Voice of Experience: Frances Janis, Senior Partner, Pomona Capital (the private equity arm of Voya Investment Management)

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Frances Janis“Make sure you take control of your career and assert yourself, and you will be rewarded,” says Frances Janis. “You will have a successful career if you seek out opportunities that fit your strengths and then perform to the best of your ability.”

Janis knows that this path will pay off: her career in the venture capital industry has been the result of seizing new opportunities and taking calculated risks along the way.

She was first introduced to the field when she filled a six-month gap between university and graduate school as a receptionist at a venture capital firm. It just happened to be one of the most prolific VC firms at the time, one that had backed Apple and Genentech, and Janis recognized her good fortune to be working with great people doing exciting things. She sought employment at the firm after completing business school, and while there were no current opportunities there, one partner who had left to start his own firm hired her. She worked for him for 11 years and continues the relationship today — he remains her mentor and is on the board of a fund for which she is the portfolio manager.

Her next move was to join her current partner at Pomona Capital, who was launching a new concept at the time — buying out the interest in funds from investors who needed liquidity. “It was a mad cap idea, but he was very convincing and he really had foresight in a market that was not yet evolved,” she says. “It’s been an amazing ride. Neither of us could have dreamed it would become as big of a business as it has,” says Janis. The 21-year partnership has spawned a business that manages $8 billion and has 45 employees in three global locations.

For Janis, building the business is the achievement she’s most proud of. These days, her main functions are in an upper management capacity, rather than making investments. She recently was intricately involved in overseeing the development of a recently launched retail product, which will be distributed by Voya. It will create an entirely new market for Pomona Capital, since all its previous products have been institutional.

“I love being involved in strategizing how to make sure that the business is moving forward on lots of different fronts. The industry has changed and evolved so much, and we are constantly faced with exciting new challenges.”

Finding the Right Talent and Right Fit: A Two-Way Street

For Janis, one of those recurring challenges is managing the people side of the business. As a small firm, it’s critical that new hires fit in to the collegial culture since each person affects the dynamic. The interview process typically includes having the potential candidate meet with a cross section of employees to check that personality fit. “From senior-level employees down to junior, it can be hard to get it right,” she says.

Once selected, her firm aims to keep associates engaged so Pomona is constantly considering how to offer new experiences. For example, just recently a younger associate who valued international experience spent time in the firm’s London and Hong Kong offices; another will go to Hong Kong in September.

Much of a candidate’s future success has to do with how they respond to the smaller, less-structured environment. Janis recommends that all professionals realize that bosses prefer employees who are self-starters and ask how they can help, rather than sitting and waiting to be tapped on the shoulder.

Janis stresses that long-term career satisfaction comes from finding something you love to do. She knew from her first position that she loved private equity – being around smart people and the excitement of hearing about new businesses and strategizing on their behalf. She also says that she knew a big bank wouldn’t be a good fit for her; for her part, she preferred the smaller environment, where she was spending a lot of time with people who become like family.

“You have to understand what the right environment is for you: Are you a self-starter? Do you need hands-on management? You have to be an active manager of your own career, and while you shouldn’t be impatient and jump before you fully understand the opportunities a certain position might offer, you shouldn’t stay at something too long if it’s not fulfilling your needs.”

Success in a Man’s World

Janis notes that the financial industry is still predominantly male – and that much of the networking happens on golf outings and during other sports-oriented events.

“While that remains a barrier and it does not always provide the most comfortable networking environment for women, that doesn’t mean one can’t have a successful career in the financial services industry; you just have to accept that these venues exist.”

She says that there are many successful women in the industry – she points to her firm which has two female partners and women heading up finance and marketing, but notes they are not always as vocal about their achievements. “These women both have roles of significant responsibility, and you usually don’t hear about them. Women tend to be more low key and modest and don’t get as much recognition as men choose to take.”

As the mom of two boys, ages eight and 13, her home life can be a “man’s world,” as well. She loves nothing more than having breakfast with her sons, and spending as much time with them as she can. “I leave work and turn into a mom,” she says.

And lastly, in addition to Janis’s role as a Senior Partner of Pomona, she serves on the board of trustees of her alma mater, Northeastern University.

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Men Who Get It: Larry Ostendorf, Senior Director Business Development, Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company

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“We’re all in this together; it doesn’t matter what your gender, race or creed is.”Larry Ostendorf

That is the philosophy of Larry Ostendorf, who oversees business development for the aerospace and defense market for Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company. With only a few competitors, the sales environment is largely based on the relationships he builds with his customers, which include aerospace and defense companies, the U.S. government and foreign customers. “My role is to make sure we’re well thought of, to make sure that we have the opportunity to share our capabilities.”

Ostendorf graduated from West Point and spent five years on active duty in the US Army, then he earned his MBA. He’s spent over 15 years in the corporate world as a project manager and business development professional. He has augmented his leadership background with 15 years in the National Guard holding various command and staff positions along the way.

No Rank in Civilian Life

Ostendorf says the corporate world is different from the military because it is a level playing field. He acknowledges that championing diversity has a generational component, and has found that millennials have a different approach than he does, as does the generation ahead of him. “Part of it is how you were brought up, which you can’t help; but also your influences.”

At his current positon, Ostendorf makes sure that all his team has a voice. “They are all successful professionals so I view my role as someone who can be there to guide them rather than give them a lot of direction. To me a major factor of inclusion is that everyone has a say, and that’s how my department runs.”

Ostendorf acknowledges that it is a challenge to find women to join the team. The aerospace and defense industry lacks diversity overall with too many men that have a military background or who have spent their whole career in the aerospace and defense industry.

When looking for candidates, he encourages leaders to broaden their search, reaching out, for example, to the Women’s Society of Engineers or other alternative places to find diverse candidates.

Another example of tapping a non-traditional hiring network occurred when his company was looking to fill a finance position and sent out a request through his National Guard leadership. His company ended up hiring a female soldier from his command, whom he otherwise wouldn’t have thought about. She has blossomed at the firm, and as Ostendorf says, “It’s about opening the door, and then they make it what they want. Diversity is about opportunity. If they don’t run with it, then that’s on them, but if you don’t ever give them the chance, you could be missing out on someone special.”

Standing up for Diversity

Given that it’s a small industry with few women, Ostendorf says that actually provides a lot of opportunity for women to stand out and make a name for themselves. At the same time, he sees that there remains the potential for the “double standard,” where men can perceive strong women negatively.

“We have to make that go away, and to do that, you have to set a good example in the organization. We have to have the courage to stand up and say, ‘Hey! Time out!’ and police our own ranks rather than letting it go, even if it’s a bunch of guys in the room after the woman leaves.”

As a leader, Ostendorf knows that his example influences others, through informal coaching and acting as a resource to help others navigate the job.

Advice for Other Leaders

His main advice for other leaders is “not to play old tape.” In other words, he thinks there’s a blind spot where leaders might pigeonhole people and not see their growth, even after they have changed roles.

He challenges leaders to take a hard look at their interaction and make sure that they are not inadvertently sabotaging others. “Are you cutting off women? Not treating them the same? We have to really examine our behaviors and see where we can make a positive change.”

He says that time and again in his career, he knows that issues in leadership will permeate the organization and manifest themselves as problems at the lower level. “If there are things going wrong, you have to examine the leadership climate. Whether it’s a company or a military organization, you can peel the onion back and see that problems beget problems,” he says. “It all comes back to leadership – the people who are in charge set the tone.

“We all have differences, but we need to embrace those and be sure we’re leveraging the different strengths everyone offers, because at the end of the day, it comes down to whether accomplishing the mission.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Intrepid Women: Moira Forbes, EVP of Forbes Media

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Moira ForbesMoira Forbes, EVP of Forbes Media, grew up in a family with almost a century of experience in the publishing industry as part of the Forbes family. She clearly bears the wisdom of her ancestors yet has the incisiveness and insight of a woman who knows how to make her own way.

Forbes says, “We were always involved in the business from the time we were young.”

After graduating from Princeton and the Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development, she joined the marketing team of Forbes Europe in 2001. After a few years in London, she returned to New York in 2013 where she had the opportunity to work with Forbes Life, a division of the magazine that has more to do with the best ways to spend your money, rather than how to make it. Forbes comments,

“It was really important for me to start on the sales side of the business. It allowed me to get to know my clients and understand why our brand was so compelling to business leaders from around the world.”

After proving herself as more than competent in the cut and dry game of sales’ quotas where “success is evident in a very transparent way”, Forbes was named the Associate Publisher of Forbes Life. In 2008, she helped launch ForbesWoman, a section of the online magazine meant to look at the experiences of female leaders.

Forbes talks of the mission of ForbesWoman. She adds,

“The stories weren’t always about women, but I think women were looking for community with other people who had taken a similar path. Now, ForbesWoman is one of the highest traffic sections of the site.”

In addition, Ms. Forbes serves as the EVP of Forbes Media, helping to build new strategies to grow Forbes Life.

Redefining power as a pathway to change

2013 saw the first time occurrence of one of Forbes’ proudest accomplishments: the Forbes Women’s Summit. There are many conferences that can pass like weddings. People gather—in this case, 250 of the most extraordinary female businesswomen, scientists, artists and groundbreakers from around the world—for a couple of days. They make new friends and reconnect with forgotten loved ones. There are hugs when it’s time to depart and promises to get together again, but those promises are rarely kept. Moira Forbes did not want to plan a wedding; she wanted to ensure this Summit would plant seeds that could grow conversations forceful enough to last 365 days a year.The summit seeks to find lasting solutions to the most critical issues facing the world today. Forbes asked herself how she would scale the conversation beyond the 250 women in the room when she found herself thinking about power. She has come to the following conclusion,

“Power is the ability to shape dialogue, and use our influence to effect change in all areas of our lives. When you define power as influence, you must look outside of your industry and approach the issues from unique vantage points.”

The summit strives to represent women from a variety of backgrounds in order to bring together as many different eclectic ideas as possible. When asked who she invites, she comments that she tries to find the people who are doing extraordinary things in their field, and ‘those who would be really cool to talk to’ she adds with a smile.

Perspective is everything

With all of the pressure, and excitement, of surviving and growing in the publishing industry today, Forbes feels that it is important to stay as relaxed as possible by trying not to worry about the small things. On success she comments,

“We are our own toughest critics. If we are lucky we will have many chapters and experiences. There will be bumps along the way, but you will get through them.”

Forbes acknowledges that social media and the online media landscape brings an exciting opportunity for the publishing industry that comes with many challenges and even a few “sleepless nights”. But the ability to “feel the pulse of the audience, in real time, through social media is a powerful opportunity to create relationships with our readers.” Despite the fast rate of change and disruption, the strength of the brand anchors her work in a strong sense of purpose.

Goals and benchmarks are useful for achieving more than we think

Forbes has a somewhat unique vantage point for considering the different barriers that face women in the business world today, as her own work allows her to interact with women from several different industries.

“I think women are challenged to really plan and think about their careers. We set benchmarks and define indicators of success in our professional lives, but we fail to do it in our personal lives. I talk to so many women who are afraid to set a plan and say, ‘This is where I want to be in 3 years’, and then back track from there to figure out what they need and how they might get there.”

For this reason, she is a strong believer in helping women develop career plans—and that this is something that needs to be hardwired into the company culture. There are many times women will assume they have to hit the pause button because they just aren’t sure how to navigate the dual obligations of work and family.

“The cost of losing such high potential talent is too high. Transparent conversations about how the organization can help bring their employees to the point they are looking to get can remove the stress that sometimes leads women to taking themselves out.”

It is easy to see that Forbes is a product of her own good advice.

She says, “Nobody else is thinking about you twenty-four hours a day. You are the only one who knows what you want. People aren’t mind readers. If you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it.”

She encourages women to raise their hand when it’s time for a promotion or a project lead, even when they don’t feel 100% ready.

“There are so many lessons that are learned on the job; experience is the greatest teacher.”

By Rebecca S. Caum

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Embracing Our Differences to Unlock Possibility

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women in technologyWhen people discover that I have founded two game changing tech companies and thrived in the predominantly male dominated tech world, the first thing they ask is, “What did you do differently?”

There are a few forces shaping business today, making it ideal for women to create greater impact than ever before.

Today, Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Yahoo and Xerox have women at their helm. Women own almost a third (29%) of all businesses in the US, and women-owned businesses generate $1.3 Trillion Dollars in revenue annually. Since the beginning of time, we as women have been pregnant with ideas and creativity. As mothers, sisters, and daughters, our traditional roles at home have built-in business leadership functions.

But first, we have to accept that we are different from men; and that there are genetics at play that make us uniquely different from them. But this difference should not to be judged as better or worse – just different! These intrinsic differences are what we can leverage today into veritable business successes that impact our communities and the world at large.

It’s an exciting time to be a woman in tech and business in general. What once was a disadvantage has now become a strength. Smart businesses are recognizing that our perspectives are vital to their success. Our input and contributions are no longer considered niceties, but rather necessities.

Google Diversity Evangelist Jewel Burks recently shared that the measure of true diversity for companies such as Google is ensuring that they reflect on the inside what customers look like on the outside. This is highly insightful in understanding the diversity imperative. We cant serve our customer base well, if we can’t understand their needs. The currency for the long-term success of business is diversity.

Unfortunately, many women have yet to recognize and embrace this power. They believe that, in order to be successful in male dominated areas, they have to behave or act like men. This is counterproductive, because our unique perspective and difference from men is what is needed to create the complete picture. Our skills, thoughts, and dreams are significant because they are often new and different. When we think we need to act like men in order to be successful in business, we limit ourselves and throw the entire equation off balance. It’s like walking with two left feet.

Our significance lies in embracing our talents and raising them to a level of excellence. Small hinges swing big doors , and so it is with our contributions. They matter and can make a huge impact. I have always embraced my differences, as they are what have created so many opportunities.

In a left-brain or right-brain world, it has always been difficult for me to be “whole-brained.” This has been a struggle my entire life. People ask me, “What are you – a techie or a creative? Left brained or right brained? Artist or scientist?” The answer is both! I love technology as much as I love the creative. I am a writer at heart. Throughout my life, I’ve sought opportunities that would allow me to express both. But for a long time, a whole-brained approach was frowned upon, especially in places where people perceived it didn’t fit. Some of my engineering reports were deemed too flowery and verbose, perhaps more suited for a novel. I felt I needed to make a choice between the two, and people often demanded that I make a choice.

As technology grew and started taking over all our lives, a lot shifted. For example, marketing companies were required to become technology and media companies. They needed to understand online marketing, mobile platforms, analytics and know how to leverage new technology mediums. I found myself at the confluence of art and science. New innovations required the artist to think like the scientist, and the scientist to think like the artist. Suddenly, my kind wasn’t just wanted; we were in high demand. What had been a point of contention in the past became my calling card. I remember clearly when the shift started to occur.

At Boeing Digital Cinema, I had helped develop the technology to deliver movies digitally. One day, I was watching the movie Crush with other engineers – after we had encoded it but before the director previewed it. I took one look at the screen and noticed a very thin white film over it. When my colleagues said they couldn’t see the white film, I thought perhaps I needed to get my eyes checked and let it go. To my surprise, when the director walked in, he stopped in the middle of the theater and said, “The contrast ratio is off – the blacks are not as black as I need them to be.” referring to the pixels.

I have always enjoyed a good narrative, always paying attention to both the esoteric and the mundane. Working on digital Cinema was supremely rewarding for me because I realized then that I could see what the directors saw and understand what the engineers knew. I could work with engineers to create solutions without requiring directors to sit through hours of torture doing signal processing (a purely engineering function). I could also talk to directors in depth about the narrative to attain a beautiful balance between art and science. And I loved and enjoyed the process!

I had found my sweet spot. My whole brain was now in demand, to a point where I started my own business Next Galaxy – a technology and content solutions company have since done business with the likes of Microsoft XBOX, Coca Cola Company, Tribune News, Toyota and over 200 radio stations. I was even approached by producers of ABC’s highly popular show The Bachelor to help them in casting season seven, leveraging both Internet and traditional avenues. I thought of my whole-brain personality as not fitting in anywhere, yet it was that difference that allowed me to ultimately create the magic. Being uniquely me is what has proved to be invaluable in an unbelievable way.

It is only when we embrace our difference that we can unlock the door to the possibility of offering the world something new that doesn’t exist.

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Career Tip Of The Week

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thought-leadershipThis Week’s Tip Is…..

Beware of job myopia. Do you know the bigger picture?

Becoming a Leader or a senior executive usually requires having a holistic and bigger picture view of the business and the industry that you are working in.

When meeting with someone in your firm or a client, remember to ask broader questions that can advance your knowledge in this area as well as talking about the direct issue at hand.

Welcome to Career Tip of the Week. In this column we aim to provide you with a useful snippet of advice to carry with you all week as you navigate the day to day path in your career.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Contact nicki@glasshammer2.wpengine.com if you would like to hire an executive coach to help you navigate the path to optimal personal success at work.

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Voice of Experience: Ronya Corey, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch

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Ronya CoreyAs a child of immigrant parents, growing up Ronya Corey was told she had to be a doctor or a lawyer. “As the oldest, obedient daughter, I actually believed those were my two options!” she says, incredulously.

She began her college years as a pre-med major, but after her first semester, she knew she wasn’t following her heart — and, to top it off, she hated the sight of blood. After changing her major to economics, she interned at several organizations over the course of her four years of college, but it was while she was interning at Merrill Lynch that she realized what she wanted to do for her career.

“Watching my father’s financial choices made me realize that I wanted to educate and help families not only live for today, but save for tomorrow. My dad was an amazingly loving father, but he was also far too generous and short sighted with his money,” Corey said. “If you needed $5 dollars and that was all he had in his pocket, he would give it to you. That mindset of only living for today made him literally have to work until the day he died.”

Guiding Clients to Find Their “Red Mercedes”

Corey says that her work is satisfying every day, as she guides clients to make smart decisions about their money. She says that among the types of retirees — those who spend too much in retirement on an annual basis and those who spend what they should — the most fun are those who don’t spend enough.

“I love working with them to help them define and envision new goals that on their own, they wouldn’t have conceived.”

She cites a client, Jane, who is in her 90s and still teaches online courses for senior citizens at a community college. Though she and her husband never made exorbitant amounts of money as educators, fortunately they were great savers. As Corey tells it, Jane is now widowed with more money than she needs for her life expectancy, and her son and his wife are spendthrifts so she has been pondering how to best utilize her money when she is gone.

After working with her estate attorney to create a trust for her son and establishing various charitable gifting options, Corey returned to a thread that had run through their past conversations – Jane had always wanted a red Mercedes.

“So every call thereafter, I asked her if she had bought her red Mercedes and encouraged her to do so. About a year later, she called to tell me she actually went out and purchased a red Mercedes. She couldn’t be happier — she mentions it on almost every call we have had since. So now, it’s a story I retell to allow people to envision to buy or do whatever their red Mercedes means to them.”

Of course, Corey also counsels clients through the more mundane challenges their retirement may provide, such as rising health care costs. And, prolonged life expectancy poses a number of financial hurdles for many clients – whether it’s saving enough to meet their retirement objectives or being cognizant not to spend too much in retirement.

A Role Model for Younger Women

As the highest-ranking woman in the DC office – both past and present – Corey wants to be a role model for the young women in her industry, where the message she had always received were that only men were considered “the large producers.”

“I want them to know that if the daughter of two immigrant parents who was born in West Virginia and went to a state school can do it, so can they if they put their mind to it,” Corey says.

She is currently building a team of women to service her clients. “It isn’t unusual to see an all-male advisor team, but it is unusual to see it the other way around.”

“It isn’t unusual to see an all-male advisor team, but it is unusual to see it the other way around.”

Since many men in the household still handle the investments for their families, she finds that working with a woman can bring some vulnerability and can be a culture shift. “As a young woman in the business, I strive to know to know more than my male counterparts in order to win new business.”

As part of her role model commitment, Corey also started the local chapter of Merrill Lynch’s Women’s Exchange in 2009 to reach women at all levels throughout Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. Participation in the organization, which fosters mentorship and growth for women in the firm, has allowed her to meet and learn from the most successful women in the industry.

Her advice to young women? “Learn something new every day. Knowledge is power.”

On the Family Font

Corey and her husband, Devon, took advantage of their pre-children years to travel the world. “Now my hobby and love is my family – my husband and my two bundles of joy – Naill, age two, and Kaia, age one.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Men Who Get It: Mark Pestrella, Chief Deputy Director for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

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Mark PestrellaMark Pestrella knows that everyone has a story, and that women in particular need to feel they can tell their story without looking like they’re weak. “Really listening to my employees’ stories can change the whole environment.”

As the Chief Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Pestrella is essentially the COO of all types of infrastructure that protect residents from natural and manmade hazards in Los Angeles County. With a service area that covers 4,000 square miles and 88 cities including Los Angeles, the department is made up of special districts that provide emergency services, waste management, water resource management, development services, transportation services and public building construction.

With a background in engineering, Pestrella started with the department as a civil engineer assistant, designing and reviewing storm drains.

Now 28 years later, his role as overseer for the 4,000 employees at 78 facilities involves “managing people, not things,” he says. “We have a large and very diverse workforce, which allows us to operate at optimum capabilities.” Pestrella knows that having a diverse workforce enables them to serve a diverse community, but it’s more than that. “If you are trying to create solutions without a group that reflects diversity in education, gender and culture, you’ll get a siloed response.”

Raised With Diversity

From a business standpoint it’s clear to Pestrella that the diversity of his team has to reflect the community, but he emphasizes that it’s also a personal value for which he credits his family dynamic. As a Pacific Islander, his father came to the country as a minority, but says he was “put in the box of mainstream white males.” Growing up with four sisters, a strong mother and a dad who believed in tolerance helped form his thinking, augmented by his childhood in San Bernardino, Calif., an area ripe with diversity.

Addressing and Overcoming Blind Spots

While acknowledging that everyone has blind spots, Pestrella says that he works consistently to address his, even asking trusted colleagues to help him identify them.

Public Works is primarily an engineering organization and as such, has historically been predominantly a male-based agency, but under his guidance, gender recruitment has improved greatly. Even so, he knew he had to address intolerance.

“I could see it happening throughout the organization, where the women were feeling they had to be superheroes to think they deserved a promotion,” he says, adding that in extreme cases he’s had to fire people whose blind spots were interfering with their ability to treat people with equity.

“I could see it happening throughout the organization, where the women were feeling they had to be superheroes to think they deserved a promotion,”

One solution he sees is for men to acknowledge and value differences, rather than seeing them as problems. “We’re being taught you can’t act like anyone is different but that’s not true, and not the best way to deal with gender diversity. There are built-in biases that we have to understand, respect and deal with.”

For example, he says that the way men approach a woman boss often should be different because their styles are usually different. As an example, the first woman director of Public Works for L.A. County is Pestrella’s boss, and he knows that when he comes to her with an issue, she wants him to also offer two or three solutions and then allow time for her to process them. “You have to educate yourself that there are some differences in style.”

And blind spots aren’t just for men. He recounts a woman employee who was so frustrated with the department that she wanted to share her concerns publicly through a complaint. Pestrella says she was one of the department’s best engineers at the time and had potential to be a top leader. He knew that her blind spot was causing her to miss the bigger picture. “She was hearing what she wanted to hear,” he says. Ultimately he was able to broker an arrangement where he would meet with her monthly to discuss her concerns in lieu of her continuing with her complaint. “I wasn’t trying to change her mind, but I felt that she was making a mistake in waving the woman flag. I was able to address her issues, and she has progressed in her career path.”

“I wasn’t trying to change her mind, but I felt that she was making a mistake in waving the woman flag. I was able to address her issues, and she has progressed in her career path.”

A Successful Technique To Start New Employees on the Path to Success

Pestrella believes much of his managerial success comes from a successful technique he uses with new employees. He’ll schedule an introductory meeting, and to ensure that he is in the right mind set, he turns off his computer and devices for a few minutes before they come in. “I want to make sure I am meeting them with an open mind,” he says.

They then embark on a meeting where there’s no note taking, just an opportunity for the new employee to share his or her background. “Over the years, it’s been an unbelievable journey of getting to truly know the people who work with me, and a real asset to establish that trust right off the bat,” he says. “I learn things about people I would never have imagined and almost without fail, I know I would have put them in a different box when I compare what I would have thought about them had we not had the meeting and conversation.”

Though he identifies himself as a private person, he makes a point to coach his employees and says there are several women over the years with whom he has felt comfortable sharing his philosophy. “When I see people who have great potential and the drive to be a public servant, it’s natural to want to share with them what has been successful to me.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Rising Star: Betsy Wille, Senior Director, IT Risk & Information Security at TIAA-CREF

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Betsy-Wille“I was raised with a strong work ethic, so I was well aware of the need to work hard and earn the respect of your colleagues,” says Betsy Wille, who learned throughout her career that it’s not enough to just put your head down and count on that to take care of your progression. “Ultimately everyone is responsible for their own career, and building relationships will matter.”
 
Wille spent the first two years of her career at a big accounting firm in the IT audit area, which provided a great foundational start, allowing her to see a variety of companies and technology models. Her exposure to all the options led to her decision to help build solutions in a company, and she started with an engagement at Bank One just before it became JP Morgan Chase.
 
Within six months her boss was asked to build a new infrastructure within the company, and she said she’d be delighted to be involved. She spent almost 14 years there, and says she had the good fortune of spending time working in a wide variety of areas of information security because the company’s culture encouraged changing jobs and roles every year or two. That meant she was able to sample everything from operations to strategy, practice development and management.
 
One of her favorite opportunities was in 2009 when JP Morgan Chase entered into a unique partnership with Syracuse University. Wille helped establish operations at the new JPMC Technology Center on Syracuse University campus as part of a larger collaboration focused on academic internships, curriculum development, applied research and community engagement.
 
For two years, she helped open the site and partnered with the existing corporate development program to help bring in talent as early as their junior year to intern with them.
 
“I was able to work with impressive young people early in their careers and it was so refreshing to see the stars in their eyes,” she said, adding that it proved to be a successful model for building talent in the IT field. The job center proved that skills could be developed, despite the historic reputation that successful candidates needed experience and subject matter expertise.
 
She spent several more years at JMPC, until she decided in 2014 it was time for both a change and a new challenge. A former colleague had previously left to become Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA-CREFand soon called Wille to consider a position in the information tech and informational security department.
 
An Exciting Time in the Industry
 
“The fact that I landed in information security and cyber security is so fortunate because I find it so interesting; it literally changes daily,” Wille said. With the amount of financial fraud and security breaches increasing, she knows it will continue to be a fast-moving industry.
 
“As a financial institution we have an even more critical role in protecting our customers’ data and money,” she said, adding that they take seriously their role as a company that has a focus on providing financial services for those who serve others, such as teachers, non-profit workers and professors.
 
A Need to Attract Women
 
She has found that women and people of color are underrepresented in the field, particularly looking upwards in the management hierarchy and leadership roles. And she believes it could get worse, since the numbers of women and people of color pursuing IT fields are declining rather than growing. Therefore recruitment has to remain an ongoing goal.
 
She works to stay engaged with colleagues through a relatively new program, the IT Women’s Council, a program designed to bring together women and allow them to explore different topics related to career growth.
 
Sponsorship has played a major role in Wille’s career ascension and she looks forward to returning the favor. She says she was very fortunate to have advocates, typically people for whom she worked closely, such as managers or colleagues, whom had experienced her work product.
 
For her part, she hasn’t found formal mentors to be as impactful or organic, but she has enjoyed both the insight and camaraderie from a tight group of girlfriends who are in the same stage of their careers. “We struggle with the same transitions so our get togethers are a perfect blend of social and work talk,” she says. “They know me better than anyone and give me honest and transparent feedback.”
 
Outside of Work
 
An avid runner, Wille has completed 13 marathons and her first triathlon. “I love being outside and being active, and it’s a release when I can get lost in my own thoughts.”
 
She is currently the president of the Junior Board for Youth Guidance, a school-based program that has had a major impact on Chicago youth, particularly those in high poverty or at-risk neighborhoods.
 
Though she has wrestled with the idea of working for a non-profit, she recalls talking to someone who reminded her that she had a whole career ahead of her and plenty of time to pursue that path in her later years, after first creating some financial stability. “That was a freeing moment for me, and allowed me to take a breath and pursue my career, knowing I will still have the chance to do something different at a certain point.”
 
Wille’s family is still in Chicago and she appreciates being close with them, as “each one brings a different element to my life,” she noted.
 

By Cathie Ericson

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Six Ways to Advance Your Career by Leading “Like a Girl”

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woman-office-spaceAs you advance in your career, you may find yourself tempted to mimic examples of “traditional” leadership. In other words, consciously or not, you may strive to be more independent, commanding, dominating, unbending, and yes, masculine.

Generally speaking, women think, relate, motivate, and assume responsibility differently from men. But if you’ve ever considered your natural leadership style a liability, think again. As the popular Always campaign demonstrates, doing anything “like a girl” should be a point of pride. (It’s time to free yourself from any lingering notions of joining the “old boys’ club.”)

In a connected global marketplace that’s driven by engaging communication, collaboration, and collective buy-in, many “feminine strengths” (which, to be fair, many men also possess and use quite effectively) are suddenly in high demand.

That said, here are six suggestions to help you tap into the power of feminine leadership.

First, gain a better understanding of your feminine “power tools.” No doubt about it: Traditional models of powerful leadership (think command and control) are on their way out. Meanwhile, a more flexible, inclusive incarnation of power — one that comes naturally to women — is becoming more entrenched.

Gloria Feldt, one of the coauthors of my book Leading Women, says instead of pursuing “power over,” women prefer to think in terms of “power to.” Yes, your team may accomplish enough with a dominating leader—but they’ll accomplish more with one who helps them tap into the power to accomplish, grow, and use their individual and collective strengths.

Speak up more often. Many female leaders consciously marshal their words so as not to be perceived as “too chatty” when there’s an important job to do. But actually, research suggests (and you may have noticed yourself) that men speak more at meetings. My coauthor Claire Damken Brown, PhD, points out that when women talk, we provide details and seek cohesion, so as long as you keep your responses focused, don’t feel that you have to be “strong and silent” to be an effective leader.

Don’t keep it all business, all the time. Women’s emotional intelligence makes us natural connectors. Use that skill to your advantage. When you allow yourself to “get personal” and nurture your relationships with team members, you will put them at ease, positively impact their motivation and engagement, and strengthen their loyalty. I love my coauthor Birute Regine, EdD’s, perspective on feminine emotional intelligence. She says it’s not a “soft skill” at all and is actually quite hard to acquire if you lack it. (It’s not the kind of thing you can master in an afternoon seminar!)

Take your place at the podium. Even if you dread speaking in public, I urge you to actively cultivate this skill. My coauthor Lois Phillips, PhD, points out that in today’s business world the podium is truly the “head of the table.” It’s a place to build credibility and expand your audience. Take advantage of women’s natural tendency to share information that empowers others and to connect with your audience by noticing and responding to their nonverbal cues.

Collaborate your way to the next level. Collaboration is definitely a buzzword these days — but as many leaders have learned the hard way, there’s a lot more to it than simply asking a group of people to sit at the same table and work together. Birute Regine, EdD, says that women are great at up-leveling group work to something greater than the sum of its parts (a real phenomenon called “collective intelligence”). This is because we emphasize turn-taking, equality, empathy, and respect for others’ opinions — conditions that must be present in order for group members to feel comfortable expressing outside-the-box opinions and taking risks.

Bring other women on board. If you’ve attempted to reach success as a rugged individualist, you know the journey can grueling, lonely, and maybe even lacking in satisfaction. Good news: It’s okay (and encouraged!) to tap into women’s collective power. For millennia, women have relied on their “sisterhood” for advice, support, and help. And today, I see a genuine women-helping-women movement taking shape. In business, in philanthropy, in our communities, and more, women are consciously joining forces to cocreate, to give one another a leg up, and to make life richer and more fulfilling.

So be vigilant for opportunities to join forces with other women. Offer others your time, insight, empathy, and aid — and accept those things in return. I truly believe when enough “hands that rock the cradle” join together, we can help rule the world.

Male or female, building a successful career isn’t easy. So, women, don’t force yourself to be what you’re not. I, for one, am excited that the changing face of leadership is displaying more and more qualities that are traditionally feminine — and optimistic about what this means for women’s future in business.

Author Bio

Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD, is an author of Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life and urges women to connect to help each other create a better world. As a clinical psychologist, motivational speaker and women empowerment expert, O’Reilly helps women create the satisfying and purposeful lives they want to benefit themselves, their families and their communities. To accomplish this, she devotes her energies to fulfilling the mission of the Women Connect4Good, Inc. foundation, which benefits from her writing and speaking services. O’Reilly is the founder of Women Connect4Good, Inc., and for seven years she has interviewed inspiring women for online podcasts available on her website.

For more information please visit http://www.drnancyoreilly.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

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Addressing your skill blindspots | Career Tip Of The Week

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Women workingThis Week’s Tip Is….

Addressing your skill blindspots.

Many people who I coach talk to me about gaps in their professional development ( either their firm doesn’t provide it or there is something specific that they want to develop that isn’t necessarily easy to learn in a course).

Make a list of the tasks or areas that you feel you need to be better at. Writing it down ( identifying it) is the first step to making a plan.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Contact nicki@theglasshammer.com is you would like to hire an executive coach to help you navigate the path to optimal personal success at work.

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