Voice of Experience: Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I think you have to take risks,” said Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation. “Be willing to stretch yourself. We get comfortable in the job that we do. We have to be willing to embrace change and take calculated risks – it doesn’t mean being reckless.”

“You’ll have stumbles, but you need to take stretch opportunities – otherwise you’ll never show your worth.”

One big risk she took – a two and a half year long assignment in London – really paid off, St. Clair said. “It was the hardest thing I did – moving my children mid-year and putting my career ahead of my husband’s at that time. We are supportive of each other, looking at opportunities as they arise.”

“Finding a flat, and even finding a doctor was challenging. But I think it brings you together as a family,” she recalled. “It was a great experience. Especially when my oldest daughter said she wanted to know how I had arranged it, and that she hoped to provide that experience for her kids someday.”

Career in Operations and Technology

St. Clair spent the first 12 years of her career at the company that is now Accenture as a financial systems consultant. In 1993, she took a role in operations at Northern Trust, running accounting related groups. When the firm bought Baring Asset Management, St. Clair led the integration of the two companies. “That meant the people, the benefits, and the systems – everything,” she said. “Northern Trust doesn’t do a lot of acquisitions, but when we do, we go all out.”

Her work with the integration required moving her family from Chicago to London for two and a half years, she explained. It also meant getting a better understanding of how to work with regulators. “After we bought the financial services group we became a larger entity, a new global bank. That meant the lens of regulators changed.”

St. Clair counts her work leading the integration as one of her proudest achievements. “It was a stretch for me,” she explained. “It really gave me a global view of our company and I now know people all over the firm. But it was a risk. I left my role managing about a thousand people and went to a more virtual team.”

“But that accountability and responsibility came with visibility. I got to meet the management group and board, as well as regulators.”

“After that I was asked to lead risk management as Chief Risk Officer covering a period of the financial crisis,” she continued. “Through the financial crisis, there was a focus on the interdependencies of various banks. It totally changed the arena as well.”

“And then I was asked to come back to operations in March of last year.”

She continued, “We’re in an era of unprecedented regulatory change. There are still a lot of unknowns. When you think about the Dodd Frank legislation, there are still a lot of rules yet to come. We’re in a period of unrest. Longstanding institutions are changing more now than they have historically.”

“The challenge now is making banking an interesting career for the best and brightest of today’s and tomorrow’s emerging talent.”

Operations and the Workplace of Tomorrow

“I’ve been spending a lot of time on employee engagement,” St. Clair explained. “I lead a large group of people around the globe – Singapore, India, London, Dublin, the US. Work flows around the globe. And we have the youngest staff – that’s the nature of the business I’m in.”

She continued, “That has caused some challenges – considering the traditional methods we’ve always used, I don’t believe we’ve reached the full potential of all of our staff.”

“We need to learn to connect with employees in ways that resonate. I truly believe that the more our employees understand the strategy of Northern Trust and how they fit in, they will deliver more than the sum of the parts.”

That means embracing new technologies and systems. For example, she explained, “We’re asking if we need to look at performance reviews differently. Living in the Facebook era, many of our employees expect instant feedback. How do I overlay that type of mindset with the performance reviews we do on an annual or semi-annual basis? We continue to evolve.”

Women in Banking

“You do have an ability to select where you work,” St. Clair said. “And I’ve always made sure I’ve worked for inclusive organizations. So my advice is to get an understanding of the culture of the organization you’re going to work for.”

She added that a third of Northern Trust’s management group is female. “We’ve spent a lot of time mentoring and advising and ensuring qualified women are in the pipeline.”

But, she says, women could benefit from speaking up about their achievements more often. “Job performance is important, but so is doing positive PR.”

She continued, “And looking at the industry overall, sometimes the natural camaraderie between groups of women and groups of men don’t always bridge the divide. But I think future generations are moving past that. Looking at my kids, who are in college and high school, the ease of befriending members of the opposite sex seems to be more natural than it was in my generation.”

Finally, she said, don’t underestimate the importance of active career planning. “You need to take charge of your career. Make your aspirations known. In my view, men still do a better job of articulating what they want. People cannot read your mind – it’s okay to voice those concerns in the proper way. It’s not viewed as complaining – it’s communicating.”

“Make sure you have a personal brand and make your desires known,” she added.

As women advance to higher levels in their careers, St. Clair advised, networks become more important. “We do use each other as a sounding board. I try to have a peer group both at Northern Trust and outside Northern Trust. The external group can give you a different perspective.”

She continued, “At different points in time, you need a different lens. Advice from people in different places is really helpful.”

“You really have to spend the time to network throughout your life, so the support is there when you need it,” she added.

Managing Work Life Challenges

St. Clair believes work life challenges can be alleviated when you have a network of support. “My mother worked, my sisters work, my mother-in-law worked, my sisters-in-law work, most of my friends work. I have a very supportive network, and it validates the choices I’ve made,” she explained. “It helps me come up with ways to balance work and home life. You make choices and trade-offs.”

“I also recommend outsourcing some tasks. I don’t spend as much time on things that aren’t valued at home,” she continued. On the other side of the equation, she’s also learned to delegate effectively, and hire the best people she can. “It makes my job easier to have someone who can succeed me, so I can grow in my career as well.”

“Make sure you listen to your family about their needs,” she advised. Sometimes, she explained, it’s more valuable to do a few important things than lots of things that aren’t as meaningful. “When my daughter was younger, she wanted me to do one thing – serve a hot meal at school. It took two hours per month. I was doing so many things, but, when I actually asked her, that’s what she felt she needed.”

Finally, she recommended that women make sure they anticipate change. “Things are going to change. You need to be aware of that. It’s natural, and it’s just something you need to work through.”

Women at Northern Trust

St. Clair praised Northern Trust on its effort to provide opportunities and support for women, and she herself has helped form groups with the goal of advancing women.

“The first one is now a large group, our Women’s Leadership Business Resource Council. When we first started we did meetings out of one of the women’s homes. It has turned from a small group of women to a global network of 1,200 members. What I think we did really well is turn that over to the next generation of women so it’s now meeting the needs of women today.”

She continued, “That gets more women encouraged and buying into the value of helping other women. And it’s blossomed out even broader than we ever thought it would be.”

The other group St. Clair helped found was the Leadership Development Forum, a global development program for women which was relaunched in 2008. “It’s a safe place for us to bring issues and get advice.”

Additionally, she mentioned Northern Trust’s flexible work program. “I realized early on that it was advantageous for me as a manager to look at different options to retain good employees, like job sharing, part time schedules, and the ability to work from home.”

She continued, “This was the ‘90s, so mostly it was women participating at the time. But I saw that women were extremely loyal when they were able to utilize flexible work. Now I’m happy to say that when you look at our flexible work schedules, it’s not only used by women, but some men as well. We offer various flexible work options to make sure we attract and retain top employees.”

She added, “I think if you give a little, if I’m flexible with you when you need something, you’re going to be loyal to the Northern Trust overall. It’s a matter of mutual respect. When you look at Northern Trust, we have so many employees who are really long tenured employees here. That’s something I’m passionate about.”

In Her Spare Time

“My passion is traveling with my family,” St. Clair said. “I have a husband and three kids and our philosophy is that you never remember how long a plane ride really is – you remember the experience as a way to reconnect with your family. The more different the culture is to your own, I think you share it in different ways.”

She continued, “My children have a much better appreciation for global and social issues than I ever had at their age.”