Movers and Shakers: Anika Khan, Vice President, Economist, Wells Fargo

AnikaKhanBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Anika Khan, Vice President and Economist at Wells Fargo, said one key to advancing your career is cultivating a broad knowledge base – but also developing an expertise in a field you are passionate about.

She explained, “If I was to think of one thing I wish I knew when I was starting out it would be to be an expert in something, but know a little bit about everything.”

“When you begin your career, you’re trying to get a sense of everything. But when I became a subject matter expert my career really gained upward momentum.”

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Illuminating the Value in Gender Differences

iStock_000001252411XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

In many companies, efforts to convince management to dedicate resources toward the advancement and retention of women continue to fall on deaf ears. Decades of effort have gone into conveying the point that women are just as valuable as men – yet a misunderstanding of “value” often causes people to miss the point of gender diversity.

To many people, “equal value” means “sameness.” They think, if men and women are the same, then why should we expend so much effort increasing our numbers of women when they will contribute in the same way as men?

Of course men and women are of equal value, but whether by social conditioning or biological construction, they aren’t the same. Studies show that, in general, women think through problems differently than men, are motivated differently than men, and build relationships differently than men.

Efforts toward gender diversity don’t mean the “feminization” of the corporate space as one recent Forbes contributor so distressingly put it. Gender diversity means that companies have the benefit of a multitude of viewpoints and ways of solving problems and a wealth of critical insight to draw from as they approach 21st century complexity in a diverse, global marketplace.

But this is the problem that diversity advocates face – a misunderstanding of the value of diversity that leads many to believe that diversity is nothing more than a numbers game designed to annoy people with more important work to do. And this is why Barbara Annis says she developed the concept of Gender Intelligence two decades ago.

“I was really looking at the concept of gender equality, and how to advance and retain women – but that mindset is really a numbers game. I didn’t approach how men change their mindset for equality.”

She continued, “Especially in finance and technology, companies were saying ‘we’ve got one woman or we’ve got five women,’ but they weren’t saying ‘we need their perspective.’”

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Emotion Analytics: The Missing Ingredient in Personal and Professional Risk Management

DeniseShullContributed by Denise Shull, Author of Market Mind Games: A Radical Psychology of Investing, Trading and Risk

We have all heard it a thousand times: “take the emotion out of it.” We have heard it from our bosses, our friends, and certainly from our financial advisors.

Yet as far as investments go, analysts now give “conviction” ratings along with their buy and sell ratings. What’s with that? If conviction doesn’t imply an emotion – surety or confidence – what does it imply? Think about it: is confidence a feeling or a thought? It is a feeling, right? It may be based on thought, but when it emerges, it is a feeling – something we experience physically, like all feelings.

The fact of the decision-making matter is that no one, no matter what he or she claims, can make any sort of decision without emotion. There is no disputing the research on this matter. A top game theorist and neuroeconomist said, “it is not enough to know what should be done, one must also feel it.”

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Shifting From Peer to Boss: Five Things You Need To Know

iStock_000017447641XSmallBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, author and managing partner of Schaffer Consulting Ron Ashkenas delves into an important subject: what happens when you get promoted and your relationship with co-workers must change from that of peer to boss?

This is not an unusual scenario. A common refrain is to be good to everyone because you never know who will be your next boss. The issue, Ashkenas points out, is that there’s no guidebook for how to navigate this uncomfortable and incredibly awkward situation.

According to Kim Zilliox, an executive coach with almost 20 years of experience, the bottom line is that once you are promoted, that is your primary responsibility. This does not mean that you can’t remain friends with your reports, but you will need to look at what needs to change when it comes to how you interact with your former peers. How will you ensure you are not making your other reports feel uncomfortable? How will you make sure you remain objective about your previous colleague’s work? There are no easy answers, but excellent communication is critical.

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Voice of Experience: Lisa Sawicki, Partner, Assurance, PwC

LisaSawickiBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Be proud of your accomplishments,” advised Lisa Sawicki, an assurance partner in PwC’s Charlotte office, and national diversity leader of the firm’s assurance practice.

“I still think we have a dynamic, even among successful women, to be less forthcoming with their accomplishments. Be confident and willing to talk about them!”

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Why Girls Need Mentors

iStock_000017829061XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to a new study produced by The Girl Scouts of the USA, four out of ten girls say they have had no opportunities to interact with successful women during the last school year. That could be why so many of them (38%) said they weren’t sure if they were cut out to be a leader.

The study, conducted by Roper Research, polled 1,000 girls between the ages of eight and seventeen. Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA believes “ToGetHerThere: Girls’ Insights on Leadership” shows that role models must be made more visible to girls everywhere, so that they see themselves as leaders.

“It is abundantly clear that our girls have a vision of their leadership potential that is incompatible with what we know they can achieve,” she said.

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What To Do When a Colleague is Behaving Badly

iStock_000016008360XSmallBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

One day while at work, you receive an anonymous note under your door informing you that one of your firm’s sales managers is rumored to be frequently intoxicated while at work. Not just any sales manager, however, but one who’s known as being a real “rainmaker” and a favorite among senior management.

If that’s not bad enough, he’s also carrying on an affair with a woman in the sales department and is becoming known for yelling and cursing at colleagues while intoxicated. If this sounds like the plot of a very dark comedy, think again. Theresa Jones (not her real name), the head of HR for a regional office of a large international consulting firm, said she had to navigate her way through this very scenario. And according to a recently-released survey, this type of workplace behavior may be more common than you think.

The study revealed that of the 500 London-based mid-mangers surveyed, one in 10 admits to taking illegal drugs at work and work-related social events. It was also discovered that more than 29 percent have witnessed colleagues taking drugs, with class A drugs (those treated by the law as the most dangerous) being the most widely-used. For London-based professionals, the most popular drug seems to be cocaine, with 40 percent of workplace drug users admitting to using the stimulant at work.

While addiction may be the cause of this bad behavior, other factors also come into play. Apparently, peer pressure is prevalent outside of high school, as this reason was cited as the most common for taking illicit substances at work. Nearly 21 percent surveyed said they partook “because everybody else is taking them.” Perhaps more shocking, one in five said they participated in illicit behavior because their boss did and they thought participating would make them more apt for a promotion.

Participating in this type of bad behavior could suggest bigger problems, like alcoholism or drug addiction (five percent surveyed blamed addiction) for your colleague. But what are you supposed to do if you suspect a colleague is using at work or engaging in other harmful, illicit behaviors?

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Voice of Experience: Rosalie Mandel, Principal, New Jersey Office, Rothstein Kass

RosalieMandelBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“As a woman in a challenging industry, making principal is something I’m extremely proud of. But working on a flex schedule while I did it is even more of an achievement for me,” said Rosalie Mandel, Principal of the alternative investments accounting firm Rothstein Kass‘s New Jersey office. Mandel is an exuberant supporter of women in accounting, she believes that firms can be more successful when they fully support the work/life needs of their employees. That means supporting talented women with flexible schedules that make sense for their individual lives.

She said, “I really don’t believe in work/life balance – I believe in integration. How do you define success? That’s your balance.”

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Five Important Tips To Get on a Corporate Board

Contributed by CEO Coach Henna Inam

More and more corporate boards are seeking to diversify their ranks. Yet, in the US only 15.7% of board seats are held by women. The data published by Catalyst, shows companies with three or more women board directors in four of five years outperformed companies with zero women board directors ― by 84% return on sales, 60% return on invested capital, and 46% return on equity.

And corporate boards are one of the best part-time jobs around. Median pay in 2010 was $212,500, up a projected +10% in 2011. That is a pretty good hourly salary for an average of 4.3 hours of work per week according to a survey by NACD.  In addition to a great salary, 96% of board members according to a survey by WCD [PDF] are satisfied with their job. Great salary. Short hours. Great job satisfaction. Does this sound like a job you would like to have?

Here’s the challenge. Many women don’t understand the steps to take early in their careers to best position and prepare themselves to get on boards and miss the boat. Another challenge according to a Heidrick & Struggles 2011 Survey done with the Women Corp Directors group, is that it takes women 6 months longer than men (an average of 2.3 yrs vs. 1.7 yrs) to get on a Board. According to the research [PDF], women feel that the primary reasons why there are fewer women on boards is because of the closed networks that decide who gets on what boards. Men on the other hand believe that fewer women on boards is attributable to the fact that there are fewer women in executive roles to choose from.

Here are 5 practical steps to take to increase your chances of getting on a public company board.

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Bounce Back: How to Overcome Professional Setbacks

iStock_000002493020XSmallBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

Onward and upward is a familiar mantra to those who have encountered professional setbacks. And let’s face it—most everyone at some point must deal with unwanted, and in many cases, unexpected, job-related stumbling blocks along their career path.

Whether due to a layoff, management shakeup, office politics, or a bad boss, career setbacks have the potential to be disorienting at best, and debilitating at worst. By the nature of such disappointments, career blows can affect our sense of professionalism, livelihood, and self-esteem.

Though the initial tendency may be to avoid dealing head-on with major setbacks because of complexity and emotion, taking the time to learn from these experiences can help turn what looks like an end of the road into just a bend. “When dealing with a setback, I really don’t like to figure out what I did wrong, but eventually you have to,” says Becky Walzak, president and CEO of Walzak Consulting. “I have learned that the distance of time is the best microscope for assessing why things happened the way they did.”

Despite the inherent challenges in being faced with career impediments, there are ways you can get back on track more quickly after you’ve been derailed. The Glass Hammer spoke candidly with several women who have suffered significant setbacks in their professional lives yet found ways to successfully overcome their obstacles. The following strategies summarize the group’s best advice on how to move onward and upward from negative job experiences.

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