Calling All Imposters

By Monisha Jayakumar, Portfolio Manager with Wells Fargo Asset Management’s Analytic Investors Team

Monisha Jayakumar Imposter Syndrome. It’s a term I’ve heard a lot recently. It seems mysterious and eerily like a medical diagnosis—but fear not, it isn’t.

It’s just a tiny critical voice in your head that says “You don’t belong here!” when you’re on the brink of doing something courageous. It calls out when you are about to speak in front of an audience, take on a new role, pitch a new idea in an email, raise your hand and ask a question, or consider asking for a raise. So when we encourage people to speak up, stand up, and be seen, what if you are the one holding yourself back?

My title at work is portfolio manager with the Analytic Investors team within Wells Fargo Asset Management. I oversee approximately $8 billion in quantitative factor-enhanced strategies. In plain speak, I work with financial data and code processes to extract useful information that our team uses to make investing decisions for our clients’ assets.

As someone who analyzes data to create usable information, I have found that imposter syndrome is ubiquitous. My informal data collection—which includes many smart, ambitious, and successful women and men in my book clubs, parent groups, and friend circles—tells me that this lurking feeling of inadequacy at work is a feeling many of us share. We just haven’t had the courage to openly discuss it at the workplace.

I recently came across the work of Brené Brown, a courage and vulnerability researcher. In delving into her book Daring Greatly, I discovered a contrary idea to the years of “fake it till you make it” advice I’d been getting. Brown states: “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen. True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world.” According to the author, courage requires embracing three things: vulnerability, uncertainty and risk. She goes on to make a radical connection: without vulnerability and courage, there’s no creativity and innovation.

Courage is about vulnerability. Vulnerability builds trust and authentic connections. Isn’t that what businesses need? During the summer before graduate school, I was assigned heaps of summer reading that I did not get through. My “imposter” self was convinced that everyone else probably knew the reading assignment forwards and backwards. Anxiety rumbled that morning during our orientation breakfast when a fellow classmate whispered, “I still have several chapters I haven’t finished and I’m kind of nervous about it.” Pure relief and an authentic friendship ensued.

Courage is being okay with uncertainty. I was once afraid to ask for a pay raise for eight years. The small employee-owned firm that I was with at the time regularly researched pay scales and provided timely pay raises. But I am fully aware this is not commonplace. When I debated asking for a raise—something I believe was well earned—I would hear that “imposter” voice that doubted my worth. Accepting the uncertainty of an outcome is the key to your courage and vulnerability. When I let go of being wedded to a specific outcome, it became easier to express myself. And despite the discomfort of the conversation, there was great comfort in knowing I advocated for myself.

Courage is about risk taking. If you work in a profession where you stand out, it means you took a risk. There was a time when I didn’t understand that gender differences really matter. Why would I care if 10% or 50% were women? But here’s the thing: The more people who’ve done this before, looking or sounding exactly like you, the more confident you feel replicating prior success. In some ways it was motherhood that made me stop pretending it didn’t matter if I was a woman. In grappling with reasonable expectations I could set about maternity leave, a mentor said, “No one can do your job like you do it.” I realized that what I need, and what we all need, is different. I also realized what I contribute is different. I began asking for what I needed from a place of self-worth instead of a place of fear. Have the courage to value your uniqueness and own your seat at the table.

If there’s no courage, there’s no creativity and innovation. People and corporations both value these tenets – but are we making room to empower one another to truly be courageous? At some point in our careers, we’ve all seen unhealthy posturing. In my industry, the loud hyper-competent facade doesn’t serve anymore. What if being courageous enough to be vulnerable is the antidote? What if being authentic could be the key to actually shedding this personal and collective “imposter” syndrome?

Looking forward, I want to grow within the system but also encourage it to expand. So here’s my call to action. Risk being vulnerable: when you take on a new role or when you have changes in your personal life, share your fears and hopes. Accept uncertainty and have the uncomfortable conversations on inclusion and pay transparency. Take chances. If you are asked to speak at a conference, ignore the “imposter” voice and say yes, and empower others to do the same. Participate in creating the culture you wish could be created for you. And then watch that spark light the fire.

/by

Voice of Experience: Karen Nelson, Partner, Katten

Karen NelsonPerspective is a wonderful thing, finds Katten’s Karen Nelson.

“It’s natural to get wrapped up in stressful aspects of deals, and as young lawyers, it’s easy to become overwrought when things aren’t going perfectly,” she said. “However an accumulation of experience helps you see that everything is resolvable, and we can work through it. It allows you to maintain that sense of calm and confidence that clients need.”

Relationships as the Core

Nelson has achieved this perspective throughout her career, which began in Chicago after she graduated from Northwestern University School of Law, relocating to Charlotte in 2006. A commercial real estate finance attorney, Nelson has been at Katten’s Charlotte office since 2012, where she has advised some of the largest commercial and investment banks, insurance companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) across the country, leading large and complicated finance transactions on behalf of her clients. Nelson’s success stems from not only her diligence and business-savviness as an attorney and skillful practitioner in the real estate industry, but also her belief in the value of fostering relationships with her clients and getting to know their business as if they were her own.

In fact, those long and deep relationships represent the professional achievement she is most proud of. “The best part of my job is being fully integrated with these clients, in relationships I developed professionally and that have become personal as well, as we have worked together for more than a decade,” Nelson said. Her case load has continued to expand, and that is a continuing inspiration as she strives to further grow her practice.

Expanding Roles for Women

Both the firm as a whole and the Charlotte office of Katten are highly female-friendly, Nelson says, which has been helpful for her career. But what she’s found interesting and gratifying over the past decade is the increase in females throughout the industry—as clients and attorneys on the other side of deals. “It’s been noticeable, and now many deals might be driven completely by women, from in-house counsel to the attorneys on both sides. It’s been exciting to see that trend as more women populate the industry,” she said.

At Katten, Nelson has been active in the Women’s Leadership Forum where she leads a team in developing programs to assist female attorneys with defining, achieving and managing their career goals. She particularly enjoys participating in the annual events where members of the firm convene both for industry trainings and to build their exposure within the firm.

As part of the forum’s national mentoring panel, Nelson advises women attorneys on how to develop good business relationships, including connecting with others who are at their same level at client organizations, and shares her advice and experience regarding managing a family and a practice.

Nelson sees unending opportunity for young women attorneys, and advises them to trust their knowledge and capabilities, and not be hesitant to leave their comfort zone. “If you have ambition to grow your career, don’t be afraid to take a leap and see how it can bolster your trajectory,” she says.

As women progress, she says there is a natural pressure point once you’ve achieved the level you’ve strived for. “It can become even more important to search for that balance, as more is demanded of you as you move up the ladder,” she says. She recommends that women focus on even just taking a short break to walk outside and feel the sunshine and get re-energized before returning to a project. “Sometimes those five minutes can make all the difference,” she notes.

Nelson offers that advice from a place of experience. As a mother of two kids, ages six and eight, she devotes the majority of her time outside of work to them, while finding time to release stress through activities like climbing.

“It’s been very important for me to be at a place where I could have a meaningful, successful career and not miss out on life’s events. I strive to lead by example in my commitment to work-life balance and career development. Simply put, managing and expanding my practice while making sure that I have time for my growing family is my number one priority,” Nelson said.

/by

Launch With GS: Lead Investors on Their Investing Philosophy and Keys to Success

Launch with GS
Last month, Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ commitment to invest $500 million in women-led companies and investment managers, celebrated its one-year anniversary.

The initiative aims to narrow the gender investing gap and build a global network of business leaders to facilitate connections, share ideas, and uncover opportunities.

Launch With GS was founded based on the view that diversity of gender, thought and background leads to outperformance, driving growth for Goldman Sachs’ clients, shareholders and communities. In this edition of The Glass Hammer, we spoke with three Goldman Sachs partners who are lead investors for Launch With GS on their approach to investing and their advice for entrepreneurs, as well as individuals interested in pursuing a career in investing. Meet the Goldman Sachs investors:

Nicole Agnew is a partner in the Merchant Banking Division and a lead investor for Launch With GS.

Stephanie Hui is head of the Merchant Banking Division in Asia Pacific. She is also on the Board of Advisors of Launch With GS.

Jo Natauri is a partner in the Merchant Banking Division and a lead investor for Launch With GS.

How do you think Launch With GS is helping to change the investing landscape?

Stephanie Hui: It’s not just about supporting diversity, it’s fundamentally good for business to have the whole investing ecosystem become more diverse. As an investor in Asia, I’ve seen that women have a more difficult time accessing capital than male entrepreneurs, and Launch With GS is particularly impactful because it helps transform the whole supply chain – we’re seeking out women entrepreneurs who are high potential and who require funding, but might not have received it through traditional means.

Nicole Agnew: I think it’s a great initiative that the firm has started to support and invest in female-founded and female-led businesses. The inbound interest has been very high, and we’ve seen that a network and community of female entrepreneurs is being developed around Launch – and we hope this ecosystem continues to grow to generate even more investing opportunities for female founders.

Jo Natauri: Launch With GS has helped to raise a level of awareness around the importance of diversity when evaluating potential transactions. Diversity is now a key factor we think about when moving forward with deals.

What factors help you decide to make an investment?

Jo: First and foremost, we evaluate if a potential investment is a good business – we look at industry trends, competitive dynamics, how the business is run, what if any, upsides there are to the business, and support the management team might need from investors.

Nicole: We are generally interested in businesses with a strong financial record, high return on capital, a growing top-line and strong margin performance. As a general philosophy, we love to back excellent management teams, and the talent that a business has is a very important factor as well.

Stephanie: We evaluate potential investments from both a top-down and bottoms-up perspective. Top-down refers to the size of the market, the growth potential of the sector, and the number of competitors and economics of the company. Bottoms-up means that we evaluate the quality of the management team, market positioning of the business, and “moat” around the business (e.g., distinguishing technology).

What advice do you have for people who want to go into investing?

Nicole: People who are happy and fulfilled in an investing role generally have a natural curiosity about businesses and want to go deep to learn how things work. Investing is also a relatively analytical business, so people with an ability to dissect information are more likely to be successful.

Stephanie: You should have a very long-term view if you’re interested in a career in investing, because typically investments take at least five years from gestation to fruition. You have to think about a career in decades – and the good thing about this business is, the longer you’re at it, the better you become as your judgement is refined over time.

Jo: It’s important to have a mix of skills sets. You need both analytical qualities in order to assess businesses, but you also need to be able to work well with others, such as the management teams of businesses you invest in.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs / individuals interested in starting their own business?

Stephanie: Particularly for female entrepreneurs, it’s important to think big and evaluate how they can scale their business. I would also recommend that entrepreneurs develop a network around them that helps ensure they have support across all different specialties – it goes back to the old saying, ‘hire people who are more capable than yourself.’

Jo: The key is to remain open-minded, pay attention to how your industry is changing, and be able to adapt, particularly as technology continues to alter businesses.

Nicole: Number one, you have to be very passionate and ensure you’re well prepared to start your own business. In addition, people who are able to adapt and be flexible in their thinking and approach seem to be more likely to succeed.

What do you look for in a founding team?

Jo: Leadership teams that have a long-term vision and are able to execute on that vision are typically teams that we’re most interested in. It’s also important for management teams to be flexible and adapt, because every industry is constantly evolving and changing.

Stephanie: Being humble, down to earth and hard-working are characteristics we look for in founding teams. Complementary teams that are able to share feedback and have honest conversations with one another tend to be the teams that succeed.

What interesting market trends are you seeing / what opportunities do you expect?

Nicole: The traditional aspects of consumer and retail are being disrupted by technology and changing consumer preferences – businesses successful in these industries in the past are not necessarily growing today. As a result, we’re interested in companies that are focused on the experiences they’re providing to their customers, as opposed to solely the product.

Stephanie: The digitization of traditional businesses via e-commerce platforms and the availability of data is substantially changing the way we approach, understand and speak with customers. A second big trend is that the younger generation is very formidable in terms of spending. And third, social media is changing purchasing behavior – people now rely more on friends’ recommendations.

What are you passionate about outside of the office?

Stephanie: I have three teenage boys, and they’re my passion and focus outside of the office. I was previously on the board of the Women’s Foundation, which is an organization based in Hong Kong that advocates for the female population and diversity in the workforce in Hong Kong. In addition, I’m on the board of the Save the Children Hong Kong chapter – as a mother of three it’s really important to me that all children have access to opportunities and life changes.

Nicole: I try to live a very balanced life, because working in investing and private equity can take up 100 percent of your time if you allow it. I place an emphasis on spending time with my family and friends and supporting them in all that they do.

Jo: I have three young kids, so my family is top of mind and my top priority. I also spend a lot of time in the nonprofit world around domestic violence – I sit on the board of Safe Horizons and I’ve also started my own foundation that is developing a device to help reduce violence against women, which is in the late development stage.

 

Learn more about Launch With GS.

/by

Managing your Emotions at Work for Maximum Productivity

,
You take a coffee or healthy snack, start a friendly conversation with a colleague, listen to your favorite music, watch some funny YouTube stuff (but don’t go overboard), visit your favorite site, rearrange or make up your working place, make a list of places to visit or movies to watch.

Emotions at workThese are great mood busters that will help you in critical situations. When the initial fire is coped, you need to sit down and analyze the case, identify the source of distress, and how you can overcome it.

Sometimes it is hard to keep up a good performance at the workplace. The burden of responsibilities, tight deadlines, a never satisfied boss, unfriendly customers, and co-workers, can turn your work into hell. Everyone may face similar situations, but not everyone knows how to avoid negative emotions.

The ability to control your feelings is no less important than well-honed professional skills. Negative feelings like frustration, anxiety, anger or distress may undermine your reputation, hinder working productivity or even lead to burnout. Nonetheless, there is a solution of how to deal with emotions to maximize productivity.

Below, you will find four elements to consider that will help you deal with your emotions and maximize your productivity:
Self Control

Research and surveys have shown that negative emotions are quite common in the workplace. The pressure of constant duties gradually degrades our mental and physical stability, which may result in a lack of emotional control. Eventually, problems may demotivate or strike the working efficiency, and people give up to negative emotions.

The majority of people are used to suppressing their feelings, but psychologists suggest that the better option is to learn to control your emotions. Constant restrain or denial of emotional issues does not solve the initial problem, and when negative emotions gradually pile up, it may eventually lead to a nervous breakdown or burnout.

So, how do you stop negative emotions at the initial stage? The most common way is to pause if you feel that negative emotions or frustration overwhelms you. It’s great if you have the possibility to take a short break and evaluate the situation from different perspectives.

Try to realize the primary cause that has put you out of balance. For example, if a client or your boss is late to the meeting, the worst option is getting annoyed. Instead, it is better to accept the situation and use this time for relaxation, to get a jump on the next task or answer a quick email.

Emotions Are Necessary For Work

Of course, we are not robots. It’s human nature to experience emotions. In some cases, feelings are necessary for work. Empathy, positivity, and politeness are highly important in the workplace, especially in the service field. However, while positive emotions are preferable, negative feelings should be put aside.. Excess emotionality may cause misunderstandings and problems even in simple situations. For example, aggression is a surefire way to lose customers and ruin a company’s reputation. Employees that directly communicate with customers create the overall impression of the organization. Besides, negative emotions may worsen the atmosphere in the team and demotivate your colleagues. The workplace is an interconnected ecosystem, where the emotional sustainability and welfare of each employee depend on everyone.

Short Pause

Sometimes it is hard to preserve a healthy working atmosphere, especially when people don’t know how to effectively cope with their emotions. Some choose to withdraw from social activity and limit communication, while others prefer to take the anger out on colleagues which is a self-destructive way, as it damages social connections and team unity. The good news is that there are plenty of positive methods that you can use to control your emotions. In this respect, relaxation and distraction are the best friends of each overwhelmed worker. Sometimes you need a short pause. Distract yourself from your task for a moment to gain perspective. Or take a longer break as today more and more companies offer wellness activities and understand the importance of mental and physical health.

Find A Golden Mean

The next step is to learn how to prevent negative emotions. Avoid any sources of anxiety. For example, organize your time to do all tasks on time and stop the rush. Set achievable goals to bypass frustration. It is also necessary to improve your mindset. Be respectful and courteous to your colleagues and clients. Treat every person as you’d treat yourself, or better still how you would like to be treated, and you will avoid accumulation of negativity right on the spot. Finally, it is essential to find a balance between those things that you enjoy, and those that take you out of the comfort zone. It’s necessary for your self-development and performance.

All of us face bad days and black lines: high working load, miscommunication, or personal issues. But we shouldn’t allow them to control our social and professional life. Of course, emotions make us human beings, but we need to use them wisely so that they do not destroy our lives. Try to avoid focusing on negative feelings and prevent excessive expression. Relax when you need it, analyze the problematic situation, listen to other people, and find a golden mean of your working performance. That will definitely help in both dealing with negative emotions and maximizing your productivity.

About the Author

Matthew Finnighan is a professional content writer. He writes for various blogs about higher education, entertainment, and social media. He aims to supply quality and unique content on the basis of human need. He is happy to share experience in writing, education, and self-development in his publications. If you are interested in his writing, you can find Matthew on Twitter or Facebook.

The opinions and views expressed by guest contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of theglasshammer.com

/by

Voice of Experience: Terri L. Phillips, M.D., Vice President and Global Head of Medical Affairs at Merz

Terri Phillips featuredDr. Terri L. Phillips is a big believer in not limiting yourself in your career.

 “Don’t believe for a minute that any option isn’t open to you; understand your own career goals and identify the people who can provide guidance to get there. Be careful not to waver or let in fear that your goal is not possible, even if you don’t see someone like you in front of you who’s already doing it.”

Then as you move forward in establishing your career, earning promotions into the leadership ranks, she has learned it’s perfectly acceptable not to have every answer—and it’s actually even more important to surround yourself with good teams. “I believe that the team will always be better than an individual alone, so it’s important to have the courage to hire people who are smarter than you and build excellent teams.”

A Varied Career Offers a 360-Degree View

With almost 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a practicing physician since 1986, Dr. Phillips has had a breadth of experiences. Her career has spanned a broad range that includes pediatrics, neonatal and perinatal medicine; and she has also worked across academia, healthcare and corporate America, as well as spending 14 years in the Army Medical Corps.

Currently vice president and global head of medical affairs at Merz, Dr. Phillips is proud to be building a best-in-class medical affairs organization to grow aesthetic and neurotoxin markets worldwide. “The industry is entering a new era where there is an expectation for transparency, and there is a demand for more information and new ways of packaging and receiving it,” she says. And with that comes a new set of expectations and pressures on the industry since they have to be sure they are meeting providers and consumers where they need to be.

That’s why she maintains her focus on educating healthcare providers on their products, taking into account that the vehicles for education have changed significantly, as some medical professionals turn away from more traditional avenues, such as attending large medical conferences or reading journals.

When developing a treatment, it’s important to represent both the consumer and healthcare practitioner voice at every step, she says; first, to gain a better understanding from the consumer who will ultimately select the treatment of which features and attributes are appealing to them, and then focusing on how to educate and train practitioners to make it safe. “I would tell my younger self to spend more time with the customer to understand their needs and make sure we are meeting them,” she says.

Encouraging Women at All Levels

Women these days have a complicated juggle, Dr. Phillips acknowledges. The mother of four children herself, she knows firsthand the struggle of establishing your career while simultaneously giving your family what they need. However, she advises young women to look for women who model this balance successfully, and the more role models, the more possible it seems for others.

Whether it’s through informal networks on social media or making connections on LinkedIn, she recommends that younger professionals reach out to successful women they come across at meetings or other events to gain career knowledge and advice. “Young women can and have reached out to me, and I am always happy to share my “lessons learned,” she says.

That’s a responsibility she feels based on her own experiences. When she first was promoted to the executive ranks, she was the fifth female vice president, and none of the women she saw in front of her had families. Of course, that introduced questions of whether it’s possible, so she appreciates that today’s career women are changing the narrative and showing both younger women and their male counterparts that it’s beneficial to establish a more inclusive workforce and leadership team.

On that note, she thinks it’s important for women who have achieved career success to support one another, rather than viewing others as competition. “We have to dispel the myth that there are finite opportunities, and instead encourage the next generation of young women to see that there are plenty of seats at the table.” There is plenty of work to be done, she says, in achieving pay parity and establishing more representation on boards and at leadership levels. “Those who have achieved a level of stature have an obligation to reach back and bring others forward,” Dr. Phillips says.

Clearly, family has always been very important to her, and when she was not at work, Dr. Phillips’ time was spent with her husband and family. Now empty nesters—aside from a 15-year-old dog—she and her husband remain huge sports fans. She played sports all through high school and even wanted to be a basketball player. But, she adds, their “nest” won’t be empty of children for long (visiting anyway!) as they eagerly anticipate a granddaughter on the way.

/by

Mover and Shaker: Felicia Hanson Ofori-Quaah, Senior Associate, Milbank, LLP

Felicia Hanson Ofori-QuaahSuccess is very much a subjective concept, says Felicia Hanson Ofori-Quaah.

“To my mind, success means that you have found a true balance that works for your individual circumstance, but in order to reach that equilibrium, it is absolutely necessary to devote a significant amount of time for self-care, making physical and mental well-being an absolute priority.” To that end she finds that using vision boards is invaluable as they offer a sense of purpose, direction and achievement in all aspects of life—including personal, family, financial, social and professional. And, she adds, it is important to realize that one’s perception of success can change, so it is important to reflect often and ensure that at any given time, you are heading in the direction of your most current iteration of the definition of success.

Finding Success Of Her Own

Hanson Ofori-Quaah’s educational career was impressive—she read law as an undergraduate at the University of Bristol, then studied for the Legal Practice Course at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice and trained to be a solicitor at Norton Rose LLP, where she qualified as a corporate lawyer focusing on mergers and acquisitions within the mining sector. After a year in that role, she decided to transition to the area of finance law, focusing on project, energy and infrastructure finance. She moved to Milbank LLP seven years ago and is currently a senior associate with a practice that predominantly focuses on financing energy, infrastructure and mining projects in Africa and the Middle East, including advising on cross-border, multi-sourced financings that involve commercial lenders, export credit agencies and development finance institutions.

Seeking Gender Balance Should Be The Industry’s Ongoing Mission

One of Hanson Ofori-Quaah’s first realizations when she joined corporate law was that the gender balance in the legal profession would not reflect what she had experienced in the lecture theatre, where there were as many, if not more, women enrolled. She found most of them to be incredibly ambitious, having set their sights on the highest prizes in the legal profession, that of being Queen’s counsel, an equity partner or general counsel for a top-tier company.

However once she started her career, she quickly realized that although a large number of women were entering the profession, only a very small minority were making it to the “top,” whether they had chosen the path of parenthood or not. And, she has also witnessed the under-representation of black female lawyers in senior positions in law firms in the city.

Hanson Ofori-Quaah had assumed that, as it was in law school, working hard and getting good grades would assure your success. But in the world of law, she has found that while hard work, diligence and dedication are important, it is also equally important to be aware of and practice effective internal and external self-promotion in order to stand out from the crowd, raise your profile and be in the best possible position to achieve promotion through the ranks. And, having a mentor, or even better, being backed by the support of a sponsor, has a significant positive effect on a person’s career trajectory.

“In my experience, for a person to truly thrive and succeed in an organization, you need someone in a position of seniority who is ready, willing and able to put their name and resource behind your advancement,” says Hanson Ofori-Quaah. “Working hard so that you are brilliant at what you do is the first step, but I think it is also vital that you have someone advocating for you when decisions that impact your career progression are being made.”

Unfortunately, her experience has been that more often than not, women tend not to have this benefit, which can have a significant impact on the success of their career progression.

As in any area where there is the potential for bias—either conscious or unconscious—the key to improving this situation starts with those in senior management positions within their respective organizations taking steps to review the decisions they are making. “I encourage them to regularly consider the profile of the people they tend to sponsor, and challenge themselves to widen this pool for the benefit of those who are able but underrepresented,” Hanson Ofori-Quaah says.

Role Models Can Lead the Way

While she still seeks the benefit of a sponsor, Hanson Ofori-Quaah has been fortunate to have two “absolutely phenomenal” women whom she considers as professional role models: Lisa Opoku and Paulette Mastin. She first came across Opoku’s profile in another GlassHammer piece, when she had recently returned to work from her first maternity leave. Having read Sheryl Sandberg’s book and eager to put the advice into practice, she plucked up the courage to send her an email, and to her amazement she responded. She was drawn to Opoku’s story; while she is currently a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, she began her career in the legal profession and like Hanson Ofori-Quaah is of Ghanaian decent with two children.

“Lisa has provided me with the type of invaluable and practical advice that every working parent needs,” Hanson Ofori-Quaah says. “I also admire her passion to develop and promote talent, especially in women in her organization, and I believe others in leadership positions should aspire to emulate that as it would undoubtedly lead to higher retention and promotion of women across many organizations.”

Her other mentor is a counsel at the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters and as Hanson Ofori-Quaah says, “I do not exaggerate when I say she is the ‘matriarch’ for numerous lawyers of color, particularly female lawyers of color, in the Square Mile.” In addition to her day job as counsel in a very demanding role, Mastin is the chair of the Black Solicitors’ Network and a mother of two, yet always makes time to mentor others.

Seeking any opportunity to continue to learn, Hanson Ofori-Quaah has found the Milbank@Harvard program to offer a tremendous impact on her career to date, as it has given her the opportunity to be taught by leading professors at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School on four separate occasions, each time building on the previous session. The program, which includes intensive interactive courses on finance and accounting, leadership and team management, strategy, marketing, negotiations and macroeconomics, have been important in helping her enhance her position, equipping her with skills and expertise she has found to be invaluable to her career.

“I constantly search for avenues—whether through mentors or educational opportunities—to find professional and personal advice that can build my expertise.”

/by

The Power of Resilience

power of resilience

Guest contributed by Aleksandra Scepanovic

According a report by American Express, “Behind the Numbers: The State of Women-Owned Businesses in 2018,” as of last year there were 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. alone.

This is an incredible accomplishment, considering there were just over 400,000 back in 1972. Women are increasingly becoming more prominent in the business world. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

While it is encouraging to think that these numbers have risen because women are gaining new opportunities to follow their dreams and pursue career paths they love and enjoy, the harsh reality is that this is not always the case. While there are many factors as to why women are apt to start their own business, the decision could also be a result of work-life imbalance, gender discrimination, or the pay gap women often face in corporations. Growing up, women are told that they are equal to their male counterparts, that they can be whoever they want to be; but just past the childhood days exists an undeniable level of pressure that all women face, no matter their journey.

As women, we are used to society’s expectations of what and who we should be, both in our personal lives and in our careers. This pressure may lead to the feeling or need to be successful in ways different than those experienced by men. We are often faced with pressures to look a certain way and act a certain way, and we experience ageism differently than men. Resilience is defined as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness” – something women know a little about. Resilience is a quality that is not only important in your personal life, but is also pivotal to being a successful business owner and leader.

Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, conducted a study called the Shame Resilience Theory: A Grounded Theory Study on Women and Shame. The main purpose of the study was to determine how and what makes women feel a sense of shame, or what makes them feel unworthy of acceptance. While there is no universal trigger or answer, the study concluded that, “The sociocultural expectations are narrow interpretations of who women are ‘supposed to be,’ based on their identity (e.g., gender, race, class, sexual orientation, age, religious identity) and/or their role (e.g., mother, employee, partner, group member). These sociocultural expectations are often imposed, enforced, or expressed by individuals and groups (e.g., self, family, partners, friends, coworkers, children, membership groups).”

This feeling of “shame,” as Brown describes, does not stop in the workplace, and can even amplify. Women often have to work harder and work smarter than their male counterparts. On average, a woman will earn about 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man – a disappointing statistic that many of us have heard time and time again. Unfortunately, one which doesn’t always change for women entering the entrepreneurial world. In many cases, gender discrimination may not only affect your paycheck, but might also affect the funding you receive to start your business in the first place. A study by Boston Consulting Group found that “Investments in enterprises founded or co-founded by women averaged at around $935,000, less than half of the $2.1 million on average invested within those founded by men.”

Women face many challenges they need to overcome throughout the course of their careers, challenges that can significantly differ from those men encounter. A report by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire titled “Tackling the Gender Gap: What Women Entrepreneurs Need to Thrive,” indicates that the three greatest struggles female entrepreneurs face are lack of role models and mentors, the gender pay gap, and unequal access to funding and venture capital.

While this may seem disheartening, there can be light at the end of the tunnel. With each year that goes by, more women are showcasing their resilience and becoming successful business owners and leaders, proving the upward trend in female-founded firms is a result of hard work and determination to thrive.

According to the same previously referenced study by Boston Consulting Group, “For every dollar of funding, startups founded by women generate 78 cents, while startups founded by men generated less than half, at only 31 cents.” While proving that companies founded by women are typically more capable of thriving than male-founded firms, the number of female-owned businesses has doubled in 20 years, as has their revenue. Still, while vast improvements have been made over the last century, there is even more room to grow.

Throughout history, women have had to prove their worth and their place in leadership roles, but the power of resilient women is that we are not deterred by unfavorable statistics, or by being categorized as “successful” or “unsuccessful” based on old school ideals. Though the word resilience can be easily defined, the act of resilience cannot. It is a practice that we must work at each day, and continue to strive for to pave the way for some even more resilient women in the future.

Aleksandra Scepanovic is Managing Director of Ideal Properties Group, a leading residential real estate firm specializing in premier Brownstone Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods in New York City.

The opinions and views expressed by guest contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of theglasshammer.com

/by

Voice of Experience: Carol Schleif, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Abbot Downing

by Cathie Ericson

Carol Schleif Building the right team entails all types of diversity, including cognitive diversity, says Carol Schleif.

“I want people who come from different experiences,” she says, noting that even if the team looks diverse on paper, they are looking at problems the same way if they all come from the same school, for example. She realized this when she recently enrolled in an MBA program and came to appreciate how everyone approaches business problems differently depending on their age and experience, which she has found to be a proof point for the importance of diversity of thought.

Recently, for example, she was working with a church budget committee when she realized that the majority were CFOs, yet she was the only one in finance, while the remainder were from social service. “I saw you needed these different skill sets to come to the best decisions,” she says.

Building A Career in Finance

In college, Schleif earned a dual degree in equestrian science and business as she had expected to be a horse trainer, but she found she enjoyed her business classes so much that she ended up pursuing that as her field. The economy was not on her side when she graduated in 1983, as it was “the pit of the 1983 recession,” as she describes it. However, she had the good fortune of starting as an administrative assistant in a small brokerage firm where she frequently interacted with the research department. When she relocated to Minnesota, she parlayed her fascination with the markets into a position as a junior analyst.

She subsequently earned her CFA Charter, then spent the next several years working for investment firms in research and analyst positions, ultimately running a research department and then becoming partner and investment principal at the predecessor firm to Abbot Downing.

Currently she focuses much of her attention on the firm’s forays into sustainable investing issues as well as immersing herself in both women and wealth and women in wealth.

Women And Wealth And Women In Wealth

Regarding women and wealth, she finds that in traditional relationships, often one partner is the breadwinner, while the other accomplishes the tasks that facilitate their lives. By default, though, that person—almost always the woman—doesn’t spend as much time thinking about the structure of their finances. Therefore when an emergency happens, such as a death, divorce or retirement, they are dealing not only with the accompanying emotional issues, but also financial issues. “At that point it can be too traumatic to handle so our goal is to get women involved earlier,” Schleif says.

To help with education, Abbot Downing has developed women’s forums for clients, featuring both internal and external speakers who highlight planning, family dynamics and culture and values. “It creates a great environment for women to learn from each other,” Schleif says.

The other side of the coin, women in wealth, relates to helping with career development.

Schleif has found that very few women come to the industry directly through business school so she is always wondering how best to get women interested in finance. Part of it, she says, could be a function of pop culture. “The fields of law and medicine have cool TV shows, but the entertainment industry typically serves up negative examples of finance, which I believe does a disservice to many women who would thrive in a career like this.”

In fact, she has found it to be positive for balancing work and life, noting that she had three kids in three years and was able to work throughout. “It’s an industry that’s conducive to leading a balanced life and also doing something impactful and important to society,” she says.

That’s a key reason that her professional accomplishment that stands out most is the mentoring and coaching she does while helping contribute to the culture of learning and development at the firm. For example, her boss encouraged her to start an asset management mentoring program, which they are in the third year of hosting, and she also sits on the board of CFA Minnesota, one of the largest local branches of the CFA Institute, where she leads the career development committee. The group is also focused on diversity and inclusion, with a “Changing Perceptions” program, and she has been attending regional meetings on panels and partnering with different entities on a Women in Wealth initiative.

She also works at the college level to get more women interested and champions internships for women through regional business clubs. “As a lifelong learner and advocate, it’s satisfying to help people find the skill sets they might not even know they have and connect them to a career that works for them,” Schleif says, adding that someday she may even end up working for some of them. “It awes me that people will come and ask my opinion,” she says. “I find the ability to turn around and ask good questions, as my best coaches have done, is preferable to just giving advice.”

Internally Schleif helps lead a monthly call on career perspectives. “I find it’s very impactful for those early in their careers to find mid-career professionals who will share tactical and practical advice to see their next step,” she says.

Her experiences have also showed her that there’s a place for everyone in an organization when you play to their strengths. For example, the tendency is to turn your top-producing sales person into a manager, but the skill sets are entirely different.

“Some people are idea generators; others want to take them and mold them so you have to coach them intentionally. That’s how you will assemble a top-performing team.”

/by

Voice of Experience: Kim Youngberg, General Counsel of Screenvision Media

Kim Youngberg says that one of the professional achievements she’s most proud of is that, having served as a guide through digital revolutions in the entertainment industry, she no longer fears change or the unknown.

Kim Youngberg But as impressive as that is, she can’t help but note another, possibly more fascinating, professional achievement—the cultural impact she made by getting her husband’s band, Lotion, on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” for a pivotal episode in which Seth Green first turns into a werewolf.

Blending Her Love of Law With Entertainment

While she began her career in international litigation, an early layoff showed Youngberg that you never know what other, better opportunities are around the corner. “In retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” she says.

At the time, she was living in the East Village among a creative group of musicians and managers who had lots of legal questions for her. Her interest in the music industry sparked, she joined noted music law firm Davis Shapiro. For just over six years, she worked with artists, publishers, managers, mixers, engineers and more, while also working for record labels, which allowed her to see both sides of the industry and learn more about different techniques and negotiations.

Eventually, she decided she needed more responsibility and moved to Wind-Up Records, an independent record label distributed by Sony, where she worked with bands such as Creed, Evanescence and Seether. She started in 2002 when the industry was on the cusp of the music technology revolution—MP3s and Napster were just coming along—and she rode out the transition from analog to digital during this exciting and interesting time.

Next came iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify and more, and while they were fascinating, pioneering concepts, it became harder to make money in the field as album sales diminished. She then joined Screenvision Media, a leading cinema advertising company, as general counsel overseeing all legal matters for the company.

Youngberg has thrived at Screenvision Media, due to the targeted nature of the product and the creativity that clients are afforded. They know that advertising at movie theatres is a safe, stable option, compared with the TV broadcast and online content worlds, and they know that moviegoers are there to be entertained and engaged. Once again, she has been able to help an industry transform from analog to digital, witnessing and participating in the transition as movie studios have stopped releasing movies on film and theaters have pivoted to broadband delivery.

Savvy Advice Propels Her Career—And Others

Youngberg has been fortunate to work with incredibly big personalities, all of whom made their mark on her and imparted advice she uses to this day. For example, she learned early on that “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar”—in other words, no one will do you any favors if you’re being a jerk. She also realized that earlier in her career, she was too focused on making sure she got everything exactly right, eventually realizing that not everything is going to come to fruition and it’s best to prioritize needs and wants.

Youngberg has also found networking to be invaluable to her career growth; looking back, she wishes she had nurtured her own network earlier, long before she needed it. Now she finds many opportunities to meet other professionals and build those connections, whether it is through continuing legal education events at the New York In-House Counsel Meetup Group or through groups like ChIPs, Women in Music and The Fourth Floor.

Over the years, she’s found that it’s easy for women to be characterized as “worker bees” rather than “rain-makers,” which can hold them back and inhibit the chance to advance. Because the entertainment industry can feel so male-dominated, Youngberg is active in women’s networking groups like the Women’s General Counsel Network, where people can give referrals and recommendations. She is also active in She Runs It, an advertising-related women’s networking group. As part of her mentoring and networking efforts, she encourages women to ask for more money and ensure they are being fairly compensated for the value they bring to their workplace. “I tell my daughters that if you don’t ask, you don’t get,” she says, noting that women in particular need to maximize their salaries during peak earning years.

With two girls in middle school, Youngberg has plenty of opportunity to serve as a role model. He girls are extremely athletic—they play volleyball and lacrosse and enjoy trapeze. The family is also part of the first class in a brand-new public middle school where, as founding co-secretary of the PTA, she helped the school get their lacrosse program up and running, establishing the second lacrosse program ever in Manhattan public schools.

These many avenues help Youngberg find the work/life balance she needs to keep all facets of her life running smoothly and to continue finding joy and meeting challenges in her professional and personal life.

/by

Resume Anxiety? Just tell your story.

By Nicki Gilmour

Nicki GilmourMany people, despite having amazing experience in their career, have anxiety when writing their resume.

Especially if they have not had the resume out in circulation for a while or have always gotten a job via their network.

There are certainly rules of the road and I enjoyed this article on the practical things to do when prepping your resume. But, the bigger issue is why is putting together your resume such a big deal for most of us? Or, rather, a task we would really like to put off until we really have to do it?

I think the intense focus I have observed in my coaching clients who are thinking of moving jobs, and therefore have the question of a resume update, is very much linked with having to feel perfect. It makes sense to feel vulnerable to rejection as we put ourselves out there after many years at a firm. And so many of us reading this are overachievers, but some of us are what is known as ‘insecure overachievers’ whereby we strive for the best for our own validation and we are very hard on ourselves. We can go overboard when we just need to step back and think “What is my career narrative? What do I do well that I want to continue doing?” and finally “What context is provided for this next potential job that I can take my vast experience and apply specifically to it in a version?”

Ultimately, the person reviewing your resume probably doesn’t know you well. Make it easy for them to understand the story so far.

Taking my own advice to show you how we fall in the pitfalls.

As a coach when I am often asked to review my client’s resume to which I say:

“I am happy to do that with the caveat that that I am not a resume expert.”

Now, the coach here has to take her own medicine as I just did and continue to do is what so many really talented women do, negate actual experience with self-deprecating self talk de-authorizing ourselves from the job.

What did I do? I had a thought that led to a familiar personal (and cultural, hello Brits!) behavior.

The truth is, I am actually pretty qualified to look at resumes as I have seen many since I was head of efinancialcareers back in the early job board days and launched the product from one job posting and one resume up. I have run start ups and hired probably 100 people myself with a resume as the starting point. I am an executive coach who has seen probably 100 resumes this year!

See how I just put out to the world that somehow I could not help them with this simple task? I did not think about what I could do in terms of what I have done quite formally and informally for the past fifteen years.

How does this play out in your story? Has your brain gotten so used to a task that you have told yourself that somehow something you do very often and well, isn’t a skill? The narrative we tell the world can be very different to what we have actually got experience in. We think of who we are through the lens of the narrative we have been telling ourselves very often.

The coaching process will be a distilling process for you to know who you are, what you want, what mental models are stopping you such as confidence, avoidance, fear of rejection or being seen as x, y or z only as examples.

You are in charge of your story and coaching can help figure out how to tell it. You have the answers, let me bring the questions.

If you are interested in a free exploratory chat to understand if coaching is for you, and to find out more about how Nicki works ( methodology, price etc) and to see if there is a fit, book a call here.

/by