Voice of Experience: Stacy Bash Polley, Partner, Co-Head of Fixed Income Sales, Americas, Goldman Sachs

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Stacy Bash PolleyAccording to Stacy Bash Polley, Partner and Co-Head of Fixed Income Sales for the Americas at Goldman Sachs, it’s important for senior women to serve as role models and advocates for the next generation of women in finance.

Bash Polley, co-chair of Goldman Sachs’ Firmwide Women’s Network, said that the group’s events are designed to make senior women aware of their own impact on career development.

She explained that in her experience, there are three ways that women engage: as role models, mentors and advocates. Role models are the most passive of the three, serving as visible examples of career success and inspiring younger women to visualize their own career trajectories. Mentors serve as coaches and counselors, guiding women to optimize their current situations to achieve success. Advocates actively engage in the tactical management of someone’s career, identifying the platform that will allow that person to combine his or her passion and skill set for maximum performance.

“All successful women become role models, so we want them to understand that with more visibility comes more responsibility. Once a woman becomes more senior, she should become a mentor or advocate of more junior women and pay it forward. This is how we get critical mass,” she said.

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Unique Partnership Helps Girls Build Bigger Dreams

FEYWBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Earlier this week, Texas Wall Street Women, a networking and philanthropy group of women in investment management, gathered in Dallas to discuss investment and market trends. The event was held in support of the group’s philanthropic work supporting the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, a public private partnership supporting six all-girls schools around the state.

As one of the key benefactors of the foundation, the networking group provides mentors and financial support for disadvantaged young women attending the Foundation’s schools around Texas. To date, every girl who has participated in the program has been accepted to college – many of them, the first in their family not only to go on to higher education, but simply to finish high school.

Amy Bean, Executive Director of the FEYW, commented, “Texas Wall Street Women’s financial and professional support has been essential in empowering us to meet our college readiness goals for the girls in FEYW’s six schools.”

She added, “Our alumnae enroll in college at nearly twice the rate of other students from the state, and with TWSW’s continued support, we plan to see more phenomenal results unfold at all of our schools across the state of Texas.”

TWSW’s support of the Foundation shows how, by working together, women can make the impact of mentoring even bigger.

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Movers and Shakers: Sonya Sigler, Vice President of Product Strategy, SFL Data

sonyasiglerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Sonya Sigler went on to the Santa Clara School of Law and then took a job as a staff attorney and corporate counsel at Sega. It was 1992, and at the time, the company was growing rapidly. “I helped build certain processes and infrastructure,” she recalled. “And then I went to Intuit for five years, doing very similar work. It was a very entrepreneurial company and it was interesting to support the new business groups.”

During this time, she developed interest in the business side of the technology industry, and soon moved to IDO Systems, a digital software company funded by the owner of LEGO.

After a few years, she was ready for a new challenge, she said, “And I spent the next nine years at Cataphora, as Vice President of Business Development, General Counsel, and CFO. I had a fluid career there, and I enjoyed being able to help where I was needed.”

Cataphora, which she helped found, develops software for monitoring personal and corporate data, and she focused specifically on legal and investigative software.

“And now I’ve found my way to SFL Data.” The company works with e-discovery software and provides managed services for companies and law firms.

Sigler explained that her transition from law to business was based in her desire for more dynamic work. “Since my first job at Sega, I realized I enjoyed the deal side. I liked organizing chaos, and doing the responsibilities no one else wanted to do.”

She felt doing deals was more interesting than the transactional nature of law, and gravitated to the business side, she explained. “I’ve found a way to combine the negotiation skills of law with the business of deal making.”

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Are Women Better Leaders?

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Attractive Asian Business Woman Stands MeetingBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

When you think of a high performing female leader you admire, what traits does she display? Is she innovative? Collaborative? Inspiring? Analytic? Dynamic? Now think about a male leader you admire. How does he approach leadership? What traits does he display?

It shouldn’t surprise you if you tick off a number of similar qualities.

After all, good leaders exhibit many of the same traits, regardless of gender. And while we anticipate that women will perhaps rank higher when it comes to measures of collaboration, developing others, building relationships, and communication, we anticipate that men will perform better when it comes to traits like taking initiative, driving for results, establishing stretch goals, and problem solving.

But, according to new research by Zenger Folkman, it’s time to reexamine those stereotypes. In fact, based on 360 degree evaluations of over 7,000 leaders, not only did women score higher than men on an index of overall leadership effectiveness traits (53 compared to 49), but women ranked higher in twelve out of 16 leadership competencies – including all of the traits listed above.

In fact, the widest gap between men and women leaders was “taking the initiative,” where women scored 11 points higher than men. Why are women performing so much more effectively than male leaders? And why is the gap so wide?

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Why Vulnerability Can Be Your Biggest Strength

Contributed by CEO Coach Henna Inam

In my executive coaching practice, I come across strong and smart women leaders whose success has come from always being prepared, being “on,” proving that they are smarter and more competent than those they compete with for the next opportunity. In their effort to be perceived as strong they often have a hard time being vulnerable. This can now be the one thing that holds them back from their true leadership potential. How can vulnerability be your biggest strength?

The recent viral (three million views) Ted Talk by author Brene Brown discusses the importance of vulnerability. It got me thinking about how important vulnerability is as a leadership practice, particularly for transformational leaders. As transformational leaders our greatest source of impact is through connecting with others. Transformational leaders impact through personal influence of who they are rather than their positional power.  There can only be limited impact in leadership if we have no way to connect with others beyond our transactional hierarchical positions. According to Brene Brown our ability to be vulnerable requires courage and forms the basis for our connection with others, a connection that is critical if we are to inspire others.

But first a true story. I was recently in my zumba dance class when about half-way through the class I noticed an embarrassingly large tear in my zumba pants right around the inseam of the thigh. I was aghast. What if someone else noticed? All the spontaneity and the joy of zumba was gone and I spent the vast majority of the rest of the class somewhat self-conscious, trying my best to hide the tear, and not make very many moves (something sort of counter-productive if you’re in a zumba class). Ultimately I had a “what the heck” moment and decided to just come out of the closet, so to speak. Feigning as much nonchalance as I could muster, I declared to the person dancing next to me “Look at the tear in my pants. Any idea where I can get some good zumba pants?” I had expected some kind of a reaction…horror, embarrassed laugh. I didn’t get any. It was a matter-of-factly “I got a great deal at TJMaxx.” Whew! The fear of being vulnerable was big. The act of being vulnerable felt like relief.

You’re probably wondering “What does a wardrobe malfunction during Zumba have to do with leadership?” I think it’s an interesting metaphor for how, as leaders, we are embarrassed to “bare ourselves” to others. As a leader, have you ever felt that there are parts of yourself you’ve had to check at the door when you come to work? We all have aspects of ourselves that we’re afraid to share for fear of not being accepted, so we check them at the door.  We “numb” who we are to fit a mold that we believe is desirable. The hard part of this according to Brene Brown is that when we “numb ourselves” to not face this fear, it also kills off the joy and connection that we are fully capable of. This is the kind of connection that deeply engages others and creates our potential for transformational leadership.

At this point, I have a confession to make. I don’t do vulnerability well. It takes a lot of effort on my part.  I have spent my entire life convincing myself and others that I’m strong, smart, and in charge.  It got me high positions and stock options. Vulnerability seems like it would be the opposite. In my corporate jobs as a Region President or Chief Marketing Officer, I felt I needed to constantly prove my value to the organization by being smarter than the next person.

Vulnerability is particularly hard for women who have worked tirelessly to get to where they are, or have hidden parts of themselves to fit what they perceive as the “success mold.” So, in my effort to be strong, I made a decision to not be vulnerable, to not show too much emotion, to always be certain, to be convinced and convincing that I am right.

Here is what I have now discovered. Strength and vulnerability are not opposites. Vulnerability requires great levels of strength and courage. It is actually the next level of evolution in our strength as leaders. It requires courage to be who we are, despite our fears of not being accepted or liked.  It requires that we ourselves accept the parts of ourselves that we don’t like or are ashamed of. It requires courage to talk about our failures and take accountability for them. It requires courage to admit that we are feeling uncertain or that we don’t know all the answers. All of these require an evolution within our being in order to grow from being transactional to transformational leaders.

The story goes that the first thing Indra Nooyi did after being told that she was the chosen one to take on the role of CEO of Pepsi, was to get on a plane and get to her biggest competitor for the job. She wanted to convince him to stay with Pepsi. She told him she needed him and that the company would be better with him on board. That’s showing vulnerability. It takes courage.  A smaller person would have been only too glad to let their nemesis leave.

So, how do we evolve in our ability to be vulnerable? Here are some exercises to practice vulnerability.

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Are Finance Careers Fair for Women?

Leader with team in backgroundBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to a new study by Treasury and Risk magazine, twice as many women as men in finance (80% versus 41%) see a glass ceiling for women in the corporate space.

This is only one of the notable divergences in views between men and women about gender in the corporate workplace. For example, the study also revealed that women are generally dissatisfied with corporate efforts to promote senior level diversity – only 43% of women would give their company’s initiatives an A or B grade, while 80% of men would.

But while it’s clear that more women see challenges to their advancement than men do, times are changing. In fact, the percentage of men who do acknowledge that there are unseen barriers to women’s advancement is increasing at a rapid rate. The percentage of men who do acknowledge a glass ceiling has increased significantly since just last year when it was only 29%.

Is it this just a statistical quirk, or does it mean times are changing for women in the industry? Either way, the vast difference between male and females regarding fairness for women in the industry is alarming. Despite (or maybe because of) decades of work to promote diversity in finance, the majority of men do not believe there are hidden biases that prevent women from advancing as quickly as they do – and this could be a barrier in itself.

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Day-to-Day Flexibility Increases, While Career Flex Drops

Businesswoman using smart phoneBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to the latest study [PDF] by the Families and Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management, flexible working options are becoming more common. On the other hand, it’s becoming more difficult for individuals who make significant changes – like taking a break from work for family responsibilities – to get back into the workforce at the same rate as a few years ago.

For example, while the use of flex time, working from home, or taking time off during the day have all increased since the last survey was performed in 2005, more extensive changes in how people work have decreased. The ability to “return to work gradually after childbirth or adoption,” “take a career break,” or “move between part time and full time work,” have all decreased since 2005.

Day-to-day, the need for more flexibility is clear – today we are seeing increased workloads and busier workers, who are often part of dual-career families. New technology is cutting the physical ties that bind people to the office. And companies are recognizing that.

On the other hand, companies do not seem to be acknowledging the importance of retaining long-term, experienced employees who may need to decrease their work-schedule for a more extended amount of time due to personal pulls. Because women disproportionately take extended leaves of absence or shift between full and part time, this new data suggests that companies may face challenges keeping the pipeline of talented women flowing to the top.

Research shows that when companies refuse to work with women based on their long-term flexibility needs, they leave the workforce altogether. And that’s bad for families, communities, and companies.

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Voice of Experience: Stephanie Miller, Managing Director and Global Head of Alternative Investment Services, J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services

Stephanie MillerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Stephanie Miller, Managing Director and Global Head of Alternative Investment Services at J.P. Morgan Worldwide Security Services (WSS), remaining open to change is critical for building a dynamic career. “I find personally – and I hope I exhibit this – that change is really okay.”

She continued, “Even though I’ve been doing this for twenty years, you have to be open to listening to other people, to be open to change. Keep an open mind and try to keep fresh on how you are approaching challenges, so you can continue to take yourself to the next level.”

This spring, Miller joined J.P. Morgan, taking on responsibility of strategy and direction for WSS’s Private Equity & Real Estate Services and Hedge Fund Services businesses. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Miller spent ten years at Citco Fund Services, serving as managing director and running the firm’s North American operations. “I handled the middle office, fund accounting, and transformational and technology change,” she explained. “I’m hoping to achieve the same size and scale of our business list at J.P. Morgan and I’m looking forward to this challenge.”

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Wall Street Exchange Prepares Next Generation for the Job Market

Woman Smiling Behind PodiumBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

It’s springtime – and that means many college students are hard at work, seeking internships and finding how they can make the most of their undergraduate training. But there’s a lot more to getting a job than landing an internship.

That’s why the Financial Women’s Association of New York is, once again, hosting its Wall Street Exchange program. It’s a nine-week program that runs from late June to early August to help students, women and men, learn to navigate Wall Street as they begin their careers.

“The Wall Street Exchange program was started for students between their junior and senior years of college, to prepare them for life after graduation,” Anne Izzillo, President of the FWA explained. “We’re trying to give them the tools they need to find a job and be successful in that job.”

Students learn how to write a resume, work on presentation skills, do mock interviews, and more. And, Izzillo said, the program is just as rewarding to women in the FWA who participate. That’s why the networking group has been successfully operating the program for over two decades.

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New Initiative to Increase Diversity on Director Candidate Slates

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iStock_000009056376XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Earlier this week, almost three hundred women board directors gathered at the second annual WomenCorporateDirectors Global Institute to discuss issues that corporations are facing in an increasingly global and complex marketplace.

Last year, the organization, composed of over 1,400 women in 42 chapters around the world, put forth a call to action to increase board diversity. In order to do so, this year, the group announced its newest project: the WCD Global Nominating Commission, a task force of CEOS and nominating committee chairs from top corporate boards, which will focus on increasing diversity on candidate slates for directorships.

Henrietta H. Fore, global co-chair of WCD, CEO and chairman of Holsman International, and a director at ExxonMobil and Theravance, Inc, said, “With the Commission, we are taking on the next challenge – urging nominating committees, who determine the composition of the board, to focus on global diversity.”

She added, “We will work with these important decision-makers in a whole new way.”

Alison A. Winter, global co-chair and co-founder of WCD and a director at Nordstrom, added, “With greater demand on boards and from boards to increase diversity, the Global Nominating Commission will be an important center of influence for nominating committees worldwide.”

Increasing diversity on candidate slates has been touted as a way to build more diverse boards, without resorting to quota rules that have been adopted in countries in Europe and Asia. Board diversity has been shown time and time again to drive better decision-making and has been correlated with increased corporate revenues.

Based on the challenges that corporations will face in the coming years, diversity can only improve boards’ ability to tackle the tangled web of global opportunities that lie ahead.

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