Bettina Mehnert was the keynote speaker at the OWL Annual Meeting November 4, 2019. She shared her experience lending to this year’s theme of “Leading by Example”.
Bettina is a respected visionary and leader and has amplified her impact as the first woman President and CEO of AHL, formerly known as Architects Hawaii Ltd., and most recently was named 2019 CEO of the Year by Hawaii Business Magazine.
Her pursuit of architecture proved to be a worthwhile and fulfilling one. She admits it is one of those professions where you do not really need to make up your mind about what you want to do and this flexibility means she has room for creativity and fun. “Fun”, she explains, “is key. Life must be fun. At times, she admits, this may appear less appropriate from the perspective of a CEO, but at some point it becomes the responsibility of the leader to ensure the work employees do is fun to encourage engagement and reinvigorate passion.
The German native arrived in Hawaii through a government scholarship. She can still remember each firm she applied to and how she was treated at each one. When she stumbled upon AHL, she felt it was the right fit as soon as she walked in and therefore did not leave until they promised a position for her. Since then, Bettina became the first woman in management and now, 30 years later, she is at the helm of the second-largest architecture firm in Hawaii.
On the rare occasion that Bettina asked her mother for advice, the words that stuck with her included, “If you didn’t get something that you really wanted, then did you really want it?” and “The higher up you are able to go, the bigger the impact that you have.” These words gave her the perspective and courage to take up the jobs and roles that led her to becoming the CEO of her company.
The most touching part of Bettina’s time with OWL members was when she shared her “most-craziest” thing she has ever done – adopting a baby as a single mother at the age of 40. Bettina admitted that she still wonders if the decisions she makes now leads Anna, her beautiful 14- year old daughter, to a life that is better than the life she would have had otherwise.
Bettina left us with some of the following words of advice and food for thought to keep us effective on the job as we continue our own personal journeys through professional advancement and leadership development:
Everything you do deep down inside needs to be fun. Why else would we get up in the morning?
What makes you passionate? Know what gets you up in the morning.
Preparation is key to every success in life. You need to think things through.
The higher up you are able to go, the bigger the impact you have.
Don’t lose your way.
Trust your gut.
Do a double check once in a while, even if it means you have to quit.
Taking a step back and saying “Oops, maybe that wasn’t quite right” and admitting something may have been the wrong decision is okay.
Never settle.