In a world where innovation and adaptability are key to survival, it is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the mind of a visionary leader who has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence and building bridges to leverage an organization’s reputation by promoting a culture of business integrity.
With a wealth of experience and a keen understanding of the ever-changing landscape and the relevance of building dialogues among organizations and authorities, this individual has built a reputation for delivering exceptional results. We sat down with Tamara Ginciene, Founding Partner of Hinz Governance & Business Integrity, to gain valuable insights into her approach to leadership, her strategies for high performance and engaged teams aiming success of the projects she has faced along the last 18 years, and the lessons she has learned along the way.
Early Beginnings and the Path to Success
Growing up, Tamara was always fascinated by the world of business. Her father is a former C-level business executive with great experience in the automotive industry, and her mother is an entrepreneur. Being both engaged to serve the community through Rotary International instilled in her a strong work ethic, building connections of trust with stakeholders, and a passion for innovation. As she entered the workforce, she quickly realized that her unique blend of creativity, empathetic leadership, and analytical skills would be a great differential for her career, and she would be able to influence positively others as a humanized leader by motivating and building high performance teams. She began to take on increasingly challenging roles, honing her skills and building a network of influential contacts. Her early successes were a testament to her dedication and perseverance, and she soon found herself at the helm of a thriving organization.
One of Tamara’s passions since the beginning of her career was to deal with people and their behaviors towards building high-performance teams as compliance business enablers, serving the business, and enabling the growth of a culture of trust in organizations by raising other inspirational leaders. In 2013, after almost 10 years working in labor matters, moving to compliance appeared to her as an innovative way to re-think her career growth and put her labor experience skills to serve organizations in other areas like anti-corruption, risk management, and ethics.
Tamara’s goal was to have a positive impact on leaders / employees’ behavior and build bridges with stakeholders, increasing a culture of trust by doing the right thing, which would result in enhancing organizations’ reputations.
“Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
Leadership Philosophy and Approach
When asked about her leadership philosophy, Tamara explained, “I believe that true leadership is about empowering others to believe they are capable of achieving their full potential. It’s about creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and encouraged to take risks. By doing so, you foster a culture of innovation, diplomacy, and collaboration that drives results.” She emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with her team members, recognizing that trust and open communication are essential for achieving common goals.
Tamara’s approach is centered around empowering others, fostering a culture of innovation, and staying ahead of the curve. She believes that true leadership is about creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and encouraged to take risks, which in turn fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration that drives results.
Strategies for Success
So, what sets Tamara apart from other leaders? She attributes her success to a combination of positively impacting people, strategic planning, adaptability, and a willingness to take calculated risks. “You have to be willing to pivot when circumstances change,” she said. “It’s not about being inflexible or sticking to a plan at all costs; it’s about being agile, proposing alternatives that could enable business growth with integrity and straightforward responsive to the needs of your organization.” She also stresses the importance of continuous learning, building professional authority with great connections of trust with “Think Tanks” and authorities, also recognizing that the business landscape is constantly evolving and that staying close to the business operations, is crucial and requires commitment to ongoing education, networking growth, and professional development.
Tamara’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances has been crucial in her success and has allowed her to stay ahead of the curve. She believes that true leadership is about empowering others to achieve their full potential and creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and encouraged to take risks. By doing so, you foster a culture of innovation and collaboration that drives high-performance teams achieving extraordinary results that impacts positively from a reputation standpoint and leaving a legacy to the organizations she has worked for.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Throughout her career, Tamara has faced numerous challenges and setbacks. However, she believes that these experiences have been invaluable in shaping her approach to leadership. “I’ve learned that failure is an inevitable part of the journey to success, and maybe it is not ironic that in the dictionary the word “failure” comes first from “success,” she explained. “The key is to learn from your mistakes and use them as opportunities for growth in all areas of your life. Also, it is key to understand our mission as business integrity leaders on build diplomacy with the trust of your stakeholders in a way they can trust you to manage risks, this is a great differential to survive in times where AI is assuming a great part of workload in compliance functions.”
She also emphasizes the importance of resilience, recognizing that the ability to bounce back from adversity is crucial for achieving long-term success. Her ability to adapt to changing circumstances has been crucial in her success and has allowed her to stay ahead of the curve. She believes that true leadership is about empowering others to achieve their full potential and creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and encouraged to take risks. By doing so, you foster a culture of innovation and collaboration that drives effective results, building high-performance teams with a great level of engagement with business.
The Future of Business
As we look to the future, Tamara is optimistic about the prospects for her organization and the industry as a whole. “I believe that the next decade will be marked by unprecedented innovation and collaboration,” she said. “As we navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing world, it will be essential for leaders to be adaptable, open-minded to manage risks by acting as business enablers, and committed to creating a better future for all stakeholders.”
Tamara also sees a growing emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, recognizing that these values are essential for building a more equitable and prosperous society. Her optimism is rooted in her confidence in the ability of leaders to adapt and innovate in response to changing circumstances. She believes that the next decade will bring significant changes to the business landscape, and that organizations that are able to embrace innovation and collaboration will be well-positioned for success.
Balancing Personal and Professional Responsibilities
As an evangelist, mother of two, and a dedicated professional, Tamara has learned to balance her personal and professional responsibilities effectively. “Being an evangelist is very tight to my mission of serving others in a way I could contribute to create a positive impact – just like God has done in my entire life- wherever I am to make that environment of work better and collaborative based on my values of trust, humbleness, and commitment with others,” she said.
Tamara also emphasizes the importance of understanding different personalities, which helps her improve skills with people management and strive for gender equality. Her ability to balance her personal and professional responsibilities has been crucial in her success and has allowed her to make a positive impact in both areas.
Tamara employs several strategies to maintain a healthy work-life balance, including having a great family support network, being loyal to her personality, and practicing sports with discipline. She believes that embracing vulnerability to some challenges faced both in professional and personal life, being humble to ask for assistance from great professionals, and investing some quality of time to self-knowledge and devotion to her faith are fundamental for mental health and to keep our brains productive and healthy.
Embracing Success & Overcoming Challenges
When asked about her definition of success, Tamara explained, “As many other leaders, during my career unfortunately I had to face some challenging situations like being excluded from a recruitment process due to my pregnancy and being part of layoffs due to some organizational size re-design from the compliance area. Although these situations have happened, for different reasons that were not under my control or influence, these moments have taught me a lot about vulnerability and courage on how to react by overcoming with the support of some great professionals, legacy built along the different industries I have the pleasure to serve and great colleagues.”
Tamara also highlights her achievements, such as starting her consulting firm, focusing on what she has called “Compliance as a Service function” providing both consulting and enhancements to organizations that would be interested on specific projects related do Compliance aiming practical solutions and improvements, contributing with the business integrity scenario to the society.
In every corporate experience Tamara had during the past, she faced different sorts of challenges and scenarios. Some of the highlighted big challenges she has faced were while implementing a Compliance Program in a Brazilian company passing through a Chapter 11 under law enforcement situation and (ii) obtaining the certification from an Independent Monitorship in Brazil with the recognition of a robust Compliance Program to one of the biggest highway concession operator in Brazil, also obtaining two Integrity Stamps from the Infrastructure Ministry in Brazil as a role model Compliance Program among other competitors, impacting positively to company´s reputation, after a law enforcement situation. She emphasizes the importance of being humble, especially when you are entering in an industry that you were not used to work before, to deep dive and using diplomacy to understand the business, asking straightforward questions and building alternatives together based on the “real life” risks, being close to its operations, partnering with business stakeholders, and having a fast judgement skill to implement a reasonable compliance program with a risk-based approach.
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”– Brené Brown
Influencing Future Generations
One of Tamara’s passions is to contribute with other peers and compliance professionals, exchanging best practices and learning from their practical experiences. She believes that being close with business is key to a Compliance and Business Integrity professional. She also emphasizes the importance of stimulating discussions with peers to learn from their previous practical experiences and exchanging yours, which can also be very helpful to strengthen partnerships across industries and cascading a culture of business integrity throughout the chain value of the organizations, contributing to the entire society as a result. She believes that by sharing her experiences and insights, she can inspire and empower others to follow in her footsteps and make a difference in their own careers and communities.
Tamara’s approach to influencing future generations is centered around building strong relationships with other compliance professionals and fostering a culture of humanized leadership, collaboration among authorities & cross-industries and mutual support. She believes that as Sustainable Development Goals #16 and 17 states there is a lot of spacy towards to a genuine dialogue among professionals and authorities that can discuss and work together on “real life” alternatives to mitigate integrity and reputational risks, being a great opportunity to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned to drive positive change and promote business integrity.
Tamara’s influence extends beyond her professional network, as she is also committed to inspiring and empowering future generations of compliance professionals. She believes that by sharing her experiences and insights, she can inspire and empower others to follow in her footsteps and make a difference in their own careers and communities. Her legacy is not just about her own achievements, but about the positive impact she can have on others and the world around her.
“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”– Sam Walton
Notable Achievements and Recognitions
Throughout her career, Tamara has received several notable achievements and recognitions that have reinforced her commitment to compliance. In 2022, she was awarded the Integrity Stamp called “Fomento Infra+Integridade” by the Ministry of Infrastructure in Brazil, recognizing that her Compliance Program was reasonably and properly designed to address risks in connection with the company’s operations, ensuring attendance of best compliance practices. This achievement was a significant milestone in her career, demonstrating her dedication to creating robust and effective compliance programs that align with industry best practices.
In addition to this recognition, Tamara has also received an award in Brazil from one of the most admired compliance leaders in Brazil by Análise Editorial in 2023. This award was a testament to her commitment to making a positive impact in the compliance industry and her ability to inspire and motivate others to follow in her footsteps.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our interview with Tamara Ginciene has provided valuable insights into her approach to leadership, her strategies for success, and the lessons she has learned along the way. Her commitment to empowering others, fostering a culture of innovation, and staying ahead of the curve has earned her a reputation as a true leader in her field.
As we look to the future, it is clear that Tamara’s influence will continue to shape the business landscape and inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”- Brené Brown
