Barbara Queally

ByWBSComms

Barbara Queally

Current title
Managing Director and Owner of GMPF;
Beyers Hospitality;
Shareholder of QDB Holdings, Arrow Group

Course at Wits Business School
Women in Leadership, 2016

A defining moment in my career
Independent from a very young age, I had one life plan, ‘to own my own knives and forks’ and never to rely financially on anyone else. After two years of pursuing a business degree at university, I dropped out.

I just wanted to do business and felt I was wasting my time in a classroom. I started my own business when I moved to South Africa, aged 23. Money wasn’t my main motivation; it was the success of my results and the passion for everything I did.

I learned to be resilient in my industry, learning from every mistake. Growing confident and fearless in business, I allowed my dreams to become bigger and bigger. I had no formal training on how to be a leader, yet 650 people saw me in this role. Entering a role of leadership at a very early age had forced me to be ruthless in dealing with the intimidating aspects of the corporate culture.

A change in personal circumstances forced me to slow down and review my position as a leader. Having not been in a classroom since I was 18, I was convinced to attend the Women in Leadership course at Wits Business School, arriving with low expectations.

The course focused on using emotional intelligence (EQ) to improve your work relationships and environment. During the first lecture, I realised that my capacity for empathy and listening skills was dismally low. After so many years of forcing people to listen to me and my ideas, I had neglected to listen to others and take their feelings into account.

I wanted to be a supportive, inspiring leader and realised that I was not giving my employees any room to develop. I wondered if it was even possible to become a more authentic leader. The answer is yes. After completing the course, my relationship with my employees completely turned around, and business is better than ever. You either have a high intelligence quotient or you don’t, but with EQ you can change everything. I am a testament to that.

Similar Posts

  • Diane Radley

    ByWBSComms

    When I was growing up I feared failure and the devastation I thought would ensue. I wanted to be perfect and felt any form of failure was letting me and other people down, particularly my mother who had made tremendous sacrifices in bringing up three children alone on a music teacher’s salary.

  • Jerard Scorgie

    ByWBSComms

    In February of 2014, I joined a small consulting organisation as a senior project manager, immediately after I had completed my MBA. The organisation was in a start-up phase, had been in existence for about 18 months and formed part of a global corporation with the aim of establishing regional offices around the globe.

  • Helene Smit

    ByWBSComms

    There are many moments that felt important in my career, such as when I conducted my first leadership development course for the Chief Justices of the Southern African Development Community countries.

  • Craig Yeatman

    ByWBSComms

    I believed that I could work hard enough to earn a fabulous early retirement. I started a retail company in 1989 and my optimistic best mate helped me raise ‘capital’ by polishing up and selling my Hi-Fi system.