From Then to Now in the Blink of an Eye
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland to an English father and an Icelandic mother, I am the eldest of five children. We moved to England when I was two.
My parents were a perfect representation of the way men and women were viewed in society in the decade in which I was born; my father was quite well educated and worked as a civil engineer after a short stint the Merchant Navy. My mother’s further education consisted of cooking, sewing and embroidery at an Icelandic finishing school.
After being uprooted on multiple occasions throughout my time at school, thanks to my father’s career, I passed two out of the eight O level exams I sat. There was never a question of going on to further education after school anyway, let alone having a career.
My First Job courtesy of my Father – Thanks Dad
My first job came as a result of my father, who had applied on my behalf; as a junior clerk for an Executor and Trustee company. I have vivid memories of my first day, posting transactions onto big ledger cards which were held in fireproof drawers. Years later I worked on systems with disk drives the same size.
I recall asking if I could do something different on day two; they must have found my question hilarious as this was not how junior clerks behaved! This job is where I met my first husband and when we got engaged, I had to find another job, as company policy stated that married couples were not permitted to work in the same organisation. How times have changed!
Married and Moving On
In 1971 I became Mrs Stephen Faben, by now working for the Halifax Building Society. While there I was given the opportunity to attend a day release course in Business Studies at the local college and I ploughed quickly through both ONC and HNC. After enjoying this, I decided to become an Accountant, attending night school to do so. Looking back, I have no idea why I made this choice as I could have done a degree in Business Studies, which would have made more sense.
Moving on from the Halifax, I secured a job as a Production Control Assistant for Sheffield District Council in the Engineering Department. My responsibilities included Manpower Planning and Critical Path Analysis. My next step would have been a promotion and relocation to South Yorkshire County Council as a Senior Production Control Assistant, based in Rotherham. However, my husband’s career took us in another direction after he was relocated to Leeds. After much discussion, we decided it made sense for me to change my job rather than travel daily so instead of promotion I went to work for a water company. There I had an interesting role related to regulatory billing responsibilities, which gave me the chance to start heading in the direction of IT and Team Management.
The Crossroads – Job to Career
Three years later I came to a crossroads both in my career and my personal life. Newly separated after 9 years of marriage, I decided a change was necessary. I had a choice between two completely different opportunities; the first option was a croupier in a London casino for which I had successfully interviewed; the second was to train as a Systems Analyst on a Training Opportunities Scheme. I had passed the aptitude tests for the TOPS course and chose that as my pathway to the future.
Moving to London for work, I had a couple of temporary roles before securing a role at the London Borough of Hackney. Working alongside a Senior Analyst on small systems doing both analysis and programming, I got to grips with my new trade.
The design and implementation of a system to automate Parking Ticket fines was my first solo job and with it, my first real experience of making a difference with IT. Failing manual systems were banished and a steady revenue stream was achieved – in other words people started paying their parking tickets! Then, after three and a half years with the Council, it was time for me to move on.
A Grown Up Job
I moved to Personal Computers Ltd as a Consultant, specialising in Database products for the Personal Computer (mainly dBase) and frequently contracted to write systems for clients. I was given a Compaq portable computer which was similar in size and build to a sewing machine and I remember one day trying to get into a taxi with it, and the cabbie refusing to take me because he did not know what I had in the box!
In the four years I worked at Personal Computers, we took the company public, and I personally created an Application Development Division, which I managed with a team of over twenty developers. Our role was to design and develop systems with ongoing support for the software delivered through maintenance contracts, and I became an expert in the field of database design and development on microcomputers.
Leading and Managing
By now a member of the management team, we were afforded the luxury of training as a team. I remember one session in which a colleague told our trainer that he thought I was aggressive. The trainer was very clear with us all, I was assertive not aggressive.
Often when men are dealing with assertive women, they see assertiveness as aggression. It was a valuable lesson for me.
Emerald Bay
One of my highlights at Personal Computers was hosting a day at the Barbican to introduce a new product to the City of London, where the majority of our clients were based. The product was called Emerald Bay and it was the forerunner of some of the databases and technologies still in use today. Not only did I have to host the day, I also had to present, and I ran the whole thing twice with no empty seats in either session. I was pretty nervous as this was the first time I had presented on this scale but it all went without a hitch, and after this I realised I had to start thinking of myself in different terms. I could not keep being the little girl at the back of the class; I was out front and seen as an expert.
Flying on My Own
The recession hit and the market changed. Redundancy led to my next chapter and Diane Faben and Associates Ltd was born, run from my flat in Crouch End. After a very successful first year, I moved into an office around the corner and my business continued to grow. I then collaborated with an ex-colleague of mine, putting our businesses under one roof and creating a joint venture; a one stop shop for hardware, software and associated services.
The company boomed, staff were hired, contracts were built. Success grew quickly, then nose-dived as quickly, due to problems with the recession, market collapse in hardware prices, thefts and staff issues. My business partner’s arm of the business also failed, and I was left with a large office and little income. During this time, I also gave birth to my son Ásgeir, and having returned to work within only two weeks, he came with me for the first few months of his life.
I regrouped, rented out some desk space and changed the business model to take some pressure off the overheads. Work was varied and we expanded into niche markets, but worked hand-to-mouth, struggling to grow the business sufficiently to sustain it. In addition, after nearly nine years I had reached a point in my career where I personally could not grow any further. Unable to satisfy my needs to work on bigger projects and progress, lack of growth and bad debts made me feel like a caged bird and It was with a heavy heart that I decided that DFA should cease trading.
Back to The World of Employment
During that time I learned so much, not just about running a business, but about myself too. I had undertaken a course called The Mastery, which had a huge impact on my life and my vision of self. I had gained a heightened sense of ownership, and I had gained a good understanding of how to run a business.
My next step was to find a permanent role, but this took some time. Fortunately I was offered a maternity cover contract, managing an in-house IT support team for a large Japanese Investment bank. Working there for twelve months, when I was expecting to be there for three, gave me some stability and I realised this role was a good fit for my skills.
Service Management Here I come
I then had my first and only stretch of unemployment for three months, until finally I was offered a job as a Service Delivery Manager for Fujitsu. My first contract was working on a big bid for the Home Office but as we didn’t win the bid, I moved onto a steady state service on a government contract.
There, not only was I bored, but I had no development or growth opportunities, with my managers even refusing to release me to look for other roles. This led to abysmal performance reviews because there was no potential to grow, no stretch targets, and no pay rise for three years. Eventually I had enough – it was time to look for another job.
Logica – Coming Home
After three interviews with Logica I was offered a role and a £10,000 pay rise and I became their first female Service Manager. Finally, being given responsibility within a well-structured environment, I won my first solo bid and went to work on client site to take over the service.
This was to be my life for the next few years, working in a Sales Role on new business, building service models and engaging with clients and teams across Divisions. Promotion came quickly and I finally felt rewarded appropriately for the skills I brought to the table.
Leadership and The Mastery
During my first year at Logica, a Leadership course built around The Mastery gave me an incredible experience. Over one weekend each month for a year, plus regular counselling sessions (part of the programme) I discovered more about myself, including that you cannot lead others until you can lead yourself.
I worked for Logica for 16 years during which I had some amazing roles and led some excellent teams. Logica felt like home to me, especially in the early years, and the accomplishment I am most proud of was running Libra for five years. This provided the first single system for all Magistrates Courts and was a particularly challenging project and supported IT service, but I know that I personally made a difference to the service, the people that worked on the service and the people on the ground in the Courts.
Nothing is Forever
There were many changes within the company during my time there, including being taken over by CGI. Whilst some changes were positive, many were not. Over the years I achieved a great deal, growing my leadership skills and making significant positive financial contributions to the accounts I worked on, but I was never able to make the leap to a more senior management role and experienced severe bullying within the organisation. I even changed contracts to remove myself from hurt a couple of times.
My final role took me to Edinburgh, where I spent a happy year. I made new friends and enjoyed being able to walk home from a night out in the city, but I was not happy at work. The role was awful and the service difficult, the client in chaos and change constant. I was moved, but because of the politics of the organisation, only to another bad role.
Inexperienced!
There was a big reorganisation in CGI at this time and I applied and was interviewed for an Operations Director role. I was told I was a great fit but having chased for an answer for three weeks, I was eventually told I did not have enough “financial experience”. I still feel this was just an excuse. I knew the outcome of the interviews had to go to the top for approval, and I had burnt my bridges there years before after making a formal complaint about bullying. It also became clear that the organisation was getting rid of the older, experienced and expensive resources, and replacing them with younger staff at senior levels and I felt severely undervalued. As I was only treading water, I resigned a week later.
Off to Travel the World
I planned a trip around the world and went, travelling for six months. This was the first time in my life with no responsibilities and no one to answer to. I had remarried in 2005 and inherited another son from my late sister in 2008 so my life had been hectic for many years, with many conflicting responsibilities.
After my return, my life changed. I came to terms with my exit from corporate life and filled my days with Barrecore classes and yoga, bicycle rides, walking, cooking and gardening. I joined a sewing group and sang Opera in a community chorus run by the Royal Opera House. I also took the plunge to run a successful AirBNB from home, using my travel experiences to ensure I have happy customers. Recently I have dealt with the Global Pandemic like most people of my age, exercising daily, cycling and walking; staying home and staying safe while work on my new project has kept me busy.
My next chapter is the birth of Mentors for Women. There is so much to talk about – but not now. This exciting chapter is one that I have had in my head for years; a way to make a difference in peoples’ lives, people from all walks of life. I cannot wait to meet you all.
Diane
