And, in a way, Mary-Anne Kirkness achieved that when she received the Provident Insurance leadership award at the recent Financial Services Federation Awards.
Humbling and exciting was how MTF Finance’s head of customer solutions described receiving the award and she was proud to represent Dunedin on the national stage in Auckland.
MTF was represented by three finalists; the Solutions team for Team Spirit, Debbie Duncan for Workplace Champion and Ms Kirkness.
She was quick to stress the award was not just for her, but also belonged to those that she worked alongside. Her team inspired her daily with their dedication, empathy and commitment to doing what was right for their customers, something she also believed involved the “real southern way”.
“Good conduct and culture aren’t just policies — they’re how we show up, how we listen and how we lead with integrity and heart,” she said.
The youngest of five girls, she was brought up in Dunedin where she described herself as the bossiest in the family. She decided she was going to be an actor and she studied performing arts at the Southern Performing Arts Centre.
Quipping she was “going to take over the world”, she quickly realised she needed to get a job and earn some money and she stumbled into customer service.
It was 20-odd years ago that a job came up at MTF and it was Bex Twemlow, now managing director of Firebrand — whom she described as an amazing leader and champion of women — who gave her a start at the company. She moved into various other roles and has been head of customer solutions for the past five years.
Being the voice of the customer and making sure they were heard and looked after, while also looking after her team, was important to her.
It was when she returned from holiday that she was told she had been put forward for an award and she was delighted by the acknowledgement.
“I really care about my work and my people and to be recognised for that …” she said.
Ms Kirkness was also grateful for her “amazing” support system: her husband and son were her two big champions at home.
“Sometimes you have to give a lot of yourself as a leader, you have to show up for your team every day. They show up for me and I’m lucky, and the wider network at MTF as well. We’re just there for each other.”
