The Five C’s of Cultivating Courage for Stretch Roles

Contributed by CEO Coach Henna Inam

Do you have the courage to ask for and take on high-profile roles that will really stretch and prepare you for the big leadership positions? Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has said “Leadership belongs to those who take it.” Will you make the decision to take it?

Imagine a scenario where you’re being asked to move to a new country where you don’t speak the language. You’re being promoted to a general manager position, one you’ve never been in before. You’ll have P&L responsibility, and will manage functions you’ve never worked in. You have about 10 times the people responsibility you’ve ever handled in your career. You’ll be working for someone you’ve barely met before. It’s a crisis situation that requires a turn-around. And oh, your boss’s boss tells you that the company’s CEO is watching closely. “You’ll do great. Have fun” he says. Would you take it?

I did.

Recent Catalyst research among high potential men and women suggests that 70% of leadership growth happens on the job. Yet women get less access to the “hot jobs,” stretch assignments with high visibility, P&L responsibility, and international work experience they need to develop. In many situations women are perceived to be less willing to take the risky stretch assignments, so they are not even considered for these roles. How do we change this perception? Read on for five steps to cultivate courage.

While organizations work on removing the glass ceiling on these stretch jobs, each of us as women leaders have work to do as well. Our work is to understand our strengths, our priorities, unique motivators, and bust through the “glass ceiling” in our heads. We want to cultivate the courage to powerfully ask for and grow through the stretch roles that are right for us. As hierarchies flatten, we need to think strategically about the unique path we want to carve out for ourselves in the “career lattice.”

In my 20-year corporate career, I had many stretch assignments. In some I was hugely successful, in others not so much. In both cases, I learned a lot, probably more from the failures. Here’s what I learned about preparing for and taking on these roles.

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Movers and Shakers: Catherine Reimer, Vice President, Senior Insurance Portfolio Manager, ING U.S. Investment Management

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

After excelling in mathematics at her Quebec high school, Catherine Reimer, now Vice President and Senior Insurance Portfolio Manager at ING U.S. Investment Management, went on to study actuarial science in college. For her first internship, she worked on the investment side of an insurance company and from there she was hooked. “I really enjoyed the dynamic environment of fixed income,” she said. She began her career working in asset and liability management and then moved to new product development for institutional clients, derivatives and then to Insurance Portfolio Management.

“I had a great boss at the time, who gave me plenty of opportunities to work on new projects. When he moved to the USA, he asked me to work at his new company, so I moved to the USA too.”

In fact, Reimer emphasized the importance of good bosses and mentors she has had along the way in helping build her career. “I’ve never had a formal mentor, but I have been blessed with having really strong male bosses, who opened doors for me and gave me credit when I deserved it. Being surrounded by great people has been the key to my career.”

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Women’s Initiatives: Driving Business for Law Firms

By Robin Madell (San Francisco)

As chief diversity officers have emphasized worldwide, creating more opportunities for women in the workplace isn’t just a feel-good proposition: it makes business sense. Many law firms are clearly noting this fact, evidenced by the increasing number of “women’s initiatives” being launched – initiatives that have a clear business focus. These initiatives are dedicated to supporting and promoting the talent and career aspirations of female attorneys in the legal industry, and also generating revenue.

“I believe that well-structured women’s initiatives are important to firms’ overall business and bottom line in that they can provide women the tools to work better in the law firm environment and to develop business more successfully,” says Kelly Turner, president of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law and Of Counsel at Locke Lord LLP. “They also can provide a built-in support network for women lawyers looking to advance within their firms and exposure to the firms’ women leaders and rainmakers.”

“Women are an ever-increasing piece of the business population,” says Yolanda Kanes, who heads up the women’s initiative at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP (THSH) and is a partner and co-chair of the firm’s Trusts & Estates practice. “The issues regarding women remain somewhat unique, because in addition to taking on expanded business and professional responsibilities, we remain committed to maintaining the family aspect of our lives, and struggle daily to balance those responsibilities which can often cut deeply into our professional lives. Women’s initiative groups help bring the business production side of our working life into focus.”

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Your Strengths & Triple Chocolate Cake: When Less is More

Contributed by Sara Canaday

You know what they say about too much of a good thing… Besides triple chocolate cake, that concept also applies to our behaviors in the workplace.

Our peers and supervisors might tell us how much they appreciate our unstoppable enthusiasm. We have been rewarded for this attribute, so we crank it up. Then we discover later that our great reputation as an energetic team member has somehow morphed into a reputation as someone who drinks too many Red Bulls before 9 a.m.

Without realizing it, we have crossed the line. Our positive attribute starts having a negative impact. Even if it’s inadvertent, it can be just as devastating to our careers.

This is an example of what I call our professional blind spots – the unintentional behaviors that hold us back, even when we seem to be doing everything else right to get ahead. Sometimes we simply can’t see what’s blocking our success. It might be very subtle, but our colleagues have the advantage of an outside perspective. And they notice. Sadly, those subtle behaviors can have enormous negative impact when we are being considered for jobs, promotions, bonuses, or stock options.

While we may be able to think of people who don’t recognize the impact of their own personality quirks, this is much harder to pinpoint. Overdoing our own strengths is a seductive blind spot that can sabotage even the most promising careers. As women, we have enough challenges moving beyond the glass ceiling without undermining our own efforts with hidden blind spots. So how can we avoid this trap, allowing one of our best assets to silently become a liability?

I want to share two strategies that can help you capitalize on your strengths to accelerate your career without unknowingly dragging down your forward momentum.

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Selling Your Skills: Sales Techniques Everyone Should Master

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Avis Yates Rivers began her career at Exxon Corporation in the 1970s. She rapidly rose through the ranks of the company, moving from an administrative position to HR and training, and then into sales – which is where she really began to shine. When the company launched a new technology division (Exxon Office Systems Corporation), she took a role selling early technology in downtown Manhattan.

For Yates Rivers, part of the reason she enjoyed her job so much was the sense of adventure. “I realized how much I loved sales,” she recalled. “How much I loved walking into a door and not knowing who was going to be on the other side, and just feeling happy.”

After five successful years in technology sales at Exxon, she learned the division was going to be sold. “I began thinking seriously that I should be doing this for myself,” Yates Rivers explained. “This was after several years of overachieving my sales goals. It was something I liked and something I was good at. To me, the most reasonable step was to start my own business. This was 1985.”

Yates Rivers went on to found her own technology company, and today, she is the CEO of Technology Concepts Group International, a business that delivers critical IT asset management and leasing solutions to corporations, across many industries. A successful entrepreneur for 27 years, Yates Rivers is also on the board of the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), and she participates in other groups such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization.

She shared her advice on the most important sales skills women should learn. Whether you’re working in sales or not, understanding the building blocks of a successful sales career can help you build your own.

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No More Ms. Perfect

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By Robin Madell (San Francisco)

“I have a note on my refrigerator that says, ‘If you’re not f***ing up, you’re not in the game.’ This is my constant reminder to be OK with making mistakes and that it’s better to try new things and fail than to do nothing.”

–Ruth Carter, Owner/Attorney, Carter Law Firm, PLLC

The new year is a great time to work on fighting perfectionist tendencies. When else do we have so many goals and plans? There’s nothing like an impossible list of expectations to throw a perfectionist into overdrive.

A tendency toward perfectionism can prevent women from trying new things or taking career risks. But it can also drive women to excel and achieve at the highest levels. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater — so how can professional women maintain the drive that comes from a quest for perfection, while gaining the flexibility that comes with letting themselves fail?

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Voice of Experience: Julie Sweet, General Counsel, Accenture

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Reflecting on her career, Julie Sweet, General Counsel at Accenture, says her path was shaped by a drive to do the unexpected. “One thing to note is that I didn’t set out early in my career to be the general counsel at a big company.”

She explained, “Sometimes early in their careers, young people think they have to have it all figured out. But I think it’s important to leave your life open to unexpected opportunities.”

Sweet began her career at the global law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and spent ten years there after making partner. In 2010, she made the leap into the corporate space at Accenture. “At each stage of my career, I’ve really focused on doing something that others haven’t done – I call that exploring uncharted territory,” she said.

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The Perfect Person: Finding, Hiring, and Training New Talent with the Human Factor

Contributed by Filippo Galluppi

How do we find people to help us?

Traditionally, hiring someone during a recession should be easier than during a time of full employment. But we are not looking for just bodies today. We are looking for someone who can be interested in what we are doing and who we want to have working for or with us and who will be easy to train (if necessary).

We may also add to the requirement (in some cases) that the candidate be innovative or teach us something without their wanting to take over our job. That leads to questions like, “Would that put them in competition with us, to the detriment of both of us?” Now what? Where to find them for the least expense or the least amount of time?

We can start with networking and putting the word out with vendors, suppliers, customers, and in some cases competitors. After trying networking, it may be possible to contact the Human Resources departments of other companies that are in a downsizing mode. This can be especially useful if you are in a position to accept an even part-time candidate on a temporary basis while conducting a wider range search. If you’re looking for experience it’s one thing, if you’re just looking for someone to train, it’s another.

However, if you remember the human factor, you can find the perfect person to hire and train – in order to meet your needs as an employer and theirs as an employee. Here’s how.

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Starting Your Next Life Chapter: Five Tips to Protect Your Legacy

By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

For many women, the most difficult part of leaving a company they’ve spent years at – no matter the reason for their departure (retirement, reinvention, or realignment) – is the fear of what will happen to the legacy they’re leaving behind. Whether special projects, women’s initiatives, or a groundbreaking career path, how do you protect the legacy you’ve built at a company as you prepare to leave?

Michelle Flowers Welch finds herself in this exact situation. After an illustrious 35-year career in public relations and after spending the past 21 years of her life building her award-winning multicultural communications firm Flowers Communications Group, she’s leaving it all behind not for retirement, but for a new venture.

Here are a few ways Flowers Welch advises women to protect what they’ve built, while still looking ahead.

Passing the Torch: Identify a Protégé

After working for the Chicago Urban League, Flowers Welch joined Chicago’s wildly successful communications firm GolinHarris, which would change the path of her career forever.

“I walked into GolinHarris in 1983 and I knew I was home,” Flowers Welch said. “I loved the agency side and I knew that one day, I would have my own agency. I began to develop an interest in ethnic marketing and I always knew that I would be an entrepreneur and that I would follow a path that I felt would allow me to control my destiny.”

Flowers Communications Group is considered a powerhouse in the industry – as is Flowers Welch, who’s been awarded the Hall of Fame Award from PR News and Northwestern University, the National Black Public Relations Society’s Founders Award, and the Public Club of Chicago’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Flowers Welch’s firm recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary and its matriarch has handed over the glass baton.

“The theme for our anniversary was 20 Years and Blooming, and I really feel good about the agency’s future and its next 20 years,” Flowers Welch said. “This company will be in great hands under our new president Rashada Whitehead, the first person other than me to carry that title.”

Whitehead joined the company fresh out of college in 1999, but left to work at a general market agency for a few years. Whitehead returned in 2008 sharper than ever, so Flowers Welch worked with her protégée to develop a succession plan designed to create a legacy of leadership and continue building the company.

Flowers Welch is now in the process of writing her next chapter with the creation of her new company Welch Enterprises. In many ways, she’s luckier than most women who are leaving companies that are not their own, which makes protecting their legacies all the more difficult.

“Rashada is an outstanding communications professional who shares my vision and passion for business and I sleep well at night knowing that with Rashada’s vision and leadership, this company will live on and thrive,” Flowers Welch said. “I understand what a blessing it is to have such a dynamic young leader who is doing an outstanding job of guiding Flowers Communications Group into the future with the same dedication and drive that I embraced 21 years ago.”

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35 Under 35: Vivian Lau, Partner, Serengeti Asset Management

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“What excites me and makes me driven is that I love to invest capital,” began Vivian Lau, Partner at Serengeti Asset Management. “And when it comes to investing, the markets are exciting. Every year it’s hard to make money until you finish the year and find ways to make money. I just love coming to work every day.”

At 34 years old, Lau has achieved quite a bit. After graduating from Harvard in 2000, she began her career at Goldman Sachs on its distressed investments desk. Six short years later, she became managing director at the firm. She ran Goldman Sachs’ proprietary business until 2008 when she joined Serengeti Asset Management as a partner.

At Serengeti, she is responsible for managing the business as well as the portfolio. “Our goal is to find investments that are cheap or misunderstood in some way.”

“I’ve never been someone tremendously proud of accolades, but I think what I’m most proud of is what we have accomplished here at Serengeti. We’re a five year-old business with a billion dollars in capital,” Lau continued. “I’m also proud of the team we have built. We’ve attracted people we’ve worked with in the past – I’ve worked with these colleagues for seven to ten years.”

“I work with people whom I trust and whom I truly love working with. When you find the right people and work with them, I think you can build a tremendous investment firm.”

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