Why Introverts Make Powerful Leaders

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introvert leadersIntroverts are the folks who prefer to recharge their batteries alone rather than with other people. That isn’t to say they don’t like people — many introverts love working with others, but they also value their alone time. Sometimes, but not always, they may also have low self-confidence. They may not be able to see themselves in a leadership or administrative role. That’s where they’re wrong — introverts make some of the best leaders for several reasons.

What Is an Introvert?

An introvert is someone who may keep to themselves more often than not. They recharge their batteries by working and relaxing alone and may prefer small groups to large gatherings. However, being an introvert doesn’t mean someone is afraid of speaking or can’t step up to be a leader. Around 12% of people identify themselves as completely introverted, often drifting toward extroverted partners who likely can help them express themselves better.

Some traits commonly associated with introverted people include the following:

  • Quietness
  • Shyness
  • Thoughtfulness
  • Prefers privacy
  • Easily overstimulated

These traits are loosely related to introverts, meaning they may not fit every introverted person and might even relate to some extroverts. Many introverted people enjoy being around others and participating in social activities — they may just choose to take part on their own terms.

Introverts and extroverts have their places in business. However, workplaces with extroverted leaders yield 14% lower profits on average. While every person is different, introverts more often have traits that would make for exemplary leadership.

3 Stellar Traits of an Introvert Leader

Introverts often have traits that ensure they can lead teams well. Sometimes, the best leader isn’t an outgoing one who blazes the way — it’s the strong one who quietly reassures their team while supporting them from behind and picking them up when they fall. Strong leaders allow their employees to stand on their own without getting in the way of their successes, but they’re always there to provide guidance and offer a listening ear.

Many introverts are born with traits that naturally help them grow into better leaders than their peers. While some introverted people may not feel comfortable leading large groups, their quiet awareness and thoughtful decision-making can be vital to any team.

1. Expert Listening Skills

Many introverts prefer to listen over talk, participating more passively in conversations. Because they spend less time talking, they can study their conversational partners and pick up on small nuances, especially tone and body language, making them experts at listening to and reading people.

For example, something as simple as the pitch of someone’s voice can indicate whether they’re nervous or confident, something that people who aren’t as intuitive wouldn’t pick up on. Introverts might be able to identify these subtle changes in a person because their listening skills are often sublime.

2. Sincerity Above All

Extroverts can be genuine, too — they may find it easy to connect with other people and praise them for their exploits. However, you may be less likely to receive compliments from an introvert. Since introverted people often don’t talk as much as extroverts, going out of their way to compliment someone might mean much more than an extrovert who praises someone whenever they get the chance.

Around 96% of people feel praise makes them more productive, so an introverted leader who genuinely expresses their opinions is a must-have in any business. An introverted leader will assess the situation and praise anyone who deserves it — and they’ll be able to guide anyone who needs assistance.

Similarly, introverts will stand up for themselves. Introverted people may often come off as shy, but in a workplace, they can feel empowered to stand behind their decisions and won’t let people walk all over them. An introvert can exude confidence just as much as an extrovert, so employers can feel assured in enlisting an introvert in a leadership space.

3. More Creative Solutions

Extroverts and introverts can both be creative, but since introverts use self-reflection and think before acting, they have more time and opportunity to develop innovative solutions to tricky problems. When in business, you must understand situations from several angles. Having someone who considers every perspective is vital to the well-being of any company.

The best decision-making process relies on gathering the necessary information and sitting with it before making any conclusions too hastily. Many introverted people prefer to wait before making a decision and think over all the possible outcomes and variables so they understand the facts before making a decision. This person is valuable for any business, especially during times of crisis.

Introverts often use their intuition, leading them to success and practical decision-making. As a result, they’re more likely to realize when someone needs a little extra encouragement or just a friend to lean on. They’ll likely ensure everyone is involved in a project or feels appreciated in their team. That way, these leaders know everyone is included in a group.

How to Make Yourself a Better Leader

The good news is you don’t have to change yourself to become a better leader or pretend to be something you’re not. Both introverts and extroverts are valuable in leadership roles — as long as they demonstrate the right skills to prove they can support a team.

If you want to gain some of the most beneficial traits of a powerful leader, you’ll have to tap into yourself and learn how to reflect and listen more than you talk and act. Introverts make great leaders because they tend to solve problems more effectively, adding immense value to their company.

Here are some soft skills you should work on building if you want to succeed in a leadership role:

  • Active listening: To help others solve their problems
  • Critical thinking: To solve problems with your head instead of on impulse
  • Proper communication: To get across ideas and uplift others

You shouldn’t have to change who you are to fit any role. However, improving certain skills and learning different methods of problem-solving and communication can benefit you as you transition into a leadership position.

Introverts Are Some of the Best Employees to Have

Introverts tend to lean on the more intuitive and reflective side, making them an asset to any business, thanks to the skills they’ve honed in their interactions throughout the years. They’ll provide a fresh viewpoint and sage wisdom after thinking over certain possibilities. While some introverts might not have the best conversational skills, they’ll do their jobs to the best of their abilities and tackle new things that come their way.

However, both introverts and extroverts can make great employees. The best team members are well-rounded and demonstrate characteristics that will help a business flourish and positively affect company culture. One personality trait can’t guarantee a good leader, but it can help people understand where they’re lacking and how they can improve for the sake of their workplace.

By: Mia Barnes is a freelance writer and researcher who specializes in mental wellbeing and workplace wellness. Mia is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Body+Mind magazine, an online women’s health publication.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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Op-ed: The Shepherd Leader

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Liora Haymann I am at lunch with work-friends; the conversation idles to what we enjoy about our work and how we describe what we do. As Managing Director at OBMI, I do everything, everyday: I listen, write, sketch, calculate, interview, discuss, argue, analyze, resolve, decide, direct… I am aware of every project we are designing. I love the diversity, the complexity, and the strategy. But the image in my mind that describes what I do is this: I am a Shepherd; I am moving a herd organically forward towards our goal. Some in the herd are big, some small, some arrow-fast, some slow and determined, some head straight to the front, some stay in the pack, and some veer off to explore.

The path is rugged; there are steep slopes, fences to open, streams to cross, dry patches, predators, and enticing pastures farther away. I have a clear direction in my mind. I am looking simultaneously at the pack and at the road ahead. I attend to both, what is now, and what may come. I am in the front to decide a direction at a fork, or to examine a narrow path. I am in the heart of the pack if someone is stuck, to remove the blockage, to keep us moving on. I keep an eye on those veering off, as they may be onto something of value; if they veer too far, the task is to bring them back. I am totally hands-on.

I am not a Visionaire or a Storyteller, but as Shepherd Leader, I have vision: of the goal, of the road ahead, of key actions necessary to get us where we want to go. I believe that Full Leadership has Side and Underside. Yin and Yang. The Visionaire inspires the team with a High Vision, the why and a shared desire for the goal. But alone, the Visionaire cannot get us there. The Shepherd inspires later -as we traverse the challenges of the path- with her actions, her values, and her unflagging commitment to move us through. The vision keeps us high above; the reality of the path forces us to ground. We need both, Visionaire and Shepherd to take us through.

As Simon Sinek stated: “Genius is in the idea. Impact, however, comes from action.”

This Shepherd Leader image is supported by Linda Hill’s article “Leading from Behind” in Harvard Business Review, in which she argues for “harnessing the collective genius”- encouraging members to contribute their skills for collaborative problem solving and innovation. She compares this to the work of a shepherd who leads from the rear, allowing the more able to run ahead for others to follow. “It is about empowering others to lead in addition to yourself. It’s about being in front when there is danger, but allowing others to join with independent thought, creativity, and exchange of ideas.”

Curious about shepherding, I read Ken Downer’s article “9 Secrets of Leading Sheep” and Robert Moor’s shepherding story, part of his book On Trails. As they both explain, collective thinking looks down on sheep as passive, blind followers – but, in fact, they are absolutely not. Downer and Moor describe that sheep can be head-strong, energetic, or languid; that they are ungovernable when hungry; that they have strong spatial memory, but without the shepherd, they will wander around; and that they build strong trust in their good shepherd. Among sheep there are Leaders who seek the front, Middlers who prefer the center, and Tailers who stay in the back. There can be multiple leaders, emerging in different situations.

Thus, a shepherd does not passively lead “from behind.” Leading the herd takes effort, planning, experience, and requires vigilance and example. In shepherding there is Intended Direction and there is Intentional Action. The shepherd will take the front when needed, when there is danger, when decisions are to be made. All leadership incarnations are active.

In telling his experience in the British Army in WWII, my father writes: “In moments of calm, the Commander can enjoy some treats, but in times of combat or action, it is the commander who steps in first, leads by example, and attends to everyone, playing the role of leader, father, and server, all at the same time.” As expressed by Simon Sinek: “Leadership is not a rank to be attained. Leadership is a service to be given.”

The Shepherd Leader:

Purposeful. A Shepherd exercises influence purposefully; a goal, a direction is established, and the Shepherd ensures everyone gets there. There are dangers and opportunities along the way.

Hands-on. The Shepherd is hands-on, committed to move the herd, whatever it takes. The Shepherd is constantly scanning for danger, food, shelter, and direction forward. When action is required, the Shepherd will step in.

Strategic. The Shepherd applies foresight. The Shepherd must view the moves ahead of the flock to plan the route: Where is there water?  Good pasture?  When/where can we rest if the heat is too much?

Creates Culture. The first steps tend to dictate the next. A wise Shepherd will establish pace and patterns from the start and will adjust to what the flock brings, too.

Allows Exploration.  A member may wander off; the Shepherd will observe, as the explorer member may lead to a good pasture that otherwise might be missed.

Aligns. The Shepherd works the flanks of the herd to keep everyone aligned; Laggards are brought in.

Mentors.  Shepherds train their leader members to help move the flock at the right pace and in the right direction. A Shepherd exercises influence through and with others.

What is your leadership style?

By: Liora Haymann, Managing Director, OBMI International 

(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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How to Lead your Team Successfully at Work by Building Trust

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building team trustTrust is foundational to a successful team. Being able to trust that your coworkers and employees will perform to the best of their abilities enables not only more productivity but also engaged employees. The Harvard Business Review found that people who work in places with high trust levels reported 106% more energy at work, 76% more engagement, 74% less stress, 40% less burnout, 50% higher productivity and 29% more satisfaction with their lives compared to those at a low trust workplace.

The report also found that low trust workplaces often mean that people have to spend time navigating office politics. There have been decades of research into all aspects of the workplace, team performance being a dominant one. One person who has researched trust and dysfunction in teams is Patrick Lencioni who wrote the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

The book lists these dysfunctions as absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Absence of trust focuses on the lack of vulnerability based trust which leads to team members not willing to be open with teammates on things like admitting mistakes or weaknesses. Fear of conflict connects to trust as it involves team members being comfortable contradicting a teammate and debating topics. Lack of commitment happens when members’ ideas aren’t being taken into account. Avoidance of accountability is when peers don’t hold each other accountable for living up to the standards of the team. The final dysfunction is inattention to results in which individual team members are more focused on their own results than the team results. Many of these dysfunctions can be addressed by making sure psychological safety is present in the workplace.

The current definition of psychological safety was coined in 1999 by Amy Edmondson and is defined as, “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” In a recent study by Yuanqin Ge, it was found that employees that felt a sense of psychological safety in their workplace could speak more openly and often, provide their opinions to help decision making in teams and feel comfortable enough to share their ideas with managers. All of these outcomes are based on trust.

How can you apply psychological safety? According to Timothy Clarke, whose model is based off Edmondson’s 1999 research, there are Four Stages of Psychological Safety which include:

  1. Inclusion Safety – Inclusion safety involves making sure team members feel as though that can be their most authentic selves and will be accepted for that.
  2. Learner Safety – This stage includes making sure the workplace is an environment where questions are not frowned upon. The workplace needs to become a space where people feel they can ask questions to learn, give and receive feedback and even make small mistakes without fear of repercussions.
  3. Contributor Safety – In this stage, the team should feel as though they can share their ideas without the fear of being ridiculed or embarrassed. This stage can be the most difficult stage as bringing your own ideas in front of peers can be a very vulnerable position to be in.
  4. Challenger Safety – In the final stage, team members should be able to question or challenge coworkers’ (include authorities’) ideas and offer suggestions to plans or ways of working through a project.
What Can You Do to Encourage Psychological Safety In Your Own Team?

 

  • Don’t Worry about Being the “Perfect” Team

Don’t put all the emphasis on being the “perfect” team where no mistakes are made and everything is always right. It’s understandable to strive for that as a leader, but it’s not exactly feasible. All of your employees are human and humans cannot be perfect all the time, as much as we may want to be. Studies show that a perfectionist boss has negative effects on motivation, effort, and willingness to work. Let go of your perfectionism a little and allow your employees to make mistakes and learn from them. Try to avoid anger in blaming the person and instead look for ways to rectify the situation. In doing so, you not only show your employees that you trust them enough to learn from this and not do it again but also show your team that coming to you with a mistake will not result in being berated by authority.

  • Encourage All Voices

Try to create a space where everyone can say what they believe needs to be included in a discussion. Remind your team that their input is appreciated and cherished. Attempt to hear people out when they are sharing, instead of dismissing them with answers like “yes, but…” or “You don’t know enough context to understand this situation.” Instead, ask them questions and invite participation in a non threatening way such as “What point of view could we be missing?” and be willing to accept criticisms. It may help to even set up meetings with a portion for playing the devil’s advocate and addressing those concerns as a group. Making sure that your employees feel as though they are being heard can encourage them to continue speaking up and bringing unique ideas and solutions to the table.

  • Focus on Building a Team Culture

Build a team where no one is afraid to ask each other for help. Make it the norm that coworkers encourage each other and have that begin with you. Try to schedule times for your team to spend time together and focus on feedback and appreciation. Make sure you let your team know you appreciate them and are supporting their development personally and professionally. Do this as well as events like happy hours or fun team building activities so your employees can let loose a little. You are with these people 35+ hours a week. Knowing more about them and feeling safe around them will make working with them more enjoyable and productive.

The addition of psychological safety can do wonders for increasing trust in your team. Trust and safety go hand in hand in making sure your workplace is one that can flourish and perform to its highest standards. Applying these few examples can make huge strides towards a more productive and happy work environment for your team.

By Chloe Williams

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How Habit Stacking Can Help Busy Executive Women Supercharge Their Success

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habit stackingThere are many challenges to being a successful executive and managing your personal and professional responsibilities. With so much to focus on, trying to introduce a new habit into your routine can seem daunting.

Habit stacking is a life saver for executive women who want to improve their personal or professional lives without sacrificing the quality of what they currently achieve on a daily basis. It’s a low-stress way to supercharge their success without taking time away from other tasks.

What is Habit Stacking?

Everyone has habits, whether you realize you have them or not. Choosing to pour cereal before your milk, what you reach for first in the morning and how you travel to work are all habits.

Some habits are neutral and don’t impact your quality of life. Others, however, could contribute to your stress, fatigue and well-being.

Research shows that only half of people keep their New Year’s resolutions, showing how bad humans are at creating positive habits. Habit stacking is a way to hack that.

Habit stacking connects your desire to improve your organization habits, heath or leadership skills to a pattern you previously established. You get used to performing the task while doing the one you’re used to, and you form a new habit. You can create positive habits by consistently doing them simultaneously and in the same setting.

By connecting a new habit to an old one, your brain combines the two and the new behavior gets ingrained. Author S.J. Scott popularized “habit-stacking” in the professionally-backed book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less. Since then, it’s become a tool for people to accomplish their goals.

Here are five ways habit stacking can help busy executives.

1. It Increases Focus

When you habit stack, you can improve your ability to focus on essential tasks. It can be hard to complete the steps in your routine without your mind wandering to other things you must do. Habit stacking is a great way to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into your life, helping you focus on the present moment.

Introducing a new habit into your life can seem daunting. Since habit stacking connects the new task to another routine, it is easier to add to your life. Instead of stressing about not doing it, you can focus on how well you’re doing with the new habit and what you can improve. For example, if you want to start bullet journaling, you can do so while you wait for your morning coffee to brew.

2. You Can Better Commit to Your Goals

Habit stacking makes it much easier to commit to what you desire. Sliding things into your other habits instead of creating a separate one makes achieving your goals easier.

If you want to stay hydrated but forget to drink water, habit stacking can help. Stack drinking a glass of water as you check your email. Doing so will help you meet your hydration goals without interfering with other parts of your day.

3. It Helps You Stay Organized

As an executive, you know the organization is a must. However, staying consistently organized is easier said than done. Habit stacking can be an excellent tool for managing your office and being punctual for important meetings and events.

With habit stacking, you can condition your brain to put things where they need to go and adequately prepare for your activities. Putting your pens back in their drawer is easier when you stack it by shutting down your computer for the evening. You can put your files away when you walk out of your office for the evening. Stack the things you often forget with the things you don’t for success.

4. You Can Effectively Prioritize

If you want to change your priorities but get stuck in a negative routine, habit-stacking can help. Connect one of the positive habits to your negative ones. If you bite your nails to handle stress, you can stack it to get up and take a walk. Eventually, the nail biting habit could turn into taking a walk instead.

As an executive, it can be hard to juggle important tasks, but by stacking the most important ones with your routine, you can complete them with haste.

5. It Promotes Healthier Coping Mechanisms

Life gets stressful, especially with the responsibilities of managing a company. Stacking your habits can help you introduce positive coping mechanisms to reduce stress. For example, you could listen to a chapter of your favorite audiobook while prepping your lunch.

Self-care is a vital tool for everyone, especially when you have the responsibilities of being an executive. The industry still has inappropriate biases, making you work harder for success. Incorporating habits that aid your body and mind can help you feel less stress, reduce symptoms of mental illness and allow you to live a more peaceful life.

Using Habit Stacking to Supercharge Your Success

Habit stacking effectively adds healthy habits into your life that support your personal and professional growth. Connecting a current pattern with one you want to implement can start you on the path to success.

By: Beth Rush is the career and finance editor at Body+Mind. She has 5+ years of experience writing about the power of human design to reveal entrepreneurial potential and time management strategies. She also writes about using the emotion of awe to activate our leadership prowess. You can find her on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth Rush.

(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and How to Address Them

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five dysfunctions of a teamHigh performing teams, and the desire for them, is a common occurrence in corporations. While teams and groups are commonly used as synonyms, they are different from each other. Oxford Dictionary defines a team as a group of people who work together at a particular job while a group is defined as a number of people or things that are together in the same place. As common as teams are, it should come as no surprise that some work better than others. Dysfunction in teams is all around. Behnam Tabrizi found that nearly 75% of cross-functional teams were dysfunctional. In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of A Team, Patrick Lencioni describes the most common dysfunctions in a team. These dysfunctions are as follows:

  1. Absence of trust
  2. Fear of conflict
  3. Lack of commitment
  4. Avoidance of accountability
  5. Inattention to results

Lencioni argues that trust is foundational for teams. Without the basis of trust, dysfunctions will not be able to be resolved. Research from the Harvard Business Review found that people who work in places with high trust levels reported 106% more energy at work, 76% more engagement, 74% less stress, 40% less burnout, 50% higher productivity and 29% more satisfaction with their lives compared to those at a low trust workplace. Low trust workplaces often have to deal with, and navigate, office politics. Resolving the absence of trust dysfunction is crucial to resolving the later dysfunctions. Each dysfunction is based on the resolution of the previous dysfunction and cannot be mastered out of order. For example, if your team shows lack of commitment, it is likely that there is also a fear of conflict from some, if not all of your team members. When a member doesn’t feel as though they can disagree and create conflict with a coworker, they will not be fully committed to the solution proposed because they were never able to weigh in their own opinions.

So how can you tell which dysfunction your team is stuck at and what can you do to resolve it? Here are some examples for each level:

Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust

Teams with absence of trust may:

  • Not own up to mistakes made
  • Not admit that they can’t do something to hide their weaknesses from other team members
  • Be unwilling to go out of the realm of their job descriptions to help a coworker

What can you do to address it?

  • Have team members be vulnerable and tell the team something about themselves then discuss as a team what you learned. This increases vulnerability between the team and makes it easier to continue to be vulnerable.
  • Focus on everyone’s strengths. Doing this will help team members gain confidence in themselves and their work. This could inspire coworkers to appreciate the strengths and talents of their peers.

Addressing lack of trust can:

  • Lead to quicker reaction to issues, now that mistakes can be admitted more openly
  • Prevent mistakes before they happen if coworkers feel comfortable to ask for assistance on projects
Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict

Teams that fear conflict may:

  • Not listen to understand during a disagreement, rather listen to win the disagreement and argue their point
  • Not converse with a coworker they disagree with and speak behind their backs
  • Let leaders dominate a meeting and leave the meeting
  • Display artificial harmony in which there is no conflict at all

What can you do to address it?

  • Suggest an obviously bad idea and see if anyone in your team argues. If they don’t, there is a blatant fear of conflict.
  • Show your team that having opposing views can be productive and helpful.
  • Have a “devil’s advocate” portion of the meeting in which an opposing view can be argued.
  • Thank team members for bringing up different points of view that may conflict with the consensus.

Addressing fear of conflict can:

  • Lead to quicker resolution of issues
  • Lessen the amount of office politics
  • Allow more diverse views and lead to innovation
Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment

Teams that have a lack of commitment may:

  • Have members who don’t commit to an idea because it’s not their idea
  • Have the false impression everyone is on the same page after leaving a meeting
  • Mean members don’t contribute to the discussion because their ideas differ

What can you do to address it?

  • Ask members if they have anything to add, any other ideas or (especially) differing opinions on the topic at hand.
  • Encourage team members to ask questions for clarification.
  • Set a team goal and have objectives for everyone to commit to.

Addressing lack of commitment can:

  • Help the team understand why a goal is being addressed in a certain way
  • Help members commit to an idea after being heard out about their own
  • Show the main goal of the team and what is expected of team members
Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability

Teams that have an avoidance of accountability may:

  • Have peers who won’t hold each other accountable on performance and behavioral aspects
  • Have leave leaders with the sole responsibility of discipline
  • Include members not performing to the best of their ability

What can you do to address it?

  • Start at the leadership level and call members out on their behavioral mistakes and let this trickle down to peer level.
  • Regularly review team members’ individual performance and remind the team of the high standards expected.
  • Have the team come together and share one thing for each member that could be improved to promote accountability between team members.

Addressing avoidance of accountability can:

  • Lead to quicker and higher quality performance from the whole team
  • Urge poor performers to improve performance
  • Take some of the strain off of leaders
Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results

Teams that have an Inattention to Results:

  • Don’t focus on the team as a whole when working on projects
  • Attain personal goals more often than team goals.
  • Fail to develop as a team

What can you do to address it?

  • Have regular meetings to review key metrics
  • Keep a scoreboard of some type that keeps the team updated on tasks that have been completed.

Addressing inattention to results can:

  • Increase the amount of team goals hit
  • Increase team work and minimize individualism in these settings
  • Increase development as a team

All of these dysfunctions take time and effort to resolve. You have to start at the beginning of the five dysfunctions and work your way through them all to create a truly functional team. If you find that your team is exhibiting dysfunctions of one stage and they can’t seem to be overcome, try taking a step back and looking at the dysfunction level before it. You may find that your team’s problem lies there. Sometimes moving backwards is the only way to avoid an obstacle (or dysfunction) and move forward. Use these tips and ideas to work on creating the trusting, highly functioning team that businesses should aim for and see if the research done by the Harvard Business Review rings true for you.

By Chloe Williams

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Op-Ed: Want to be a CMO? Learn to Pivot.

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Learn to Pivot (by Marcy Comer) I’ve spent my career working to get into the C-Suite, because I wanted to have the challenge and opportunities that come from leading a company and being at the top of my discipline. Now in this role, I’m continuing to learn that the secret to making it to, and staying in, the role of CMO is based on learning to pivot.

I grew up playing basketball, and a pivot is a classic move in which the player stops, holds the ball, and looks around for an opening on the court. You can apply this move in your job and your career. It requires you to stop and evaluate potential next moves. You have to stop the daily grind and evaluate. The more you look around, the more opportunity you find to make the next big move. And, making a big move is the way that you help to accelerate your career and the success of your team.

Here are five ways you can actively bring a pivot-first mentality to your career:
  1. Embrace the struggle as an opportunity: Most people avoid the pain of having to learn something new. But, when you take on painful work, you’re relieving the pain for your manager, coworkers, etc. Start finding the fun in learning and it will no longer be a pain; and it will make you a valuable asset in the organization. This is a pivot from just doing your job, to becoming someone who does hard jobs or unwanted jobs can be a big step towards career success. I’m not the only one who believes this: in a survey of more than 50,000 learners who completed MOOCs on Coursera, 72% reported career benefits such as doing their current job more effectively, finding a new job, or receiving a raise.
  2. Be your own futurist: Find out what’s on the horizon from people that are already respected and be that person for your circle; this means staying on top of news, ideas and conversations and learning from leaders in various fields. The only way to see which way to pivot is to be paying attention to the ever changing horizon and landscape around your business. CNBC has listed “futurism” as the number one skill for leaders.
  3. Don’t just talk about it, try to apply it: Get a trial of a new product, sign up for a course on it and experience the new thing for yourself. Bring it to your organization with your own point of view. Recently I spent a lot of time learning ChatGPT because I wanted to understand how it could impact the marketing function and what it could do to help the aerial imagery business, EagleView, where I work. I was able to apply those learnings to improve business processes, by pivoting to embrace the future, I was able to then lead others within the company on the new tech.
  4. Get better at your weaknesses: A weakness is only a weakness until you make it a strength. The pivot is in skill but also it is mental: if you believe a weakness can be turned into a strength, you will. Once I was in the final stages for a marketing role I really wanted but I didn’t get it because they said I didn’t have enough B2B experience. So I went out and learned as much as I could about it, started consulting companies as a B2B marketer and turned it into a strength. 77% of organizations report they are currently experiencing a leadership gap. Fewer than 20% of organizations have a bench of capable leaders ready to fill critical roles. You have to improve your areas of weakness to step into leadership roles.
  5. Don’t believe everything people tell you: People will always try to put you into a bucket, because it is easier for them if you are exactly who and what they think of you as. However, the pivot is to make sure that you don’t believe people who aren’t seeing your pathway to success. Once, I had a terrible manager at Amazon who kept telling me I needed to learn SQL to get ahead. While coding is definitely a weakness that I *could* get better at, what CMOs are writing SQL every day?

There are similarities between these examples and all of them ladder up to mindset. The key to bringing the pivot forward is to be constantly learning, understanding the world around you and then leveraging that knowledge to help those within your team and company. The more you scale and grow yourself, the better you will be able to find roles that interest you and a career with exponential growth opportunities.

Marcy Comer is the CMO of the EagleView Commercial Business, a role she stepped into after leadership roles at Amazon, Sears, 7-Eleven, Dosh, and Spruce. As a leader who has worked across B2B, B2C, B2B2C and D2C, she has developed a perspective for herself and her team on what it takes to succeed. Her unconventional approach is this: focus on the pivot.

(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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Spotlight on Asia Update: Women in Leadership

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Spotlight on AsiaThis month, the Glass Hammer is doing a Spotlight on Asia to provide an update on gender disparity in the financial technology world of Asia as well as highlight some of fintech’s top women leaders.

Changes in Women Executives

According to Grant Thornton’s Women in Business Report, for the first time all regions of the world have surpassed 30% of women holding senior management positions while the global average comes to 32.4%. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had the largest jump in women leaders from 37% to 40% making it among the top 2 regions for women in senior roles. APAC has increased to 32% and has outpaced North America (31%) for the first time in 5 years. It was found that India played a large role in this increase thanks to the 2020 government mandate that companies over 1000 employees must have at least one independent female director as well as the mandate for a minimum of six months maternity leave.

The Global Board Diversity tracker found that 84% of companies in Asia have at least one woman as a board member which increased from 73% in 2020 but still lags behind the global average of 93.4%. When looking at companies with at least two women, the percentage drops to 45.4% (78.3% globally) and with at least three the number drops to 17.5% (59.8% globally). Overall, women hold 14.8% of board seats in Asia, up nearly 3 percentage points since 2020. Comparatively, however, Asia is still trailing the global percentage of 26.9%.

Even if the numbers are not on par with the global average, they are still headed in a positive direction. While the numbers of women in leadership are increasing in Asia, some industries are doing worse than others. The technology industry is found to have the weakest profile of gender diversity at all levels. In Singapore, only 6% of executives are women and only 15% of board directors in tech are women. And worse, in Hong Kong, only 5% of executives are female and only 10% of directors are women. But Singapore and Hong Kong are not the only countries with prominent disparities in technology. Indonesia has the lowest share of women at any level employed at technology companies with only 22% compared to the women in the workforce at 32%.

The Boston Consulting Group and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority found that there are three “moments of truth” playing a key role in women pursuing careers in technology. These moments are their choice of major at university, their first job selection, and their decision to stay in technology as their career advances. The research provides suggestions as ways to combat the moments of truth for young women which include introducing the idea of technology as a major to high school aged girls to increase familiarity, providing programs that link university students to companies, and creating learning and development opportunities for women already in technology.

Though there are low numbers of women executives in technology in Asia, there are still trailblazing women leading technology companies in Asia. We chose three of the top leaders who are at the forefront of the industry to highlight. These three were all named among the Top 25 Women in Financial Technology of Asia in 2020 by the Financial Technology Report.

Paroma Chatterjee

Paroma Chatterjee

Paroma Chatterjee is currently the CEO of Revolut which is a digital banking service app that includes many services like transferring money in 29 currencies, a debit card that enables cash withdrawal, crypto currency, as well as overseas medical insurance. Chatterjee received a Bachelor’s in Science with honors in physics from St. Xavier’s college then went to the Indian Institution of Management, Lucknow for a Post Graduate Diploma in Management. She began her career as a management trainee at Procter & Gamble. She then held multiple leadership roles at various companies before becoming Chief Business Officer at Via.com and Lendingkart. Now, Chatterjee is the CEO of Revolut where she builds and leads the company’s subsidiary in India. She hopes to continue to develop the subsidiary and build a talented team of people.

Cerulean Hu

Cerulean Hu

Cerulean Hu is the Senior Vice President of Blockchain Engineering at Crypto.com in Hong Kong. Hu received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Hong Kong before starting financial technology journey as developer in algorithmic trading at HBSC. From there she became a software engineer at ANX International where she was also a team lead in finance and trading systems. She moved on to work at Equichain and FINCOVA as a senior software engineer. Then, in 2018 she joined Cyrpto.com as a Lead Blockchain Engineer and worked her way up to Executive Vice President of Blockchain Engineering. Crypto.com is an alternative to traditional financial service with the belief that “it is your basic right to control your money, data, and identity.” The company has 80 million users in 90 countries and offers products like the Crypto.com app and Visa card. Hu has been in this position for over a year and uses her previous leadership experience to continue to grow her team and in doing so, the company.

Jessica Tan

Jessica Tan

Jessica Tan is the Co-CEO, Executive Director and Executive Vice President at Ping An Group, China’s largest non-State owned conglomerate by revenue with an expansive portfolio including healthcare, financial services and automobile services. Tan completed her university schooling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in both economics and electrical engineering as well as a Master’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering. She began her career at McKinsey & Company as a consultant before working hard and being promoted to partner. She later joined Ping An Group as the chief information officer and worked her way up to the position of Co-CEO she holds today. Ping An groups hopes to expand their technologies globally and Tan hopes to help globalize professional services, such as the ability for remote doctors as seen with remote teachers. Outside of Ping An, Tan also holds memberships with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Securities of Future Commissions. She was also ranked 2nd Fortune’s Most Powerful Women’s international section while also making Forbes Power Women list in 2020.

It May Take Time, But It’s Worth It

While these successful women show advancement of women in Asia to high management positions is not impossible, it remains very uncommon. However, global research has shown that there is a positive correlation between companies in the top quartile of gender diversity and outperforming the other quartiles, from a total-return-to-shareholder’s perspective. These companies are 25% more likely to outperform lower ranked companies and better financial returns. When women match men’s participation in the workforce there is the potential for a significant financial gain. It is estimated to be roughly $12 trillion, or about 11% of the global GDP, lost while gender disparity is still present. Katie MacQuivey quoted in the Grant Thornton study, “It’s crucial that companies build a pipeline of diverse leadership across all levels and invest in long term programs to ensure success isn’t only focused on one point in time.” Having more women in executive positions would not only be beneficial to women but to the companies’ bottom lines.

By Chloe Williams

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The Guilt Gap: Why Women Feel More Guilt Than Men and How to Overcome It

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the guilt gapThe guilt gap doesn’t just affect individuals. When researchers asked men and women to list reasons they typically feel guilty, women listed more than men when considering their personal and professional lives.

If you share that internalized guilt, it doesn’t have to follow you around forever. Learn more about why the guilt gap exists and how to overcome it.

1. Feeling Rushed to Achieve Milestones?

Everyone’s felt the pressure to reach a big milestone. Whether that’s graduating from college, landing your dream job or starting a family, the stress can lead to guilt when you don’t accomplish those things quickly.

You’re not alone if the pressure stresses you out. A recent survey found 40% of Americans feel like they haven’t reached their life milestones fast enough. When stress turns into guilt, it’s time to shift your perspective.

Solution: Focus on Your Accomplishments

Recognizing and celebrating your accomplishments can reverse the guilt that may come with working toward long-term goals. Instead of looking at your timeline negatively, reflect on how many incredible things you’ve done in the meantime. Setting aside time to do this regularly could battle your guilt on your journey toward your goals.

2. Feeling a Sense of Competition?

Women may feel a more significant guilt gap in the workplace if there’s a toxic environment. A sense of competition among co-workers can be healthy — unless it becomes all-consuming. The result is a sense of frustration that may lead to guilty worries that you’re never doing enough to be worthy of your spot on your team.

Research backs the reality of women feeling pushed or called to do more in their jobs. A recent study found women have significantly higher corporate social responsibility than men — especially in the first decade or two of their careers.

Solution: Practice Saying No

Telling someone no means you’re reserving time for your mental health. You’ll have less stress, which might be the primary factor intensifying your guilt.

However, you might also feel guilty when you say no to someone. It’s easy to think spreading yourself thin is healthy because it helps others. In reality, it only leads to burnout that takes the joy from your daily life.

Practice saying no to little things and work up to bigger things. It’s a healthy way to value your time and mental health. Use your reserved time for more practical efforts, like self-care habits or resting. There will always be other opportunities to grow or help others when your guilt and stress aren’t draining your energy.

3. Feeling Guilty About Your Self-Care?

When parts of your life feel unmanageable or outside your control, the daily stress and anxiety can negatively affect your mental health. Self-care is a helpful resource to reduce that stress, but you might feel guilty about taking time for yourself.

Researchers found that 19% of single women feel selfish for setting aside time for their self-care. The same research concluded that 86% of married women feel the same way. Selfish feelings can come with extra guilt because you don’t want to let anyone down by spending time on yourself.

Solution: Pursue Healing With Self-Care

Life isn’t always perfect for anyone, so you’ll need self-care to maintain your mental health at any age. This guilt that comes with taking time for yourself can be extra exhausting if you’re one of the 31% of millennials with depression or another mental health condition.

It’s harder to process and release lingering stress when your mental health feels frayed. Self-care habits ensure you’re putting your needs first so things like stress and anxiety don’t degrade your quality of life.

Consider which activities or habits might relax you the most. An evening walk, an aromatherapy diffuser or an adult coloring book could reduce the anxiety triggering your guilt. Research shows self-care behaviors are equally effective at home compared to socialized environments. You don’t need to attend an in-person yoga class or exercise group to improve your mental health.

Starting healthier self-care habits may require the hard work of setting your negative feelings aside. As you get used to prioritizing your needs, the sense of selfishness and corresponding guilt will fade with practice.

4. Feeling Guilty for Pursuing Your Career?

Whether through messages they receive from loved ones, movies or TV shows, women can feel pressured to have specific chapters in their lives. People might have celebrated you starting a career after graduating college, but eventually, they started talking about when you would get married, settle down and start a family.

Those things can bring some women immense joy. Other women want to focus on their careers. When you’re caught in the middle, research shows gender stereotypes trigger guilt when women work longer hours and pursue their careers more purposefully. This specific guilt may feel impossible to overcome, but it’s manageable if you prioritize your dreams.

Solution: Cheer Yourself Toward Your Goals

Overcoming this guilt requires daily work, but it could bring you peace. Commit to cheering yourself on when you wake up each day. Everyone has the right to live a life that makes them happy — career-oriented people are no exception to that rule.

If you aren’t sure which path will make you most happy, consider making a pros-and-cons list. Compare potential futures and listen to your gut instinct. Whichever seems most enjoyable to you will give you the confidence you need to overcome this particular type of guilt.

5. Feeling Like You Can’t Make Mistakes?

When women carry immense responsibilities, letting one of them fall to the side can feel devastating. Guilt may crop up when simple mistakes happen because you don’t want to let anyone down.

One study found that women feel more guilt when they don’t care for their loved ones efficiently. Making mistakes of all sizes account for 10.5% of the reasons participants felt guilty every day. It was the largest mistake category for both men and women, with women feeling the worst about mistakes that compromised their loved ones’ care.

Although no one wants to make mistakes purposefully, the stress of fearing mistakes isn’t healthy. People make accidental bad choices every day. No one can live a life without doing things they regret.

Solution: Look for the Lesson

It’s much easier to use this guilt positively when you reflect on your mistakes. See if you can learn a lesson from the moments that make guilt follow you like a shadow. Was there something you could have done differently? If so, make a purposeful commitment to avoid the same mistake in the future. Acknowledge how your guilt helped you learn and let it go.

If you can’t find a lesson from your guilt, that’s fine, too. It won’t always appear after a learning opportunity. When that happens, it may help to thank your instincts for trying to learn and help you grow. Let your mind know everything’s OK so it can relax. It may ease your guilt back to a manageable level where you can release it or let it passively simmer until it evaporates.

Start Erasing the Guilt Gap

Guilt could make you feel locked into place or shamed away from your dreams. Overcome it by recognizing the source of your guilt and the little truth it holds. It takes courage and bravery to fight internalized misogyny, but it’s possible with a daily commitment to making life more enjoyable for yourself.

Mia Barnes is a freelance writer and researcher who specializes in mental wellbeing and workplace wellness. Mia is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Body+Mind magazine, an online women’s health publication.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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A Checklist for Women Moving Abroad to Work

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moving abroad to workMoving abroad for work is a fantastic way to expand your professional skill set, access more career opportunities, and enjoy exciting new experiences. And while it can be a daunting and challenging process, it’s one that’s very valuable from a personal development perspective.

The best way to minimise stress before a big move is to be prepared, so be sure to tick off these five steps if you’re planning to pursue a new life overseas.

1. Research visa requirements

Securing a visa is one of the most complicated aspects of moving abroad, so begin your research as soon as possible. If you have a job lined up, your employer may be able to advise you on the most suitable visa to apply for. In some instances, your employer may need to submit evidence to support your application.

Consider your long-term plans and how visa laws could affect them. Some can be extended or transferred into permanent residency visas, while others could prevent you from applying for permanent residency in the future. If you haven’t chosen a destination country yet, researching visas could help you decide where to move. For example, Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg and Germany are some of the easiest countries to secure a work visa.

2. Examine your finances

It’s important to feel confident you’ll be able to support yourself in a new country, so examine your finances carefully and research financial matters in your chosen destination. Look into average living costs and compare them to your current living costs. Ask yourself what kind of salary you’ll need to live comfortably, and research the job market to determine whether that salary is achievable. This information will also help you to negotiate pay with a prospective employer.

You should also research other matters such as tax rates and pension schemes to get an accurate idea of your monthly take-home pay. If you expect to buy a property abroad, either immediately or in the future, research typical interest rates and criteria for loan approval.

3. Learn about local labour right

Each country has unique labour rights and it’s vital you familiarise yourself with the laws of your destination country. When you’re educated about your labour rights, you can make sure your employer is abiding by them and you won’t be faced with unexpected surprises if certain rights you’re used to aren’t applicable in your new job.

If you’re yet to settle on a destination, learning about labour rights in different parts of the world could help you decide where to move. Some countries have significantly better rights for workers than others, making them more suitable for expats looking for a new start in their career. Belgium and Greece are two of the highest-ranked countries when it comes to labour rights, with Finland following closely behind.

4. Budget for moving expenses

Moving abroad can be incredibly expensive depending on how far you’re travelling and what you’re bringing with you. On top of shipping any belongings, you’ll also have to consider the costs of transferring money, hiring storage space and insurance. When importing household goods and vehicles, don’t forget to factor in customs duty and compulsory quarantine costs.

If your move abroad will be temporary, it could be more cost-effective to put your household goods in storage and rent a furnished home. Those making a permanent move should compare average costs of new furniture and appliances in their destination country with the cost of moving their existing goods. If you’re moving abroad because your employer has transferred you or you’ve been headhunted, you might be able to negotiate a relocation package where your employer covers part or all of your moving costs.

5. Connect with fellow expats in your destination country

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for a move overseas is to chat to people who have gone through the process themselves and are living in your destination country. They can share tips, point you towards local resources or services, and even provide practical support to help you get settled in when you arrive.

You can find expat community groups online and via social media. Your employer may also be able to direct you to local expat groups, or it might host its own group if it regularly hires international applicants.

Look forward to new opportunities

Moving abroad is a complex process, but the five steps outlined above will help you prepare for this exciting new phase of your life.

(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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Leadership and the Challenge of “Pricing the Priceless”

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pricing the priceless

(by Paula DiPerna)

Visual ecstasy for free, in theory, is how we’ve largely thought about nature — its beauty timeless and ineffable, and all its systems there around us, stable and present and taken for granted. Aesthetically exquisite, but, unless being drawn upon as raw materials, pretty much doing nothing.

Yet, all of nature is constantly at work, providing countless daily services well beyond the obvious: flowers are lovely to look at, but they provide incalculable pollination services; standing trees can provide lumber, but also soil stability and water filtration when left alone, not to mention sequestering carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels and causing climate change; coral reefs offer divers a paradise but, meanwhile, they are invaluable buffers against raging storms to protect the coasts and indispensable nurseries for fisheries. Yet, just to take the coral reef example, we book coastal property at high value, sea views inestimable, but the reefs themselves are assigned no value at all in our conventional accounting systems.

Our Failure to Financially Value Nature

Meanwhile, while nature serves us for free, climate change wrenches our balance with nature, as extremes of weather unleash forces we can neither fully predict, nor prepare for. Dryness and wildfire conditions so plague California, major insurance companies have declared they will no longer write fire insurance for homes and property there. In Florida, flood insurance is essentially impossible to obtain.

We face urgent environmental problems because of a gaping flaw in our financial systems no longer possible to ignore: failure to financially value the ineffable elements of life on which our environmental and social stability now increasingly depend. The result? Intangible indispensable natural assets taken financially for granted and, therefore, essentially laid waste.

Or in perhaps the most dramatic example of under-valuing nature, how can it make sense to value mere conveniences like Uber, nice but utterly dispensable, in billions of dollars, and our atmosphere, or the biodiversity of life on earth, utterly indispensable, at zero?

This skewed accounting has rendered nature economically invisible and the most tragically unpaid laborer in history. Because nature charges us nothing for its services, we have over-used and pushed those services to the brink.

The Paradox of Our Time

And so we must embrace the paradox of our time—pricing the priceless, by definition impossible perhaps, but nevertheless essential. How to do this—assign nature and its intangible services a tangible and economic value that can be transacted and expressed in credible financial terms? In essence this means treating nature’s services and natural resources as indispensable infrastructure and assets, thus requiring ongoing maintenance and care, compared to the current situation, where protecting nature is mostly viewed as a budgetary cost center, where expenditures should be minimized.

Calculating the value of the labor performed by nature, known as “ecosystems services,” continues to evolve but estimates have been as high as $125 trillion per year, higher than global GDP, indicating that ultimately all economic activity depends on environmental health one way or another. But this subsidy nature provides our economy remains largely unrecognized and unseen by conventional finance, thus, so does the risk that the subsidy will break down, leaving us likely startled and without the fallback of nature to which our economy is now addicted.

This spring, Susan Berresford, former President of the Ford Foundation, a visionary in philanthropy and a champion of women leaders, received an honorary degree from Bates College. In her remarks she focused on key questions of leadership, likely indeed to be critical as we confront the entwined economic and environmental challenges ahead.

First, she said, today’s leaders must know “am I comfortable being different?” Second: “Can I thrive in situations of ambiguity? There are very few reform efforts in which the pathway for decision making and action is utterly clear. You need to be ready for confusion and uncertainty; in fact you have to like confusion and uncertainty and find opportunity in those moments.” And thirdly, “Do I enjoy managing struggles with generosity? Leadership usually means you are trying to redistribute authority or power or influence.”

Flipping our economic systems so that nature is economically valued, however paradoxical, requires all these qualities, specifically, the courage to see and act anew.

Depreciation of Natural Assets​

Renowned economist, Sir Partha Dasgupta, embodies such radical re-thinking. He was commissioned by the Treasury of the UK government to examine questions of nature’s value, resulting in his landmark 2021 review, “The Economics of Biodiversity.” There, he framed today’s environmental dilemma in terms of financial portfolio management, writing, “The view that the biosphere is a mosaic of self-regenerative assets also covers its role as a sink for pollution. Acid rains damage forests; carbon emissions in the atmosphere trap heat; industrial seepage and discharge reduce water quality in streams and underground reservoirs; sulfur emissions corrode structures and harm human health, and so on. The damage inflicted on each type of asset (buildings, forests, fisheries, human health) should be interpreted as depreciation.”

Fortunately, new investment vehicles are cropping up that value and securitize the benefits of nature—such innovations as the Forest Resilience Bond, being pioneered in Lake Tahoe, California; or coral reef insurance, throughout the Meso-American reef system. Still, however, these are experiments and need to come to scale.

All trend lines indicate that indeed depreciation of our natural systems gallops ahead. Certainly climate change advances, even if in zigs and unpredictable zags, and even the best intended plans to switch to renewable fuels, electrify economies, limit deforestation, encourage recycling and cutting down “carbon footprints” lag dangerously behind.

Pricing the Priceless

Time has come for a radical flip in how we conceptualize nature and its value, and implementing this radical change is perhaps the greatest challenge facing today’s leaders across all sectors, requiring fresh optics and views of economic purpose and where best to invest capital.

An exciting opportunity is at hand for institutional and private investors to redeploy capital and financial assets away from environmental “bads” to “goods,” take on the ambiguities and question conventional financial thinking. Otherwise, we risk remaining mere bystanders to forces at work, and that’s one trajectory we simply cannot afford.

By: Paula DiPerna is the author of Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets, published in June by Wiley and listed by the Financial Times on its roster of “Best Summer Reading: Economics.” Her novel, The Discoveries of Mrs. Christopher Columbus, published formerly in the US, Germany and Turkey, has just been published in Portugal by Group LeYa. She is a member of the Women’s Forum of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations and is a frequent public speaker. She also currently serves as Special Advisor to CDP.

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