Spot on: Do you already know PANDA member and partner Iris Wahl?

In our new series “Spot on: Have you met…?” we introduce you to personalities from the PANDA community. Today’s spotlight: Iris Wahl (PANDA member and project manager of the Women@LHT program at Lufthansa Technik).

In short: Who are you?

I am the project manager of the Women@LHT program at Lufthansa Technik. With this project, we aim to sustainably inspire more women to pursue a career with us and to bring more women into leadership positions. I am a change enthusiast, love supporting people through periods of change, and am passionately committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Could you give us an insight into some milestones in your career that have led you to your current position? What inspired you to pursue this career path?

I've always wanted to work in an industry that deals with people and their travels. As a child, I loved playing travel agent, and I was later able to put that into practice during my hotel management training. But it was the truly inspiring environment of the Lufthansa Group that offered so many opportunities for growth and development that I've actually been working in various positions for 24 years! Ultimately, though, it's always the individuals who, at certain points in your career, give you the necessary impetus and confidence to step outside your comfort zone, explore new paths, and try new things.

What insight(s) has (or have) helped you in your career?

The most important thing: Approach people with empathy, respect, and openness. Take responsibility for your own career path and, above all, do what you do with conviction and passion.

The first five words on your LinkedIn profile are currently “I am a change enthusiast.” When did you realize that change was important to you? Was there a trigger?

A milestone was my work in Lean Management, which opened my eyes to the vast possibilities of using structured methods and effective tools to change and develop processes and organizations. From that point on, I completed two systemic coaching programs and one systemic organizational consulting program because I realized that change management was my true strength and that I could make a significant contribution to success. And when you then find leaders who are willing to leverage this expertise to drive organizational change, it's a truly wonderful feeling!

What skills or values are particularly important to you in relation to leadership?

Appreciation, appreciation, appreciation! And of course, empathy and trust. It's crucial to have the ability to communicate a vision to the team that everyone is eager to work towards achieving. Unfortunately, I repeatedly observe that people tend to avoid engaging with individuals who seem "less likeable" to them. This similarity bias leads to inefficiencies and conflicts that significantly reduce a team's performance. Diversity can be challenging, but if you invest the effort and push beyond a certain point, you'll create a high-performing team!

Your current position is Project Manager for women@Lufthansa Technik. Please tell us a bit about the project. What is your biggest goal for the coming months?

As mentioned previously, the project aims to sustainably attract more women to Lufthansa Technik and also to sustainably increase the proportion of women in senior management. Our measures and initiatives are based on three key pillars: Attract, Retain, and Culture.

• Attract: How do we appear externally as an employer to the female job market, what is our presence, how do we address potential female candidates?

• Retain: What do we do for the women who are already in our company? How do we ensure that they want to stay with us and at the same time want to develop into leadership positions?

• Culture: What do we need to do to further develop our corporate culture so that it promotes equal opportunities and (gender) diversity even more strongly?

My goal is to have at least 20% female top managers by the end of the project, and for this percentage to continue growing in the future. To pave the way for this, we as a project team must ensure that all relevant measures and processes are sustainably embedded in the line organization.

How did you become a PANDA member?

When we were looking for a strategic partnership with an external women's network, a colleague told me she'd been a member of PANDA for a few years. I signed up and went to the first dinner meeting. The women I met there and the energy at such events blew me away. Since then, I've been fully committed, and when the strategic partnership developed, we discovered even more opportunities for constructive collaboration.

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