2016: Year in Review: How to Move Forward From Here For Gender Parity at Work and Fairness in Society

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By Nicki Gilmour, CEO and Founder of theglasshammer

Nicki Gilmour - Founder of The Glasshammer.comTo review 2016 in context of women at work and the progress being made for professional women has been like a textbook case study for me as an organizational psychologist who works in diversity. I hope I can share with you how we can go forward and change the way we do this work. It is obvious that there is work to do and yet I am so incredibly anxious of the capacity of most people to ensure this moment is a launching pad for real progress and not the moment that we spiral down and turn the clock back thirty to hundred years. It truly could go either way. Progress is everyone’s responsibility to take and accountability has to be there- change starts here.

Recap the past ten years (see here for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 Year End reviews for a macro, multi-year view) to see how things aren’t changing over a fair time period. In one sentence, progress for women’s equality at work, based on promotional and pay parity for same work done and all things being equal, is just not there. This year, hasn’t seen much progress either and the fact is at board level there are no more women in board seats than there were ten years ago, unless mandated by quotas seen with an increase in countries that have a mandate in place (i.e. not USA). Senior management figure changes aren’t all that either and most women (and men) will tell you that they are working harder than ever.

A striking research piece of evidence is seen here in the 2016 PWC’s Annual Corporate Directors Report which includes responses from 884 public company directors, 83% of whom are male and 17% of whom are female. Overall, the findings state that 97% of respondents who think female board representation should be between zero and twenty percent were male board members. Worth noting, 3% of those who think that are female board members themselves. Then, the survey shows about a quarter of respondents said they believe there are a significant number of qualified diverse candidates out there with 93% of female directors saying that they at least “somewhat” believe that there plenty of qualified non-male, non-white candidates out there. “Somewhat” is not exactly resoundingly confident is it? And that implies that everyone thinks that there is an abundance of male candidates that are entirely ready for a board because somebody sits in these seats. I hate to tell you folks but we are all still holding up this blind spot of perceiving men to be more ready for leadership by virtue of being a man only. The emotions and desires driving “facts” are that maybe people want men in leadership roles because I have mentioned many times, women can be as equally sexist as men and sometimes even more so for many reasons including securing their own place in the pack.

How do we really create a meritocracy?

Do people want meritocracy? I do not believe all people do want meritocracy as the results of the US election show with 61% of white women who voted in the US election deciding that they do not want equal pay for the same work done as the man beside them and other actual policies that impact them directly. Then, these same women are turning a blind eye to sexism, sexual assault, racism and homophobia in some effort to believe that they do not rate basic protections of themselves and others as highly as other things. Except, what are these other things? Because upon examination there are no other things. It is not economic stability that is being sought and it doesn’t take a psychologist to tell you, it is the status quo of the white patriarchy that is being maintained by the very group best placed to disrupt it.

Do you think these women will ensure you do not have barriers at work if they believe that they deserve them for themselves in life? You tell me? Why does this happen? Why do “good people” do things that have a serious negative impact on other humans directly and knowingly? Look for your own cognitive dissonance and address the nuances in your behaviors that make you feel better but actually make you favor men over women as leaders and experts. What is cognitive dissonance? It is when you have a value or a belief and then you do something that doesn’t line up with that belief or you hold conflicting beliefs and feel that you need to align them. For example, you are against drink driving as a value but drive home from your holiday party drunk. You didn’t like this action or thought so then, you try to reduce the dissonance by devaluing the item, action or person and in this case like saying, “It was only a straight road for one mile and I only had two drinks, I was fine”. In reality, your belief is cancelled out by your actions that you then justify. We all do this but if you truly want to be an inclusive, fair champion of a level playing field for yourself, women, LGBT and people of color at work then turn the mirror towards yourself for a second because you can stop this process and you can live your diversity and inclusion values just as you don’t have to drive drunk.

Much like the research that I mention frequently called “Think Manager, Think Male” where men and women constantly rank male managers (as a group, not known individuals) as more competent, productive, stable, is your brain playing tricks on you. It is what you have been socio-conditioned to believe in part so of course this work of undoing all your paradigms and “what you Granny told you”, is not going to be easy.

For those who do want meritocratic conditions what will 2017 hold?

I think there are several things we can do as people reading this to move the needle for gender parity and general fairness to everyone. Also, from a career perspective you can choose your path, do not forget that!

Firstly, work for good companies who work hard at systems and culture to ensure an inclusive, progressive culture. Signs to look for when picking a company to work for are women at the top, middle and everywhere else. Good policies around families with men taking advantage of these policies and not just women as this will mean it’s not a one- gender policy in practice. Healthy, happy people and fair and clear talent systems are a must. It is not a coincidence if there are literally no LGBT or people of color working there. It is not a coincidence if women are not in the middle or top of the house. Look for great leaders who do what they say they will do and have a value set that shows that they value you and all that you can bring to work, such as Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs when he made his marriage equality video. PWC’s Bob Moritz and Denis McNally have both walked the talk on promoting women to the highest positions in the firm. Accenture’s Pierre Nanterme has shown a lot of commitment to parity and is now involved in the newly formed Paradigm4Parity group. Watch leaders make their beliefs for equality translate through the firm in lived values by themselves paying more than lip service.

Secondly, keep it human. Tell your stories to help the people around you understand what diversity and multiple realities look like. Jennifer Brown, a colleague, competitor and comrade in arms to the mission as well CEO and author of her new book “ Inclusion: Diversity, the New Work Place and the Will to Change” puts it nicely,

When we share our diversity stories, it draws others to us who are looking for leaders who understand, who have paid attention, and who show their commitment to valuing diversity and creating an inclusive space around them where everyone can bring more of their full selves to their careers.

At least it is on the table, we know sexism is still here

Although it is bittersweet and mostly horrible to have such a fascinating case study of 2016 to show the lack of progress, at least it’s now issues are undeniably on the table. As Sophie Walker, Head of the Equality Party in the UK stated recently on the topic of new Prime Minister Theresa May doing nothing so far for gender parity, “At least now we don’t have to debate if misogyny exists. We don’t have to debate sexism,” she said. “I’m so used to starting interviews with people who begin by saying, ‘women are equal, come come, there isn’t a problem’.
Anyone who has any grasp on this can agree that 2016 has explicitly shown us, there is a problem.

It is not easy to understand why Teresa May is making little effort to advance women in the UK. Like many female leaders, there is often a strong need to reject such issues to gain credibility if the system and all the players are men and historically masculine behavior is rewarded. Assimilation can often be the only strategy, sadly. Vicious circle this sexism business, eh?

My advice to you is to see things for what they are and if you cannot, then go deeper, do the work to evolve and make the decision if you are a status quo protector or a change agent. Own it. Do not tell me you want to lean in and advance and then constantly make sure that you reinforce gender stereotypes and maintain barriers and biases for yourself and others. It simply is tedious otherwise to go through the motions because I cannot help you, if you cannot help yourself. I see a lot of people being a part of the problem, somewhat unconsciously to be fair and it is all of our jobs to change society, to be fair and kind. Involve the men on a very real level. Identify your male gender champions, they are usually the smart guys who see the business and human value of this equality stuff such as my new friend Adam Quinton or the guys at our Engaging Men event. Your job starts with educating your boys and breaking toxic assumptions of how it is to be a man. Empower your girls and break gender role stereotypes from day one.

Make 2017 a good one.

Happy Holidays from me and theglasshammer team

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Movers & Shakers: Stephanie Seugling | Director, Business Manager, TIAA

stephanie seuglingBy Cathie Ericson

“What kind of day are you going to make it?” A powerful question that one of Stephanie Seugling’s mentors asked her years ago, and the concept has stuck with her to this day. “It helps me know that whatever happens that seems out of control, you have to learn from the situation and choose how it will impact your day,” she says.

Along the way this phrase has helped her plan for the “hiccups,” knowing that no matter how she is feeling, she can work through the tough spots and help others through them as well.

A Career in Financial Services

Seugling has been fascinated with the financial services industry since her first job as a bank teller in college. It was also the only job in which she physically handled money, but it gave her an understanding of what money means to people – from helping those who needed to pay their mortgage or to assisting those who were excited to be sending a gift or depositing their first paycheck.

After college she joined a different financial services firm as an administrative assistant. From there she took several mobility moves around the firm, working in many areas from marketing to technology, from mergers and acquisitions to process design, before finally landing in treasury fulfillment as an operations executive. Transcending all roles, Seugling noticed a common theme – understand and then take action. She realized that she first needed to get a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities for improvement at hand, and then she needed to execute and deliver the solutions.

In her current role as a business manager for TIAA, Seugling continues to apply this principle. She manages the integration of people and processes for the IT infrastructure department at the firm. “You have to look at the current state and figure out how to blend two different groups coming together to optimize the future state.”

When considering the professional achievement she is most proud of so far, one that sticks out is having been a part of a team that was recognized with patents for developing innovative work processes to enhance the customer experience. The team recognized the approach was novel and was solving a real problem. They conferred with a law firm who confirmed that they were the only ones taking that approach, and they were able to successfully file for patents.

Developing a Recipe for Success

Before joining the corporate world, Seugling leaned on the portrayal of work from TV shows and movies: Everyone wearing suits and dropping the final presentation on the boss’ desk and thus earning a promotion the next day.

“Because of that view, I was one of those kids who couldn’t wait to grow up and be in that environment; it seemed like it was a bit of an escape – like it was going to be easy,” she says. Of course, the day-to-day isn’t as rosy and perfect as the movies, she has found, but she has practiced finding the good in every day.

Along the way she also has learned her own personal recipe for success. She focuses on finding the balance between what you know works in your daily routine, while being able to improvise tailored solutions to addresses specific situations if needed.

Sponsors and Role Models Pave The Way

Seugling names her mom as a key role model – a single mom who instilled in her a work ethic and sense of commitment that she emulates to this day. But she has also been appreciative of other role models along the way, people she was drawn to because of their outstanding work ethic and commitment, with a focus on trying to do the right thing.

Both mentors and sponsors have been key factors in her career. Sponsorship, in particular, she has come to realize has been critical to her rise. “I used to think it was all by luck, being in the right place at the right time, but I realized that sponsorship is the reason for my career,” she says. For example, a series of coincidences introduced her to the woman who gave Seugling her first pivotal job with a financial services company. While she remembers thinking she was lucky, she knows now that she got the job because she was prepared. This same manager advocated for her, and she was tapped into her next role in marketing and the others after that by delivering each and every time.

At TIAA, her roles have similarly been achieved by showing that she was able to deliver and having her previous business partners vocalize those achievements.

Having completed the Emerging Leaders program, Seugling is applying what she learned and continues to take time for on-the-job reflection. The program focuses on designing and implementing strategies, examining social styles, recognizing blind spots and improving your ability to collaborate – among other things.

Paying it Forward

Now, Seugling focuses on paying it back by participating in mentoring programs. “Life is too short to be unhappy and I’m happiest when I am making a difference in people’s lives. I’ve noticed that the people who have helped coach and mentor me have that same type of outlook,” she says.

As a mentor, one of Seugling’s most shared lessons is helping others identify when they should ask for assistance, a lesson she learned early in her career. She had just been promoted into a senior leadership position and was given a large task as an individual contributor. Seugling was excited about the opportunity since it came with responsibility and exposure.

But several weeks into the new role, after continuous late nights, she remembers wondering what was going wrong. She soon realized that she had been trying to do it all on her own.

“My manager assumed I would know to ask for help if I was drowning, but just because you have a new title doesn’t mean that the new guidelines get immediately absorbed,” she says. It was the first time she had realized it was up to her to ask for help so that the team could be successful.

“That’s how I learned about influence and negotiation and explaining the business case for why you are asking for the resource,” she says, information she is quick to share with others she mentors.

She has also been involved in TIAA’s Women’s Employee Resource Group (ERG), as well as the Diverse Abilities ERG for people who are caretakers or are dealing with a disability themselves. As the mom of a child with special needs, she has found that exposing herself to others with like challenges has spurred different ways of understanding problems. “It’s ok to feel overwhelmed sometimes and it’s also ok to be proud and excited and to share those moments as well,” she says.

A Full Life Outside of Work

Always eager to give back to others, Seugling has recently become actively involved in a teammate’s charity, Aislinn’s Wish, which raises money for Sanfilippo Syndrome, a rare, progressive and fatal genetic disorder. “It’s a joy to see people coming together for a common cause and rallying to raise money for a better tomorrow,” she says.

In her spare time, she loves live sporting events, everything from being a spectator at soccer games for her kids, Liam, age 9, and Caleigh, age 7, to taking them to see professional sports teams. She also loves watching live music and experiencing the energy it creates in the venue. Finally, the family loves to travel, especially to New York to visit her family.

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The Top 10 Graduate Employers For Women

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The top 10 graduate employers for women

Image via Shutterstock

Despite continuing advances in gender equality in the workplace and beyond, there’s a reason conversations about the issue continue: female graduates still face some disadvantages in the jobs market.

Recent reports have revealed the extent to which the gender pay gap still exists, and the difference can be seen between male and female graduates’ starting salaries. Data published in 2015 showed that twice as many men earn between £30,000-£40,000 than women, and that the median salary for female graduates was £1,000 less than that of males. And the level of women in senior management positions and on company boards is still proportionally lower across the workforce than that of men.

So there are plenty of reasons to apply to a company that is taking active steps to achieve true gender equality and diversity in the workplace, but which of them also offer good opportunities at graduate level?

We’ve put together this list by cross-referencing the most recent editions of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers and The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. And as there are 30 employers that make both lists, we narrowed it down by looking at where they placed on the Guardian’s UK 300 – a ranking of which employers graduates most want to work for.

The Big Four (professional services)

It may be a cheat to include 4 employers in one, but all of the UK’s leading professional services firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, and EY – performed well in the rankings, and between them planned to hire around 5,100 graduates in 2016.

The 2015-16 Graduate Employers list saw PwC top the table for the twelfth year in a row. Its graduate scheme is built upon strong foundations of mentoring, training, development, and support. And though it’s biggest base is in London, there are 29 locations across the UK that graduates can join. The firm also runs a high potential female development programme, Breakthrough, and sets gender and ethnicity targets for each grade pool.

Deloitte, KPMG, and EY also all rank within the top ten graduate employers, and have been recognised for their commitment to gender equality in the workplace, and for running a variety of schemes and programmes to help women maximise their potential. EY’s Managing Partner for Talent in the UK and Ireland, Liz Bingham, stressed the importance of an approach that encompasses the entire workforce, improving diversity ‘from graduate entry to the boardroom’.

Deloitte has also chosen to publically engage with the problem of the gender pay gap, reporting its own average wage gaps across the company and at each grade; the firm is determined to balance the numbers and has set new targets for women in senior positions.

MI5 (public service)

A far cry from the popular media image of the gentleman spy – white, male, private school and Oxbridge educated – the Secret Service is actually well recognised for its commitment to diversity.

As well as establishing itself as a top employer for women and taking strides in employing Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic staff, MI5 was named Employer of the Year 2016 in Stonewall’s list of best employers for LGBT staff. Staff of all gender identities and sexual orientations are recruited and work in every area of the organisation.

The Service recruits around 80 graduates, who can expect to earn between £28,500-£30,000 at entry level, who join graduate programmes for Intelligence Officers and Intelligence Data Analysts.

Unilever (consumer goods)

Unilever UK has 40 brands covering a variety of commodities, from soup to soap. The employer recruits 50 graduates at starting salaries of £30,000 to its Management and Development programme. It also employs another 50 or so students on industrial or summer placements.

The company demonstrates internal commitment to and external promotion of gender equality; at the Business in the Community Workplace Gender Equality Awards it received the Female FTSE 100 Award, which recognises the affiliate organisation with the most women on its board.

JP Morgan (financial services)

Rising to 14th place in the Top Graduate Employers list, JP Morgan is the first global finance firm to achieve such a high ranking. Although it has no set graduate recruitment targets, the bank hires several graduate analysts on competitive salaries each year, and many of these are recruited straight out of its competitive internship programmes. Developing junior talent is considered vital.

Globally, the firm is dedicated to creating a positive culture for people from diverse backgrounds, and in the USA 55% of representatives are female. As well as promoting equality in the workplace, JP Morgan has also contributed to external projects aimed at helping women. For instance, the bank partnered with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in 2014 to help female entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates, and hosted a discussion panel during Women’s History Month.

Goldman Sachs (financial services)

Goldman Sachs recruits around 400 graduates to join its New Analyst and New Associate Programmes. The programmes aim at helping graduates develop and become integrated members of the team, with access to several mentoring and training opportunities.

Amongst the bank’s policies promoting equality are its efforts to reach out to female undergraduates and sixth-formers in an attempt to encourage more women to go into what is still sometimes stereotyped as a male dominated culture. Efforts are also being made to promote more women into senior roles, both to further their careers and to create a greater number of female role models for entry-level women to look up to.

The bank also launched ‘10,000 Women’ in 2008, an initiative aimed at helping female entrepreneurs worldwide.

IBM UK (IT and telecommunications)

The IT company makes a concerted effort to reach out to girls at every stage of their education, running a Schools’ Outreach Programme, and even holding an annual ‘Take Our Daughters to Work’ day. There are also several initiatives aimed at supporting women in the company; globally, the firm has over 220 networking groups and over 50 of these are for women. In fact, the company’s website includes a section dedicated to the women of IBM.

It planned an intake of over 300 graduates, at salaries of £30,000 or more. Graduate hires also have access to the company’s generous benefits packages, ranging from travel insurance to a discount bicycle scheme.

Shell (oil and gas)

Shell’s recruitment target was between 80-100 graduates, on salaries of £32,500. Graduates can join the Commercial, Technical, or Corporate Function areas, and receive full training to ready them for on-going advancement in the company.

Shell aims to support equality and diversity at each stage of the employee life-cycle. Its recruitment programme looks to hire graduates from diverse backgrounds. The company has introduced a shared parental leave policy that matches their maternity leave policy. It also boasts several employee led diversity and inclusion networks, as well as development and mentoring schemes.

However, given the company layoffs that occurred early in 2016 in the face of weakened oil prices, this may not be the most secure industry to go into at the moment.

Procter and Gamble (consumer goods)

P&G onboards around 100 graduates in the UK at salaries of £30,000. Although the focus is on-the-job training – with graduates given responsibility from the start – the company encourages graduates to take training courses that are developed with external partners.

A driven approach to staff development has led P&G to achieve gender neutrality in the areas of sales, finance, and marketing. Most importantly, the UK leadership team is also balanced, with 8 men and 7 women in the most senior positions.

Microsoft (technology)

Recruiting 36 graduates on salaries of £34,700, roles at the tech giant are highly sought after. Graduates join the Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) scheme, developing skills for a career in marketing, technology, or sales.

As well as seeking to encourage women to pursue careers in technology, and promoting women’s networks through such features as their separate women’s Facebook page, Microsoft has also launched an innovative internal strategy to drive inclusion. All employees are expected to complete a course on Unconscious Bias Training, encouraging both men and women to break down traditional gender barriers.

By expecting everybody to change their behaviours and to create an inclusive culture, Microsoft aims to build a truly equal workplace.

BAE Systems (engineering and industrial)

The 350 or more graduates joining BAE Systems can look forwards to salaries of £25,000 and up, and benefits that can include a £2,000 welcome bonus. Schemes include the Graduate Framework Programme (2 years), the Finance Leader Development Programme (5 years), and the Sigma Leadership Programme (3 years).

BAE Systems has taken a stand against all forms of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, signing the ‘No Bystanders’ pledge to take action against all such behaviours. It also uses a Diversity and Inclusion Matrix to track their progress in this matter – from a business that meets regulatory requirements to one that recognises diversity as a boost to their performance levels.

Claire Kilroy is a content writer for the UK’s leading graduate recruitment agency, Inspiring Interns. Check out their website if you’re on the hunt for internships or graduate jobs London.

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2016 Did Not Go The Way You Planned? Plan a Stellar 2017

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Hello 2017

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

As the year draws to a close this December, it is a good time in all the holiday madness to do some reflection at the end of a busy and often surprising year for many.

What has gone well for you this year? What would you do differently? How would you do it again?

It can be useful to do an “after action review” of some of the interactions and situations that occurred for you in your home and work life to see what you have learned. We cannot change some of the outcomes, but two things are under our control, how we react to what has been handed to us and secondly what behaviorally we will do different in the hope of different outcomes in 2017.

If you did not get the job you wanted this year, even if you were truly ready for it then it is worthwhile to understand which parts where truly down to you (skills, traits, behaviors and even take a hard and honest look at mistakes) and what was really not to do with you. What do I mean by that? Simply put, culture and trends, was the country, firm or team trending in a certain way? Always understand the external environment that you are operating in. Secondly, did others have false perceptions about who you are or what you are capable of? Understand what is really you and what is imagined about you and then try your best to close that gap positively and navigate the rest of it as gracefully as possible.

Lastly, make sure the system is not flawed and that meritocratic processes are in place so that a clear and fair promotional criteria will reward those who deserve the job.

It is not lost on me that while writing this advice to you that politics does not abide by these rules, but I am confident that good firms do, so as Goethe said ” Choose wisely, your choices are brief but endless.” My advice for reviewing 2016 and planning for 2017 is exactly that.

If you are interested in hiring an Executive Coach to help you navigate your career then please contact nicki@glasshammer2.wpengine.com for a no obligation chat to discuss options

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Voice of Experience: Lia Turri, Partner, PwC Italy

lia turriBy Cathie Ericson

With a 20-year track record of success at PwC, including 10 years as partner, Lia Turri has always specialized in the financial services sector, developing a strong client services background. She has focused on engagements with leaders of Italian companies and helped oversee IPOs and a variety of special projects. This longevity has helped her guide clients as the industry ushers in changes brought by the effect of new technologies. “It will be a completely different environment in five to 10 years and my goal is to help my clients adapt,” she says.

Heading Up Diversity Efforts Region Wide

In addition to her client services roles, Turri was asked in 2016 to coordinate diversity strategy across PwC offices in the Middle East, Europe and Africa after a successful stint as the diversity leader for Italy.

She has embarked on a listening tour, as she works with the diversity leaders across the region to hear their key priorities and understand the successful actions they are already implementing, thus enabling teams to share best practices with one another.

The first step in any change management process, she says, is to determine current priorities and then adopt a scale of measurement so you can track progress and make sure the actions you’re putting in place achieve the desired results.

Diversity can be measured in many ways, such as gender, culture and age, but the team has found that gender is something that can be most effectively monitored. Currently, 18% of partners across the footprint are female, so that is an easy metric to focus on for improving. “We are losing competencies if we don’t keep women at higher levels,” Turri points out, so it’s vital to share successful best practices.

Turri has found that initiatives across Italy have already brought positive results, as the team has received feedback from clients that the increased diversity has been noticed. She appreciates the opportunity she has been given to head this initiative and is eager to get everyone on board.

“It’s gratifying to be able to work across the boundaries and be in touch with people from other offices and areas. It has truly helped me recognize how many amazing people are working within PwC,” she says.

Growing the Pipeline

Turri has been active in a mentoring program called Sharing the Future, which is designed to help increase the pipeline for the partners of tomorrow by pairing senior managers with mentor partners. The pilot was such a success that they decided to continue the program with a new group of mentees, and all the partners who participated the first time elected to continue with the program — a success from both sides.

One of the messages that Turri shares with younger associates she works with is that you have to make sure that you are in the driver’s seat of your career, rather than letting others decide for you. For example, she says it is a common occurrence that a young woman will have a baby and others will start counting her out. “They might decide that her family has taken precedence, so they don’t invite her to participate in interesting projects because they think she won’t have the capacity, yet they haven’t even asked her what she wants.” Turri cautions against letting other project on you and your career.

“Blind spots are the the measure of the other person, not you,” she says, and yet they can affect the opportunities you are offered. In that way they can influence whether you can achieve a goal and will allow others to impact your career trajectory if you let them.

She also finds that in a male-dominated industry, many women assume they need to act like a man to progress in their career, but eventually they realize they are submerging the qualities that set them apart.

Finally, women need to support each other, she says. “Women have a great power, and if they are working together, they can great results.”

Along the way she has learned the importance of getting that support, even at home, through her two kids, ages 20 and 16. “They keep me energized in whatever I’m doing at work or at home,” she says. “They are very supportive of me in my passions and interest. Because I put a lot of time into my work, they encourage me to remember to always seek balance.”

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Voice of Experience: Carey Kolaja, Global Chief Product Officer, Citi FinTech

carey-kolajaBy Cathie Ericson

“Earlier in my career, I thought I always had to be right, but I learned that’s just not the case,” says Carey Kolaja of Citi FinTech. “Life is more enjoyable when you remove that pressure you’re putting on yourself and turn to others for input. The collective wisdom can yield a greater return,” she says.

Kolaja has had 21 years in financial services, but a series of diverse experiences – which has run the gamut from start-ups to big banks to consulting firms — has taught her to trust the input of others as she learned new strategies with different companies.

She worked in the information technology department of eBay and most recently came from PayPal, where she experienced incredible growth, seeing the company mature from 1,000 employees when she started to 14,000 when she left. It was an environment where every couple of years the company would reinvent itself, and she oversaw a host of different challenges over 13 years as she rose through the ranks to become Vice President of Global Consumer Products, helping establish the brand to hundreds of millions of customers globally.

Building Programs That Endure

“I am fortunate to have risen to a role that allows me to be at the epicenter of the collision between finance and technology, during a time of great growth and change,” she says. “I am proud of the global products I’ve placed in the market over the years and the impact they’ve had in transforming consumer buying behaviors,” Kolaja adds.

Not only has she made her mark on products, but programs as well. At eBay she was asked to establish a women in tech program that started with 50 and ended with 1,800 by the time she passed the baton. “It continues to live on, and it’s exciting when you can build things that endure. I have always defined successful leadership as making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence,” she says, noting that the programs that have been most meaningful are those that were organic, rather than mandated from the top down.

Managing Industry Disruption

The team Kolaja now works with, Citi FinTech, has been set up within the past 12 months — a unit charged with “designing and delivering the bank of tomorrow,” as the industry moves forward to stay relevant in this fast-moving space. “There’s been some disbelief that what we were trying to do would happen,” she says, given that there are such stringent policy restraints, and the huge leap involved in its aim to meet customers in their day-to-day lives and access their money whenever they need to in today’s digital and mobile world. “The odds are against us but if you look at what we’ve accomplished so far and what we have in the works for the months ahead, it shows that you can’t discount the banks,” she says.

The disruption has happened throughout the industry, as people’s identities have moved from the physical to the digital realm, and every company from established firms to startups are trying to figure out how to enable people to safely and confidently make financial transactions. As the physical bank’s role continues to change, the industry will continue to reimagine the personalities that financial instructions have, by learning from fintech and other industries.

“The expectations have changed and it’s all about enabling transactions for our customers when and where they want, and often while they’re doing something else,” she says.

“While a customer is eating dinner she remembers she needs to check her savings account for an upcoming family vacation. How do we help in that moment? We will continue to transcend traditional touchpoints as we engage customers on their terms and meet their goals and aspirations.”

Part of the change in the industry is being wrought by a general change in the trust dynamic in society at large, she believes. Whereas people used to trust institutions, now they trust brands. We used to trust hotels, and now we stay at people’s homes in the Air BnB society.

But embracing this transformation is part of who Kolaja is and how she has always led. “I have always coached my team by leading with the fact that you have to be able to imagine that the possibilities of change are endless, and that those who change the world are those who believe they can.”

She has learned the value of empowering others, and her global role has allowed her to see what she can learn in different cultures that was relevant across the board. That notion helped her to understand the value of diverse thoughts, experiences and points of view. “Most boundaries – whether they are cultural or organizational — are usually artificial, and exist in your own mind,” she says, noting that you can’t let others impose their boundaries on you.

Although she hasn’t felt subject to gender differences in the workplace, she understands that others look up to her for the strides she has made in fintech. When someone pointed out that she had found a way to break the glass ceiling and therefore had the responsibility to be a role model and speak out, she accepted that charge. Now, she is proud to say that 50 percent of leaders in Citi FinTech are women.

Speaking Out to Achieve Success

One piece of advice she offers women is to give themselves permission to speak, rather than always waiting for an invitation or a safe environment. It was during a week-long leadership program that her coach noted that people would listen when Kolaja spoke, despite her always waiting to be asked to speak. The coach advised her to make a habit of speaking up in the first three minutes of any interaction, which Kolaja says helped her believe that what she had to say added value. “That’s such an important coaching element for women in general,” she says. “I am the only one who can give myself permission to speak. That leadership program happened more than 10 years ago but I’m reminded of that lesson every day. If we limit ourselves, then ultimately we’re the ones who lose out.”

Kolaja says she tried and failed to separate her work and personal lives, so she incorporates them as much as she can. “Sometimes I need to be a mother in the middle of the afternoon and sometimes I need to be an employee at 10 p.m. Technology is helping me with both, and now the physical-digital balance is what I contend with.”

As a family of self-described “risk takers,” she and her husband and two boys, ages 14 and 10, love to travel as a family and golf and scuba dive. Recently they spent five days in Costa Rica with no devices. “Scuba diving allows us to spend time together, and it also allows us to be truly present. Now that we’re connected even while we’re in the air, the sea is the one remaining place we can have solitude.”

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Why Leaders Need More than Mirror Reflections

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female-leaders-looking-in-her-mirror-reflection-featuredBy Aimee Hansen

Amidst increasing access to a broader worldview, we are paradoxically retreating into narrowing, amplified, separated tunnels of perspective.

One of the clearest examples is the side-by-side blue feed, red feed posted by The Wall Street Journal. These views are never side-by-side but rather constructions of completely different realities.

Social media (with Facebook at top) is a news source for 62% of U.S. adults, and when our Facebook newsfeed is increasingly a tunnel lined with mirrors, the sum reflection is silos of distortion.

Diversity of thought is a muscle that is essential to leadership, and one that we may be getting weaker at flexing when it comes to developing our worldview in our personal and societal lives. Whatever we practice, we become better at. So arguably, we are getting better at listening to people who think like we already do.

To be effective leaders, we have to increasingly be more vigilant about the practice of inviting diversity of thought in, even when it’s difficult to do so.

How Facebook Is Narrowing Our Feedback Loop

As highlighted in the The New York Times, it’s our interaction with social media that both biases and narrows our exposure to different viewpoints and different stories.

Frank Bruni writes, “The Internet isn’t rigged to give us right or left, conservative or liberal — at least not until we rig it that way. It’s designed to give us more of the same, whatever that same is: one sustained note from the vast and varied music that it holds, one redundant fragrance from a garden of infinite possibility.”

When our ideas and perspectives are not challenged, but only reinforced by our customized curation of news through interaction with social media,“we retreat into enclaves of the like-minded” with increased speed and depth, while missing out on a breadth of perspectives.

According to the NYT, “Technology makes it much easier for us to connect to people who share some single common interest,” said author Marc Dunkelman (“The Vanishing Neighbor”), and easier to avoid “face-to-face interactions with diverse ideas.”

According to network scientist, Vyacheslav Polonski writing for the World Economic Forum, previous research has shown that increased contact with people who share our previously held beliefs makes those beliefs more extreme.

We become more confident, vigorous, and emboldened as we begin to adopt a new group identity. At the same time, we becoming increasingly ignorant to the dynamics of alternative world views. There is both power and peril.

Confirming Our Own Biases

According to The Guardian, “Since online content is often curated to fit our preferences, interests and personality, the internet can even enhance our existing biases and undermine our motivation to learn new things.”

One bias that is supported by echo chambers is confirmation bias, where we look to see our own preconceptions confirmed rather than fully taking facts, data, or opposing viewpoints into consideration. We are drawn to prove ourselves right by consuming information that matches our opinions even though “being exposed to conflicting views tends to reduce prejudice and enhance creative thinking.”

As Warren Buffet said, “What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” With too much information to deal with, it’s a survival strategy to ignore most of it, but we tend to selectively ignore what does not agree with us.

The Boardroom Echo Chamber

If we want to know more about the dangers of decision-making inside of a (digital) echo chamber, we can look to the corporate boardroom, because that has existed mostly as an echo chamber for decades.

In 2015, Fortune 500 companies filled 399 vacant or newly created seats, the highest number of seats since Heidrick & Struggles began tracking. But when faced with a record opportunity to increase diversity, the Fortune 500 boardroom stuck to its own kind.

Tapping from the “usual suspects” (73% of appointments were current and former CEOs and CFOs), the range of industry backgrounds narrowed, women appointments stalled, Latino appointments remained flat, and Asian-American appointments fell. The only improvements in diversity were African-American (1% point) and international experience (32.2% points).

In sum, older white male seats or new seats were filled with older white males with international experience. From the perspective of social diversity, boards elected more mirrors to reflect similar viewpoints, not more windows to bring in diverse perspectives.

Diversity Makes Us Smarter

According to the Harvard Business Review, the key differentiator of leadership (and the career arc of a leader) is a process of inclusiveness in decision making, the ability to take into account a 360 degree context.

Underlining the importance of gathering multiple perspectives, Associate Professor Laurence Minksy and Julia Tang Peters write, “Habitual outreach prevents insular thinking, opens doors to ideas and collaborative relationships, expands problem-solving perspectives, and increases the range of resources for implementation.”

As reiterated by Scientific American, social diversity enhances creativity, encourages the search for novel perspectives, and leads to better decision-making and problem solving. Katherine W. Phillips, a Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics, writes, “Simply interacting with individuals who are different forces group members to prepare better, to anticipate alternative viewpoints and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort.”

“Being with similar others leads us to think we all hold the same information and share the same perspective,” writes Phillips. This keeps us from effectively processing information, and hinders creativity and innovation. Whereas in a context of diversity, we are less complacent with our perspectives and begin to consider alternatives even before personal interaction takes place.

“Simply adding social diversity to a group makes people believe that differences of perspective might exist among them and that belief makes people change their behavior,” writes Phillips. We work harder on both a cognitive and social level, become more diligent, and more open-minded because we anticipate it will take more to come to a consensus.

Also, disagreement with those who are socially different to us also does more to spark our consideration.

“When we hear dissent from someone who is different from us (eg. by race or political party), it provokes more thought than when it comes from someone who looks like us,“ writes Phillips. “When disagreement comes from a socially different person, we are prompted to work harder. Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.”

Your Diversity Muscle

As Phillips points out, diversity of thought is a muscle we have to exercise. “You have to push yourself to grow your muscles.”

So as a leader, ask yourself where are you allowing yourself to be drawn into an echo chamber? Are you being inclusive in your own decision-making?

And, where in your workplace do you see a tunnel of mirrors in need of some windows?

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Time Gaps in your Resume? Turn Black Holes into Wins

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CV / ResumeGuest Contributed By Sharon Nir

Recruiters and hiring managers have unconscious and conscious bias and judgement based on employment intervals can be one of the greatest organizational impediments for success.

But if organizations attempted to understand black holes in employee resume the way astrophysicists strive to understand black holes in the universe, they could uncover concealed information about candidates that could prove valuable for the position, but might not be attained through interview, questionnaire or psychological assessment. Therefore, instead of distracting interviewers away from employment gaps, interviewees should pull future employers right into them.

Show you’re a good match

Many valuable organizational resources are consumed during the hiring process; therefore, organizations do their best to find the most promising candidates. One approach to an applicant’s assessment is based on the concept of “fit”. Three different types of “fit” exist— the first two are relatively easy to attain, the third is legendary. A person-organization fit is focused on how well an individual “fits” within the organizational culture. A person-job fit is focused on how well an individual “suits” the job he or she is hired to do in two aspects: personality and skills. The legendary option is the combination of the two in which a candidate demonstrates both organizational and job fit.

Candidate’s evaluation based on the level of “fit” is essential, because in many cases, it predicts the future success of the recruitment. In this context, the employers’ tendency to mind the gap could be explained by their look for “fitted” employees, which in their opinion translates to well-planned, long-term objectives achieved by following a gap-free career path. Additionally, employment gaps predominantly create a big question mark, and most organizations do everything they possibly can to avoid any kind of ambiguity. Therefore, the candidates have the responsibility to replace question marks with exclamation points and prove they are a perfect match for both the job and the organization.

Before you apply for a position, perform a thorough study of the company’s mindset. On the website, focus on the mission statement, values, and social responsibility initiatives or activities. Sign up for the company’s newsletter, which is a great resource for learning about the organizational culture, latest news, and employees’ appreciation. Additionally, search for recent articles about the company.

Then go back to your resume and elaborate about previous positions that are aligned with the organizational culture, mission, and social responsibility commitment at the expense of positions that are not. In the cover letter, explain how the skills and the experience you’ve gained during your employment gap would come in handy in the position for which you are applying. During the interview, gravitate the conversation towards the black holes and give specific examples of the way your core competencies, which you’ve acquired throughout the gap period can be valuable to the organization.

The past counts but the future is pertinent

The 21st century’s lifestyle dictates modifications. Gone are the days when people worked from nine-to-five, were mostly involved in physical labor, and remained in the same work place for forty years. Today, we live in a fast-paced, ever-changing business environment that promotes employment mobility and career transformations. In such eco-systems, employment gaps could be one of the best predictors of employees’ growth and future successes, because like in the universe, black holes exhibit a strong gravitational pull that could help evaluate candidates’ personalities beneficial to the position and the organization.

If you are an educated, skilled professional with employment gaps, you could contribute more to organizations than a similar candidate without gaps. You are the employee any smart forward-thinking organization would like to have. You are a curious, creative, risk-taking, self-directed, adaptive, agile, and adjustable individual who may exhibit unique problem-solving skills, which are powered by a situation analysis and a complex decision-making process.

The fact a skilled technical writer took off a year or two to write her debut novel and DJ-ed on the weekends to support her family presents a candidate who is responsible, creative, and dedicated to her mission. If an IT project manager traded her career for her family for a few years that should suggest she has her priorities straight, possesses a high-risk tolerance, and follows her values and beliefs. A successful art teacher in her 40s who took off a few years and returned to school to study architecture should give a clue this candidate has a vision, and she is unwilling to settle for anything less than what she can achieve.

Candidates with these exclusive core competencies are the catalysts of innovation and growth. They are organizations’ most-prized possessions, and most likely, they would be the ones to help the organization achieve and sustain the competitive advantage. Therefore, stop feeling inferior and instead display pride, and show you’re the organization’s legendary option as you fit both the job and the organization due to your unusual or creative career path.

A word to employers

Employers should keep in mind that hiring a candidate with employment intervals is anything but compromising. Important to remember is that a candidate with years of work experience from which she didn’t take on growth challenges is worthless to the organization, while a candidate with a modest experience from which she evolved and changed is invaluable.

Sharon NirAbout the author

Sharon Nir is the author of The Opposite of Comfortable: The Unlikely Choices of a Career Immigrant Woman (Viki Press/May 2016). Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, she holds a Bachelor of Art degree in Language and Literature from Tel Aviv University, and an MBA in Marketing and International Management from Northeastern University of Massachusetts. Sharon, her husband and two children reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit sharonnir.com and connect @sharonvnir and facebook.com/sharonvnir for more info.

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Voice of Experience: Rana Yared, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

rana-yaredBy Cathie Ericson

“Stand out by owning your own details,” says Rana Yared of Goldman Sachs, offering advice she learned as an analyst. “Commit to knowing the specifics of every assignment and how they relate to the bigger picture. That’s how you establish you reputation as a thinker, not just a doer,” she says, noting that this advice has helped propel her career.

After earning a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc from the London School of Economics, Yared believed her next step would be to earn a PhD. However, she says, “a function of luck, great mentorship, and letting opportunity come to me rather than having a pre-set plan,” propelled her on an alternate path.

Never before having considered a career in finance, Yared joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2006. She moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a Managing Director in 2013, and today she leads both the New York and London-based Principal Strategic Investments (PSI) teams in the Securities Division, which are responsible for market structure strategy and the firm’s financial technology assets. In this capacity, she represents Goldman Sachs on the boards of several companies that PSI has invested in.

“I’m excited about the team’s role in reimagining how we serve our clients as we improve both the workflow and the quality of information that we can share in this time of digital transformation,” she says. Goldman Sachs is at the forefront of harnessing financial services innovation, and the transformation within the firm has been exciting. “There’s been a fundamental change in our business model and how we approach capital and liquidity,” she says. “It’s been fascinating to think of ways to optimize these varied opportunities.”

Yared is not only proud of the work the team has done for the Goldman Sachs franchise, but also that she has become a leader for the next generation. One career milestone she cited was being asked to speak at the First Year Securities Analyst Orientation. “I always remembered the female partner who spoke at my orientation upon joining the firm, and the impact her comments and advice made on me. It’s an honor to be trusted with making a first impression on our newest joiners,” she explains.

She also reflected on the moment she was able to tell her parents she was promoted to Managing Director. “As the child of immigrants, I was proud to share with them my accomplishments.”

Work Hard, Play Well

One of the lessons Yared has learned over the years is to have more fun. “When I first joined the firm in New York, I enjoyed the work but didn’t take the time to fall in love with the city,” she says, noting that it was initially challenging to manage her work-life balance. When she moved to London with the firm in 2008, she placed an emphasis on maintaining a balance between work and her outside activities. Now that she has returned to New York, Yared has remained committed to establishing ties to her neighborhood and exploring the city.

Another mentor provided a different success formula that has stuck with her: Q x A = E. “This means that the quality of one’s communication times its acceptance equals its effectiveness. In other words, the way that your message is delivered and heard is as important as your content,” she says.

Improving on all the advice she has received is a constant work in progress, but there’s another area that takes no second thought: “If there’s a day that your conscience is tested, that’s the day to walk away,” she says with conviction. “If something is making it challenging for you to sleep easy, you’re in the wrong place.”

Active in Programs Inside and Outside the Firm

Yared highlights that Goldman Sachs’ Women’s Career Strategy Initiative, a program tailored for associates, helped her refine key attributes, such as messaging and presentation skills. She recognizes that the bar of excellence can be higher for women to meet in the workplace. “It’s a tricky balance on how you should portray yourself, but it has become easier to navigate as my career progresses,” she says. She strongly supports the Female Trader Initiative, where female analysts and interns who have strong quantitative skills are provided mentorship.

A devotee of philanthropic causes, particularly those related to public education, Yared is a member of the Penn Fund Executive Board at the University of Pennsylvania and sits on the advisory board of Wabash College’s Democracy and Discourse program. “I was especially proud to have been asked to join the advisory board of this school, which has a long history of educating first-generation college students,” she says.

In her spare time, Yared loves traveling, cooking and photography.

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Mover and Shaker: Sara Donaldson, Vice President, Proxy Voting at Voya Investment Management

sara-donaldsonBy Cathie Ericson

“That’s not my job’ is something I would never say,” asserts Voya’s Sara Donaldson. “If something needs to get done, with the support of the individual ultimately responsible for it, I will take responsibility for it to make sure it gets done.”

Part of that value includes following up when needed. “It’s ok to say you don’t know something, but you should also work toward a resolution by asking questions and putting that knowledge to work,” she says, a strategy much better than making something up or not following through with an answer.

Proud to be a Corporate Governance Professional

Donaldson began her career at a real estate advisory firm, overseeing investor relations, marketing and legal support and regulatory compliance. She became interested in equities and in 1997 accepted a position as a paralegal at a global equity advisory firm, believing that once she proved herself she could expand her responsibilities.

In that role, she oversaw U.S. compliance, mutual fund administration and global proxy voting. Some of the firm’s institutional clients compelled the firm to take a more active oversight role in the companies in which they were investing. Chairing the global proxy committee, and working closely with the investment team and corporate governance committee during this time, prompted her interest in corporate governance. In 2014 she joined Voya to concentrate on that field.

“Voya Investment Management and the Voya mutual fund board are committed to voting proxies in our clients’ best interest,” she says. “One of the Voya mutual fund board members described my role as an advocate for our mutual fund shareholders, and I take great pride in that. I also take pride in representing Voya when I engage with the public companies in which we are invested.”

Through her years in corporate governance, she has been impressed by the power that shareholders have to influence the companies in which they are invested. “I have become much more interested in how companies and shareholders address environmental, social and governance issues. It is fascinating that shareholders could materially influence how companies approach some of these issues,” she says, noting such topics as the “old boy’s network in the board room,” CEO pay, environmental risk and others. “Additionally, investment advisers are looking at more than just financial statements; they are also considering these issues when evaluating companies.”

Right now she is involved in transforming the proxy voting process she had inherited upon joining the division. Currently, they process and vote at more than 8,000 meetings annually. Historically, the analysis and all of the documentation for every meeting has been printed. In order to gain efficiencies, promote sustainability and reduce costs, they are moving to an electronic process.

Through her many years, she has built numerous skills, and one she recommends refining is public speaking. “When I give a presentation, I make sure I have rehearsed so I can interact with the audience rather than reading from a slide deck or paper,” she says. “Having your talking points well prepared allows you to relax and perform better.”

Networking Inside the Company and Industry

Donaldson participates in a few of the networking programs at Voya, but also finds great value in a group of women in corporate governance who meet at industry conferences. She considers the other members to be role models and appreciates the candid conversations they can have about similar issues they face when making decisions on how to vote on behalf of shareholders.

“Corporate governance is always evolving, so it is advantageous to have this network as a resource,” she says.

She also believes in bolstering other women’s talents. When she first joined the financial services industry, she saw that the layers of middle management were male dominated, as historically this had been true.

“Back then, I saw some of my female peers not being able to achieve the same level of success as men, even if they were equally qualified or more accomplished,” she says, noting that women are making great strides but this is still the case in some areas of the financial services industry.

Enjoying Her New Desert Lifestyle

Donaldson moved to Arizona from San Francisco when she accepted her current position. As empty nesters with three grown children, she and her husband were excited to pack up their two dogs and move to Scottsdale to enjoy new adventures.

They have embraced the beautiful weather. As avid cyclists, they enjoy riding with local clubs. “I especially enjoy walking my dogs early in the morning and watching the sunrise and then enjoying the sunset while we eat outside,” Donaldson says.

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