We’re having an indoor picnic，” says Sue Biggs excitedly as we sit in her office in 1）Wisley， Surrey. The sun is shining and the beautifully 2）manicured gardens that surround us are bursting with flowers， insects and children from the local school. “I hope you like sandwiches” she says， unpacking a brown paper bag crammed with food from the 3）garden shop. Biggs is the first female director of the 4）Royal Horticultural Society and took up her position in 2010 having spent 25 years in the travel industry， working for 5）Kuoni and then 6）Thomas Cook. She admits the switch was totally unplanned. “I wasn’t looking at the time， and my husband saw the advert. I said ‘oh， someone lucky is going to get a fantastic job’ and he said why not you？”

Despite her many years experience， which saw Biggs appointed the first woman and the youngest on the board at Kuoni， she admits she hesitated， concerned that she lacked the horticultural experience required. “It’s a confidence issue sometimes， it’s about actually daring to dream and until you try you never know. I think men perhaps are better at fear of failure， but I’ve always tended to follow what I’m passionate about， so the practicalities of being the right person didn’t get in the way in the end.” Her RHS membership of 18 years probably helped too. “I think I did put that on my 7）CV，” she explains with a wry smile.

But it’s very clear that horticulture is her passion， as she talks at length about 8）ash dieback， the declining bee population and the peat problem—all issues which the RHS is attempting to find answers for.

She very nearly set herself on the path to her current position while she was at school， although her plans were thwarted by what she describes as a typically English attitude towards anything out of the ordinary. “I wanted to do estate management at Reading University. I’d applied for it all and I remember being called into the headmistress’s study and she said： ‘You can’t do this， this isn’t something for somebody like you.’ She called my parents in the end and persuaded them， and sort of me. I had to agree to go and do English instead.”

That experience shaped her attitude towards ambition and achievement and still informs her views on the barriers women face in the workplace. “There are some genuine barriers，” she concedes， going on to explain that there are others that aren’t really there at all. “Have I seen situations where it’s more difficult to be a woman？ Yes，” she says， admitting that the amount of times she has suffered sexism throughout her career is laughable. “If you get huffy about it then it becomes a problem”， she adds.

One example stands out. “I was invited over to 9）Geneva to celebrate joining the Kuoni board and when I arrived they presented me with a card and a bouquet of flowers. The card—so politically incorrect now—was a picture of a woman holding a glass of champagne and inside it read： ‘At long last we’ll have somebody to iron our shirts’.” She kept the card， explaining with a chuckle that she recently sent a photocopy back to the chairman of the board， who is now in his 80s， writing that she wished he’d sent it now so she could sue him for millions. “They did it because they knew me，” she explains. “They knew I would laugh it off.”

“An ambitious man is talented but an ambitious women is a career-bitch，” she says. “I have been labelled and it does bother me. You’d have to be fairly hard hearted not to think ‘honest， I’m not like that’.”

“It’s important to be respected，” she explains. “It’s icing on top of the cake if people also like you， but respect has to be there or you can’t be a successful leader.”

“There is a great thing about Americans， they dare to dream. We can all take the mickey out of Americans， but actually they celebrate aspiration. It’s quite sad in this country that we don’t readily do that， we’re much more likely to knock people down.”

當(dāng)我們坐在蘇·比格斯位于薩里郡威斯利花園的辦公室里時(shí)，她興沖沖地說(shuō)道：“我們來(lái)一場(chǎng)室內(nèi)野炊吧?！标?yáng)光普照，圍繞在我們周?chē)?，修剪得整齊漂亮的花園里到處都是花、昆蟲(chóng)和當(dāng)?shù)貙W(xué)校的孩子?！跋Ｍ銈兿矚g三明治”她邊說(shuō)邊從園藝店里取出一個(gè)塞滿(mǎn)了食物的牛皮紙袋。比格斯是皇家園藝協(xié)會(huì)的首位女性會(huì)長(zhǎng)，于2010年任職，她曾在旅游業(yè)磨礪25年，相繼為瑞士旅業(yè)及托馬斯·庫(kù)克工作。她承認(rèn)自己轉(zhuǎn)行完全是個(gè)意外?！拔夷菚r(shí)并沒(méi)在找工作，而我的丈夫看到了那則廣告。我說(shuō)‘哦，某個(gè)幸運(yùn)的人要得到一份絕妙的工作了’然后他說(shuō)，你怎么不去試一試？”

盡管比格斯有著多年經(jīng)驗(yàn)，從她被任命為瑞士旅業(yè)董事會(huì)上的首位女將，也是其中最年輕的一員便可看出，但她承認(rèn)她猶豫了，她擔(dān)心自己缺乏所必需的園藝經(jīng)驗(yàn)?！坝袝r(shí)候這是一個(gè)自信心的問(wèn)題，它實(shí)際上是關(guān)于敢不敢去做夢(mèng)，而且你不試你永遠(yuǎn)都不知道。我覺(jué)得男人也許更容易應(yīng)對(duì)失敗的恐懼，但我卻時(shí)常傾向于追隨自己所熱衷的東西，所以能否成為合適人選的憂(yōu)慮最終沒(méi)有成為我的阻礙。”比格斯18年的皇家園藝協(xié)會(huì)會(huì)員身份或許也幫上了忙。“我想我的確把那個(gè)寫(xiě)在簡(jiǎn)歷里了，”她苦笑著解釋道。

然而，很明顯，園藝是比格斯所熱愛(ài)的，因?yàn)樗恢v起白蠟樹(shù)梢枯病、蜜蜂數(shù)量持續(xù)減少還有泥炭問(wèn)題來(lái)就滔滔不絕——所有這些問(wèn)題皇家園藝協(xié)會(huì)都在嘗試尋找解決之道。

當(dāng)比格斯還在求學(xué)時(shí)，就幾乎找準(zhǔn)目標(biāo)往現(xiàn)在的位置進(jìn)發(fā)，但她的計(jì)劃曾被她所描述的典型英國(guó)態(tài)度所阻礙——就是那種對(duì)待任何不尋常之事的態(tài)度?！拔蚁氲嚼锥〈髮W(xué)學(xué)習(xí)物業(yè)管理。我已經(jīng)為之做了一切申請(qǐng)工作，而我記得我被叫到了女校長(zhǎng)的研修室，她說(shuō)：‘你不能這么做。這并不適合像你這樣的人?！罱K她叫來(lái)了我的父母并說(shuō)服他們，也有點(diǎn)把我給勸服了。我不得不同意轉(zhuǎn)而去讀英文?！?/p>

那次經(jīng)歷塑造了她對(duì)于野心及成就的態(tài)度，而且還顯露了她對(duì)于女性在職場(chǎng)中所面臨的障礙的態(tài)度?！坝幸恍┣星袑?shí)實(shí)的障礙，”她退一步繼續(xù)解釋說(shuō)，還有一些其實(shí)并算不上是真正的障礙。“在很多情況下，身為女性會(huì)更加難一些，我見(jiàn)過(guò)這類(lèi)情況嗎？我見(jiàn)過(guò)，”比格斯如是說(shuō)道，她坦言在其職業(yè)生涯中多次遭受的性別歧視都是很可笑的?！叭绻銓?duì)這種事兒火冒三丈，那就真的成問(wèn)題了”，她補(bǔ)充道。

有一個(gè)很明顯的例子?！拔沂苎ト諆?nèi)瓦慶祝加入瑞士旅業(yè)董事會(huì)，當(dāng)我抵達(dá)時(shí)，他們送了我一張卡片和一束花。那張卡片——在當(dāng)下的政治立場(chǎng)來(lái)說(shuō)尤其錯(cuò)誤——卡片上是一個(gè)女人拿著一杯香檳的圖片，里面寫(xiě)著：‘終于有人幫我們熨襯衫了’?！北雀袼贡Ａ糁菑埧ㄆ?，并輕聲笑著解釋說(shuō)她最近給瑞士旅業(yè)的董事會(huì)主席郵寄了一份復(fù)印件，那人現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)八十多歲了，比格斯還寫(xiě)了她希望董事會(huì)主席能現(xiàn)在將那張卡片寄給她，那么她就能起訴他而得到數(shù)百萬(wàn)的賠償金?！八麄儠?huì)那么做是因?yàn)樗麄兞私馕?，”她解釋說(shuō)。“他們知道我會(huì)一笑置之?！?/p>

“一個(gè)有野心的男人就是有才干，但一個(gè)有野心的女人則是一個(gè)職場(chǎng)悍婦，”她說(shuō)道，“我曾被貼上標(biāo)簽，而且那也確實(shí)困擾到我了。你必須得相當(dāng)堅(jiān)定，別去想‘老實(shí)說(shuō)，我該不是那樣的’?！?/p>

“被尊重很重要，”她解釋說(shuō)?！叭绻蠹疫€喜歡你，那便是蛋糕上的糖衣，但尊重必須存在，否則你不可能成為一個(gè)成功的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者?！?/p>

“美國(guó)人民有一個(gè)偉大之處，就是他們敢于夢(mèng)想。我們都能將米老鼠從美國(guó)人的心中拿走，但事實(shí)上他們贊美的卻是抱負(fù)。在這個(gè)國(guó)家則很可悲，我們并不樂(lè)意那么做，我們更趨于潑人冷水?！?/p>