How to Find Your Sponsor

KendraReddyContributed by Kendra Reddy, Leadership Coach and Talent Consultant, Blueprint Strategies

Like you, I am thoroughly invested in my career and growth as a leader. To help me along this journey, I rely on the insights, advice, feedback, and guidance of others whom I respect and admire. For a long time, I hadn’t given much thought to categorizing or formalizing the role of each of these amazing individuals – I simply put them all on my list of Go To People – until recently, when a client asked me about the difference between a coach, mentor, and supporter. Here is the information and advice I gave her:

A coach is someone who is skilled at asking powerful questions designed to facilitate your self-discovery and unlock your own insights. They are there to help you find your own answers, and you usually do more talking than they do. A mentor provides more explicit advice (usually based on their own experiences) and is there to answer your questions and offer recommendations. When they speak, you listen. A supporter is someone who believes in your abilities, and actively advocates for you throughout the organization or industry. Often, they speak on your behalf.

Sponsors believe in you, champion your growth and development, help remove roadblocks and provide you with visibility at tables and in circles you may not have direct access to. They look for opportunities to share your achievements with those who, otherwise, may not be aware of the great work you’re doing. In a nutshell, they endorse your brand. With women making up more than 46% of the workforce, and 4 in 10 companies worldwide still having no women in senior positions… a glass ceiling is clearly still in place. Adding a sponsor to your personal Board of Trusted Alliances and Advisors is a smart strategy.

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5 Remarkable Traits of Female Firsts

TinaSavasContributed by Tina Savas, author of Women of True Grit

What does it take to be the first woman in your field? Do you have it in you? Are you born with a certain gene that enables you to withstand the pressure of taking risks? Perhaps your outstanding ability to successfully face obstacles began at an early age…at home… with nurturing parents or pushy parents who enabled you to reach a level not ever achieved by another woman. Or maybe the very nature of time allowed you to achieve greatness. After all, many people believe women have arrived, and attribute this notion of time as the sole reason for bringing about change in women’s achievements. We’ve all heard it said, “It’s about time!”

But for many women who set firsts in their fields, what they heard was that the time wasn’t right for a fight or a fuss over what they wanted to do, and they challenged the naysayers to make it the right time and to make it NOW.

Yes, it takes courage, vision and integrity to reach for your dreams, but, as I see it, there are very definable traits that set you apart.

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.

The big news this week involved Ireland’s €85bn bailout loan from the EU and IMF, increasing concern over Europe’s spreading sovereign debt crisis, and uncertainty following North and South Korean exchanges of fire over Yeonpyeong Island.

Economic Backdrop

  • Ireland unveiled a four-year, €15bn programme of tax rises and spending cuts billed as “The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014”. It aims to reduce the deficit to 3 % of GDP by 2014, assuming real GDP growth of 2.75 % annually between 2011 and 2014. The government will cut the minimum wage by almost 12 %, slash welfare expenditure, reduce public sector pay and lower the rate at which earners start to pay income tax. Expenditure will be cut by €10bn and taxes raised by €5bn between 2011 and 2014. The plan was needed to win approval from Ireland’s European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund this weekend for an emergency rescue package of €85bn. This will take Ireland’s total debt up to 160 % of GDP. The loan will be at 5.83% and Ireland has been given until 2015 to reduce it deficit to 3%.
  • Stock markets had a turbulent week lower due to fears of Irish political deadlock, European sovereign debt contagion, and geopolitical tension between the Koreas.
  • The euro dropped the most against the dollar in three months as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the 16-nation currency was in an “exceptionally serious” situation after Ireland asked for a financial rescue.
  • The Ifo index showed that business confidence in Germany this month reached its highest since the reunification of the country.
  • China’s current-account surplus rose to $102.3bn in Q3, double the amount from a year earlier and about 7.2% of GDP.
  • The minutes of the November Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting revealed the following projections:
    • The Jobless/unemployment rate is projected to rise in Q4 2011 to 8.9% to 9.1 %, compared with 8.3 % to 8.7 % in the June forecast;
    • The US economy is forecast to expand by 3 % to 3.6 % next year, down from a 3.5 % to 4.2 % projection in June;
      Inflation Outlook: forecasts for inflation, excluding food and energy, were little changed for the next two years;
    • Previously-owned home sales in America were 2.2% lower in October than in September, and 25.9% lower than in October 2009, when first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit
    • America’s economy grew faster in Q3 than previously thought: by 2.5% at an annual rate, against an initial estimate of 2%.
    • Federal Reserve policy makers disagreed over expanding record monetary stimulus this month, with a majority seeing a boost to growth and employment and a minority concerned about risks to inflation and the dollar.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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iStock_000013858824XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

The Glass Hammer is taking a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US. We’d like to give thanks for all of the incredible women (and men) who are working hard to shatter the glass ceiling.

If you have some time off this week, why not catch up on a few of our recent most popular stories?

Additionally, The Glass Hammer is always looking for ways to showcase the women who inspire and empower us – if you’d like to nominate someone to be profiled on the site as Voice of Experience, Mover and Shaker, or Rising Star, please get in touch with me at melissa@theglasshammer.com. We’re also looking for more Intrepid Women, who are pushing their boundaries personally and professionally, as well as subject matter experts to contribute to our ask-the-expert column.

Finally, this is a busy time of year for just about everyone. In honor of Thanksgiving, consider taking few minutes to thank your mentor for their help and advice. A simple thank-you goes a long way, and will be much appreciated during the holiday rush.

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Voice of Experience: Diane Reyes, Managing Director, Global Payments Head, Global Transaction Services, Citi

DianeReyesBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Having been named to either US Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking or its 25 Women to Watch lists for the last four years, Diane S. Reyes, Global Payments Head for Citi’s Global Transaction Services, is certainly a woman to admire. And she has plenty of good advice for rising female business leaders. For example, Reyes said it’s important to apply for jobs that may be a stretch, “even if you’re not 100% qualified,” she said.

Reyes explained, “Interviewing hones your skills – and you may not get the first job, but maybe the second or third. Every couple of years, try to interview for the next opportunity.”

She said women need to work hard to display their strategic value. “Make sure you’re perceived as strategic, rather than trying to solve everything yourself. There is a difference between delegating and executing. You have to be able to articulate the long-term strategy to your team and delegate the execution to them.”

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Boomerang Pipeline Program Pays for Itself

By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Just three hours after opening registration for the 2010 Accounting MOVE Project, which measures and supports the advancement of women at public accounting firms, a firm by the name of Rothstein Kass registered to participate and initially, this is what grabbed Joanne Cleaver’s attention. Cleaver is the president and founder of the research firm Wilson-Taylor Associates, and in partnership with the American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) and the American Woman’s Society of Certified Public Accountants (AWSCPA), she has put out the yearly Accounting MOVE report. The annual report highlights the best and the brightest in the accounting profession, while also shedding light on the challenges women in the industry face and the challenges firms face when trying to engage, retain, and advance these women.

During the interview process with members of Rothstein Kass, Cleaver quickly realized that the firm had something special. “As we got to know them and understand their culture, we realized that they were very purposeful and strategic in how they chose to advance their programs,” Cleaver said. “Admittedly their programs are still in the process of rippling through to the top levels. Less than 10 percent of principles at the firm are women – that’s below the norm, but their pipeline is filled with more talented, qualified women than other firms and the number of female principles is set to change in the very near future.”

The reason for this is what Cleaver likes to refer to not as the silver bullet, but as the “silver cannonball.” Three of the biggest challenges accounting firms face are increasing revenue, increasing the number of clients, and retaining women in the pipeline. In the accounting industry women are leaving in droves at the cusp of becoming partner and Rothstein Kass’ Rainmakers Roundtable not only addresses all three of these problems, but it’s a women’s pipeline development program that pays for itself.

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Intrepid Woman: Building the Future in Uganda

chrissiBy Chrissi McCarthy, Founder of Constructing Equality (Liverpool, UK)

In the summer of 2005 I was asked to go to Uganda with an English charity to help build a school in the small village of Keyo in the North of the country, just outside of Gulu. It was an area struggling to progress itself, having been caught up in the civil war that is still affecting the country and was badly in need of new educational facilities to help educate the next generation and provide a future.

Having spent four years in the UK construction industry working as a site engineer before taking a recent promotion into site management, I was asked to set out the two buildings before the rest of the team of English volunteers arrived to help with the general labouring.

In that first week there was only me, the two fundraising coordinators, and the English appointed site manager representing the charity, the rest of the workforce were local Ugandans working on the project at that time.

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The Other Side of Performance Metrics?

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iStock_000004944174XSmallBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

If you complete timesheets, you’ll know how important it is to make sure the numbers at the end of the month look good. After all, you’re judged as much on the time you spend at work – which might even be billed to clients – as you are on what you actually do.

But what would happen if we scrapped the insistence on measuring time spent at the desk and focused solely on results? Surely the working world would be a happier place, with employees judged and rewarded on their contributions, and able to go home early if they meet their objectives before 5pm. Unfortunately, there are also issues that come with adopting this type of working culture. Employees could focus on their targets to the detriment of being a team player. It could increase competition in the office and have a damaging effect on morale. These are some of the reasons that managers fail to embrace an organisational culture that looks at performance metrics as more than just hours chained to your laptop.

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Brokering Change: Goldman Sachs’ Interbank Conference for Multicultural Women

Business meeting.By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

On Friday, Goldman Sachs hosted its third annual interbank conference for multicultural women in the financial services, Brokering Change. The event, which featured distinguished speakers on the subject of diversity and inclusion, was opened by Edith Cooper, Goldman Sachs’ Managing Director and Global Head of Human Capital Management.

Cooper said, “To be the best we have to have diversity – it’s a business imperative.” She continued, “And financial services in the US will not be the best unless we embrace differences.”

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Ask the Right Career Questions. Now.

Feminine Business 2By Hua Wang (Chicago)

Women face a variety of obstacles in their efforts to advance to upper management. The majority of upper management are made up of men, and bosses tend to promote people like themselves. The absence of performance feedback, mentoring and formal career guidance can further hinder women’s career progression. Below is a guide to the five questions women need to ask in order to get the next promotion.

How Do I Talk About My Strengths?

Bragging is often seen as a dirty word, but effective self-promotion can significantly help you land a coveted job or advancement. Due to cultural factors, many women are uncomfortable with taking credit for their accomplishments and fear that touting themselves may backfire.

During job interviews, for instance, men are much better than women at crisply describing what differentiates them. Women should know what the choice assignments are, speak up for them, and let influential people know what they’ve done.

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