myself to manage this change coming?
[00:09:48] Gillian: One of the things I've noticed about you is how well you stay connected to what's happening in your industry. How do you stay across trends and do you have any, routines or resources that help you stay informed?
[00:10:01] Rita: I've started this habit where in the mornings I scan the papers. So I looked at the financial review, the age, the economists, and then I drill down on the key articles that interest me.
[00:10:12] Rita: And then I also, because I'm interested in governance, so I do read up on the information I receive on the AICD. I'm a member of the AICD, so that's really important for me. And at the gym, I listen to podcasts.
[00:10:24] Gillian: Yeah.
[00:10:25] Rita: Yeah. I love podcasts. There, there are a few of them I like. So some of my favorites include the Chanticleer, the AFR Money Cafe by Ellen Kohler and the Imperfects.
[00:10:37] Gillian: Yeah. Yeah. Great. I've listened to the Imperfects very recently, actually. Yeah. They're great choices, but they are good, aren't they? Because they just get you out of your head a little bit, out of your microcosm and thinking a bit more expansively.
[00:10:49] Gillian: Now you've also worked with a lot of different type of people, in stable environments, in disruptive environments, all the above. But what have you learned about building strong relationships at work, Rita?
[00:11:28] Rita: I think it's really important to be really clear who your stakeholders are, and what they want and what they need.
[00:11:35] Gillian: And how do you find out what they want? Because I think people can intellectually understand that, but then how do they break through to adding value and, cultivating that relationship?
[00:11:45] Rita: It's really important to build trust. Trust is key. Have a coffee if you can, ask them what they want. Understand the Venn diagram. And you know, where the commonalities are, because at the end of the day, you also have to deliver and achieve on your own objectives. But managing key stakeholders is, the key thing is understand what they want, and understand the value that you bring.
[00:12:06] Gillian: Yeah. So asking stakeholder questions, it would be things like, what's the most important strategic imperative in the next quarter, or what's the biggest challenge for you in the team, or what do we do well in the team? What don't we do well? Are they the sort of questions you're thinking that might be helpful at extracting what's important to them? Because if you're going to put the effort in, you want to make the right effort.
[00:12:29] Rita: Because at the end of the day, we've got to be on the same page. And the only way we can have us be on the same page is to have a conversation and write it down.
[00:12:36] Rita: I write it down and then I tend to go back by an email and say, thank you for your time. And this is what we discussed. We agree, the priorities for the next quarter are these three things. Because execs are so busy, right? So we gotta make sure that we're all on the same page. And if it's not those three things, tell me. So we can refine those three things further.
[00:12:56] Gillian: It takes out some of the uncertainty that really challenged people. If you're having an effective conversation with a senior leader saying, this is what I understand to be really important for us. In the next six months or whatever, do you agree?
[00:13:08] Gillian: And maybe they give you some insights and then you walk away with that. And then you follow up saying, thank you so much. That was such a helpful discussion. And these are the things I'm going to be focusing on because they're so important in the business. That is such a great start and then it gives you that beautiful circle back moment to say, that conversation six months ago was so helpful and this is what I've achieved together with my team, X, Y, and Z in supporting it.
[00:13:33] Gillian: You can just demonstrate your value in a way that doesn't feel like you're showing off because it's just talking about the data.
[00:13:40] Rita: I totally agree. I've used that strategy and it's worked well for me.
[00:13:44] Gillian: I can see that. I can see that. I think it's great. And I think it's very accessible for a lot of women as well. Like they can look at that and they're like, I'm not being a massive bragette. You know what I mean? I'm just getting the data. I'm qualifying and then I'm circling back, but through that process, you're doing a great job at demonstrating your contribution back to the business; the value that you're contributing to that senior leader and to the business.
[00:14:08] Rita: And, most importantly, it builds relationship. And that's really key in business.
[00:14:13] Gillian: Yeah. And the trust that you were talking about, because if you deliver on something that's important to them, of course, that's going to build credibility and trust, isn't it?
[00:14:20] Rita: That's right.
[00:14:21] Gillian: Yeah. And when we think about the year ahead, such an interesting one, because I think so many people go, we won't have another year like that. It's like, of course you will. It's always going to be fast paced. Like there's not going to be this massive year where everything just goes into this beautiful evenly paced moment that is the business environment. And that's why we're talking about it, because it's so important. But what's your advice to other women, Rita, are there habits or strategies that have helped you thrive over the years? What would you say?
[00:14:50] Rita: Firstly, be open to change, and know your strengths and weaknesses, and try new things, because it's okay, that we don't know much about the role, or we only have 50 percent of the requirements or attributes. Try it! You know, you just never know. You may love it.
[00:15:06] Rita: If you don't, it doesn't matter. You've tried it. So that's number one. Number two, it's really critical to build a network of support, including sponsors. I actually don't think we do this enough, Gillian, as women. We think that if we deliver and we do the job well, we should be okay. Rita: But it's more than that.
[00:15:23] Gillian: Yeah, that's so true. It's so true. And I think, you know, when you think about yourself as a businessperson, not just as an expert, we all need to be so much more multidimensional now and really plug into what's happening in that business environment, which you have so beautifully discussed today, so that we stay relevant and contemporary and not lose sight in our little bubble working over here. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. It is always a pleasure chatting to you and hearing your insights that I know that our listeners will take so much away from our conversation.
[00:15:56] Gillian: So wishing you a very successful 2025, Rita.
[00:16:01] Rita: Thank you so much, Gillian. It was fun being on this podcast, so thank you for having me.
[00:16:06] Gillian: Pleasure.