Marina Lui believes a strong team brings success, and that companies need to create an atmosphere that will attract and retain those solid performers.
As one of the early immigrants to Hong Kong from China, Lui says she appreciated the opportunity to receive the education that she did, both in Hong Kong and then attending the University of Texas at Austin in the United States.
She began her career as a branch manager in consumer banking, but wasn’t sure she was cut out for managing – ironic, given her current success in that arena. She joined UBS in 1995 as a client-facing relationship manager, spending 10 years covering the Hong Kong domestic market, and then once again moving into managerial positions.
At the time, the Hong Kong domestic market was quite established so she appreciated the opportunity she was given in 2011 when she was appointed as one of the team heads serving ultra-high worth clients in China and Taiwan. That allowed her to work in a sophisticated new market with a team of 50 experienced staff.
Soon she honed her focus solely on China, where she became regional market manager for the China International Team with a staff of 150. “I was very proud of being named regional market manager and subsequently building the team. In less than two years we have doubled the size of the business.”
Winning Because of the Team
Lui credits her team with that feat, but much of the acknowledgement surely should be given to her leadership style. “I want to be the team of choice and feel I have achieved that goal with the high morale we have. I want my team to be proud of what they do, and know that they have collectively contributed to our accomplishments,” she says.
Not only is she focused on success, but on developing the next generation of leaders. She admits it’s challenging sometimes when you can’t see quick results since talent development is a long process. However, she enjoys the role she plays in nurturing employees to help support the success of the firm.
Changing Demographics Mean A Changing Industry
The industry is currently in the midst of wealth transfer from one generation to another, and they need to accommodate the different way that the next generation thinks. Since many of her relationship managers are relatively young, they are in a position to relate to, and therefore confidently meet, the needs of this next generation.
And the changing demographics brings internal challenges as well, as companies grapple with providing employees with the diverse experiences they increasingly seek. “We have to question whether employees who are in their late 20s will want to work for the bank for 20 years, given their mindset that they don’t want to be in one place too long.” She says that they are addressing that through encouraging millennial employees to seek additional opportunities in other divisions of the bank, so they can have those varied experiences without leaving.
Growing the Next Generation of Leaders
Younger employees today also have the benefit of being able to research an industry before they join, and she encourages them to do their homework, to find out what exactly a banking position entails and confirm that it suits their interests and skills. But, it also has to be something they enjoy.
“When you join an industry or company, you have to be passionate or you won’t last long,” she says. She advises them to trust their gut feeling when determining a career path, but then to realize that success may be delayed. “The younger generation tends to want immediate gratification but often you have to be patient as you climb the ladder. Learn what you need to know on each rung.”
She encourages wealth management as an industry where women can be particularly successful, because it’s a people business, and women naturally exhibit interpersonal skills that allow them to excel at networking and building relationships with clients.
Within UBS, Lui is involved in the Global Key Talent Program, which helps develop high-performing talent. The group brings together emerging professionals and senior leaders to encourage mentoring and exposure. “It’s important to offer this opportunity for younger professionals to engage with senior leadership, both men and women, and show their capabilities.”
She also is involved with a group called “Half the Sky” that helps the bank better understand the needs of female clients who are becoming a larger part of their portfolio, as entrepreneurs and decision makers.
Work/Life Balance as an Imperative
Lui counsels her peers that it’s important to leave your stress at work and develop a healthy work/life balance that allows you to perform and focus better on the job. For her, exercise is a stress reliever, but she encourages women to find what works for them.
She loves traveling and spending time with her family but also believes in the importance of giving back through philanthropy. Two causes she is particularly passionate about are elder care and children. Recently she instigated a team project where they visited the elderly. “We need them to know they are important and not forgotten.” On the other end of the spectrum, she is involved with the group “Pencil of Promise,” which is working to build schools in Laos.
“I know that I am fortunate to work in the banking industry and make a good living compared to many families who struggle on a daily basis. We all need to make giving a part of our lives, to remember to reach out and support those in need. “
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Life Hacks: Apps to Make your Life Easier for the busy professional woman
Life HacksToday is also a time where the demands on our time are greater than ever. So how do we make the apps work for us as professional women, to give us that extra time we all seem to need at work and at home? Can apps be the key to the work-life balance issue? Are there career opportunities for women to develop more apps based on their own needs?
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Can You See A Promotional Path At Work? Leaving To Go Up The Ladder
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!This summer we have talked about the scenarios that tend to create catalysts for talented people to seek out career coaches to help them navigate the promotional pathway which sometimes means leaving your current team or firm.
When I am coaching, I often hear that my client does not see a clear promotional path and this can be due to many elements but it always involves politics and people.
Sometimes the lack of vision to what the next internal move is is simply due to rigid corporate structures and a perceived lack of places to be promoted into. The old adages “Dead Men’s Shoes” or “Not enough pie to go around” are often mentioned here. Sometimes that is true, but sometimes you need to realize that space will be made for the “right” people. (* the phrase right people could be a whole article in itself, but that is for another day later this summer on unconscious bias, keep reading this column.)
In other instances, what companies sometimes do not grasp is that ambition does vary person to person but having systemic grind due to bad organizational development creates a pebble in everyone’ shoes that simply de-motivates even the most focused players over time. Can this be addressed? Yes. Is it usually addressed in firms? No. Sadly, due to the slightly invisible nature of company and team culture, the average manager cannot start to solve these issues.
Sometimes wanting to leave is about an individual manager or team member, but proper organizational development work can eliminate many of the bad behaviors that can be practiced by less than desirable coworkers. Bad behaviors appear when survivalism is the culture so some of these same folks might be quite nice colleagues in a different environment. Lewin’s theory suggests that behavior is a function of personality PLUS environment, or in other words, the perfect storm can occur in any firm for hellish behaviors to become commonplace.
Either way, it really is about leaving to get a promotion and work in a better culture.
Culture is “how we do things around here” and that is why we coach here at the glasshammer as we think we have the secret weapon for our coachees- we focus on you the individual but we understand the organizational structures and cultural markers so that we can help you pick the right firm and the right opportunity as your next promotion is everything! Call us for 8 sessions (over 18 months) for an introductory price of $2500 and watch your career take off.
Voice of Experience: Marina Lui, Regional Market Manager for the China International Team UBS
Spotlight on Asia, Voices of ExperienceAs one of the early immigrants to Hong Kong from China, Lui says she appreciated the opportunity to receive the education that she did, both in Hong Kong and then attending the University of Texas at Austin in the United States.
She began her career as a branch manager in consumer banking, but wasn’t sure she was cut out for managing – ironic, given her current success in that arena. She joined UBS in 1995 as a client-facing relationship manager, spending 10 years covering the Hong Kong domestic market, and then once again moving into managerial positions.
At the time, the Hong Kong domestic market was quite established so she appreciated the opportunity she was given in 2011 when she was appointed as one of the team heads serving ultra-high worth clients in China and Taiwan. That allowed her to work in a sophisticated new market with a team of 50 experienced staff.
Soon she honed her focus solely on China, where she became regional market manager for the China International Team with a staff of 150. “I was very proud of being named regional market manager and subsequently building the team. In less than two years we have doubled the size of the business.”
Winning Because of the Team
Lui credits her team with that feat, but much of the acknowledgement surely should be given to her leadership style. “I want to be the team of choice and feel I have achieved that goal with the high morale we have. I want my team to be proud of what they do, and know that they have collectively contributed to our accomplishments,” she says.
Not only is she focused on success, but on developing the next generation of leaders. She admits it’s challenging sometimes when you can’t see quick results since talent development is a long process. However, she enjoys the role she plays in nurturing employees to help support the success of the firm.
Changing Demographics Mean A Changing Industry
The industry is currently in the midst of wealth transfer from one generation to another, and they need to accommodate the different way that the next generation thinks. Since many of her relationship managers are relatively young, they are in a position to relate to, and therefore confidently meet, the needs of this next generation.
And the changing demographics brings internal challenges as well, as companies grapple with providing employees with the diverse experiences they increasingly seek. “We have to question whether employees who are in their late 20s will want to work for the bank for 20 years, given their mindset that they don’t want to be in one place too long.” She says that they are addressing that through encouraging millennial employees to seek additional opportunities in other divisions of the bank, so they can have those varied experiences without leaving.
Growing the Next Generation of Leaders
Younger employees today also have the benefit of being able to research an industry before they join, and she encourages them to do their homework, to find out what exactly a banking position entails and confirm that it suits their interests and skills. But, it also has to be something they enjoy.
“When you join an industry or company, you have to be passionate or you won’t last long,” she says. She advises them to trust their gut feeling when determining a career path, but then to realize that success may be delayed. “The younger generation tends to want immediate gratification but often you have to be patient as you climb the ladder. Learn what you need to know on each rung.”
She encourages wealth management as an industry where women can be particularly successful, because it’s a people business, and women naturally exhibit interpersonal skills that allow them to excel at networking and building relationships with clients.
Within UBS, Lui is involved in the Global Key Talent Program, which helps develop high-performing talent. The group brings together emerging professionals and senior leaders to encourage mentoring and exposure. “It’s important to offer this opportunity for younger professionals to engage with senior leadership, both men and women, and show their capabilities.”
She also is involved with a group called “Half the Sky” that helps the bank better understand the needs of female clients who are becoming a larger part of their portfolio, as entrepreneurs and decision makers.
Work/Life Balance as an Imperative
Lui counsels her peers that it’s important to leave your stress at work and develop a healthy work/life balance that allows you to perform and focus better on the job. For her, exercise is a stress reliever, but she encourages women to find what works for them.
She loves traveling and spending time with her family but also believes in the importance of giving back through philanthropy. Two causes she is particularly passionate about are elder care and children. Recently she instigated a team project where they visited the elderly. “We need them to know they are important and not forgotten.” On the other end of the spectrum, she is involved with the group “Pencil of Promise,” which is working to build schools in Laos.
“I know that I am fortunate to work in the banking industry and make a good living compared to many families who struggle on a daily basis. We all need to make giving a part of our lives, to remember to reach out and support those in need. “
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Gender diversity – lessons from the UK boardroom for 2016
Career Advice, NewsA mere five years ago in early 2011, few of us would have looked to the UK Public Limited Company’s boardrooms as beacons of gender diversity. Female representation in FTSE 100 boardrooms was just 12.5% and although many leaders in business and politics acknowledged that something had to be done, it was not clear what or how. Five years on now in 2016 women now fill 26% of FTSE 100 board roles – just over double their representation when the Davies Review (Women on boards) was launched. If we didn’t know before, we certainly now have a better idea about what it takes to turn the dial on this opportunity.
The Davies Review proved a successful catalyst for gender diversity in UK boardrooms; with a clear target and public commitment from senior leaders to achieve at least 25% representation over the course of five years, board directors were incentivised to proactively address unconscious bias in board selection and nomination processes among a number of other obstacles female leaders face on their journey to the boardroom.
Yes there has been progress – which we should be proud of – but it’s by no means time to congratulate ourselves. While a number of organisations now have female representation of 25% or more on their boards, some industries have a way to go. As identified by the New Financial’s most recent report, UK-regulated financial services companies have more work to do – both in the boardroom where women fill 23% of roles and in executive committees where they fill only 14% of leadership roles.
The Davies review focused on listed organisations, with the aim for other non-listed organisations to adopt the recommendations, so it is no surprise that more progress has been made by UK-listed companies. Unlike the boards of listed companies, only 14% of board positions of privately held financial services companies are filled by female board directors. For those still not convinced by the widely discussed benefits by advocates of gender diversity, why not consider what board directors have experienced as a result of enhanced diversity?
Chairs and board members say this isn’t just a nice-to-have; they continue to see the value of more diverse boards in the richness of board discussions particularly when it comes to making critical decisions, and they are less likely to be hit by scandals. In the current business landscape with increasing scrutiny of boards and greater focus on the importance of business’ role in society, surely this is welcome news? From a commercial perspective it also makes sense; research conducted by the index provider MCSI found that companies with more women “delivered a 36% better return on equity since 2010 than those groups lacking board diversity”.
The US may also do well to consider some of the progress achieved in the UK. According to the recently published “2015 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors”, female representation across S&P 500 stands at just 19.9%. Of even greater concern is that the glacial pace of change is likely to continue given new directorship appointments, of which 73% were held by men and 27% by women. Deborah Gillis, CEO’s President and CEO, stated; “Our new Census shows little progress has been made at the board level, and even less progress has been made in the pipeline for women officers and directors—suggesting women are nowhere near the path to parity with men. Men continue to be overrepresented, holding more than their fair share of board seats and, in some cases, all the board seats.”
The New Financial’s report also points to exemplary countries which others should aspire to – including countries in the Nordic region, France and Germany where female representation is 34%, 29% and 27% respectively.
These reports and others point to the merits of diversity and encourage leaders – both in business and government – to take bold action. What does bold action look like?
In the UK, the government commissioned the Ghadia Review which sought to make specific recommendations for UK financial services organisations to address gender diversity at both board and executive level. The Review recommended clear targets and enhanced transparency (including the disclosure of diversity data), increased accountability across all leadership levels within organisations, and the linking of remuneration to progress against gender diversity targets. New Financial found that only 26% of the financial services organisations included in the research sample disclosed gender diversity targets – and of these only 10% disclosed gender representation at board level, and 24% setting targets with deadlines.
It’s not enough to talk about gender diversity – it’s a case of committing to specific goals and maintaining the focus required to deliver against the goals. While aspirational targets show some level of acknowledgment of the need to address gender diversity, being specific and time-bound is more likely to have the desired impact. The Ghadia Review recommends 12 data points, including gender ratio of employees promoted and the percentage of maternity, paternity and shared parental leave returnees.
Just as importantly, targets need to be stretching. One of the five recommendations in the “Davies Review Five Year Summary” was around increasing the female representation target for FTSE 350 Boards to 33% – continuing with the voluntary approach. Incremental progress will only result in the next generation having the same debates we are having today. We owe them more.
To build on the progress made to date, we must look to the next generation of aspiring board directors, the behaviours we advocate and development opportunities we provide to both women and men. According to New Financial, women are better represented (36%) in support roles, but continue to be very under-represented in the roles that serve as springboards to board positions – CEO (6%), other C-suite roles (10%), and budget owners (9%). Without losing momentum on progress being achieved in the boardroom, there is a clear need to focus on female representation at the executive level.
This doesn’t just apply to Financial Services – although particularly acute in Fintech. According to a recent Deloitte report including participants across the globe, boards of financial services organisations in the UK lead manufacturing, and energy and resources industries.
Despite what many would deem as slow progress by boards in terms of gender diversity, it turns out that we have some positive lessons to learn from boards if we are to turn the dial on female representation at executive level: specific targets, enhanced transparency, public commitment, and role modelling desired behaviours.
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Coping with hidden disabilities and conditions on the job: an invisible struggle
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Finding a New Job While Doing Your Job Well
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!Last week we identified the lack of trust as a reason to leave your current job or firm and trust is everything at work just as it is at home. And a few weeks ago, we talked about how the biggest key for individual and team performance was in fact having psychological safety at work so in many respects this ties into that topic.
There might be reasons to stay and build that trust but I hesitate to give advice over the internet in this column as each case will be different and very personalized to the players and the situation.
Instead, I am going to say it straight; if trust is lacking and cannot be built then leave. Of course, the trick is to do your job well while you are securing your next ( better) role in a different team or company.
Do not “stay and quit”.
Remember, every project you do, or skill you acquire can be talked about on your resume and in your job interviews. Use the time wisely and find a firm where trust is abundant. How do you know that? Ask questions like” What gets rewarded here?”. “What gets tolerated?” and “How does the task (insert your type of tasks that you do) get done around here?”.
Best of Luck!
If you are looking for an executive coach to help you navigate your career then please contact nicki@theglasshammer.com for a no obligation conversation
Voice of Experience: Jacqueline Arthur, Chief of Staff to the Co-heads of the Investment Management Division (IMD), Goldman Sachs
Voices of ExperienceFrom Law to Investment Management
Arthur attended law school at George Washington University after earning her undergraduate degree at Duke University. She began her career as a corporate attorney advising private equity (PE) clients, and five years later joined Goldman Sachs in the Investment Management Division (IMD), parlaying her PE experience into her new position.
Arthur noted that even though she was in a similar industry, she was looking at it through a different vantage point and in some ways felt like she was starting from the beginning. “When I started my career as a corporate attorney, I never would have envisioned this trajectory,” said Arthur. “I’m proud of risks I’ve taken to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve become open to trusting my instincts and leveraging my network and mentors, which has allowed me to be more confident in taking on new opportunities.”
One particularly exciting challenge was when she joined the Global Portfolio Solutions team in 2008, focusing on multi-asset class solutions for clients. “Our clients were relying on us to ensure their portfolios were in safe hands during a volatile time,” Arthur says. As part of the move, she was given the opportunity to broaden her responsibilities as the group focused on expanding its capabilities. “This was a terrific growth opportunity and gave me a chance to stretch beyond a pure client role to focus on management and strategy. While I had always enjoyed advising clients, I found that I also really loved thinking about how to grow our business and to ensure we are best positioned to serve our clients.”
When a position opened in 2011 to work with the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, she says she leapt at the opportunity. Her role has grown significantly in the last several years, and she currently serves as chief of staff to the heads of IMD, where she focuses on a broad spectrum of initiatives across IMD’s businesses.
“Our clients come to us for comprehensive solutions, and one aspect of my role that I have found particularly rewarding is focusing on our efforts to tap into not only the intellectual capital of the people in IMD, but also the expertise of the rest of the firm. This is a powerful tool for clients, and one that differentiates us,” she says.
“I love the diversity of my work and the people I get to interact with across the firm. Every day I am reminded that I work with such a talented group of people.” Arthur says a priority for her is to identify junior talent who have the potential to excel at leadership roles within the firm.
Viewing Your Career With a Long-Term Perspective
Approach your career as a marathon not a sprint, Arthur advises, wisdom she received from a managing director when she first began working at Goldman Sachs.
“This mindset ensures you avoid burnout and retain resilience for speedbumps you might experience during your career,” she notes. “Staying the course and having a long-term perspective has served me well in the ups and downs of work-life balance.” Arthur, who is the mother of two young children, notes that while she was initially anxious to be out of the office for maternity leave, the culture at the firm is collaborative and team-focused, and she was able to resume her role seamlessly following her return to the office.
She appreciates that Goldman Sachs has a “mentorship culture.” Arthur serves as an advisor to the IMD Women’s Network on its community engagement efforts and has found the network to be a very impactful resource. She says she has also received terrific support from mentors and sponsors at key moments. “The relationships I’ve created at the firm and in the industry enable me to tap into resources that make me better at my job and have made my career more meaningful,” Arthur says.
“The Best Part of My Day”
Arthur looks forward every day to the moment when she returns home from work and her kids run to the door to greet her. “It can be hard to maintain a work-life balance, and before having children I couldn’t envision how I would be the mother I wanted to be.” But, she says that being a mom has made her more focused at work, and she believes working has also made her a better mom. “When I am with my children, I focus on being very present and engaged. They also love coming to work with me and asking me questions about my job.”
Her family loves traveling and Arthur thrives on seeing the world through her kids’ eyes and learning about different cultures with them. Closer to home, they appreciate the access they have to restaurants and the arts in New York City. “Having grown up in a small town, the experiences we can have locally constantly amaze me, and we really try to make the most of it as a family.”
Men Who Get It: Joe Sieczkowski, Senior Managing Director, CTO, Chief Architect/Engineer, TIAA
Men Who "Get It", People“Being a leader who is open to diversity requires a number of qualities, but a key one is being a good listener,” says TIAA’s Joe Sieczkowski.
“So many people listen just so that they can respond, rather than internalizing what’s being said to see if there’s another issue at play. You have to be willing to have your beliefs turned around in the face of evidence,” he says, citing a quote that has been attributed to Mark Twain: “It isn’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so.”
A Tech Career Born on Wall Street
He began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he took on a series of roles of increasing responsibilities. One characteristic that differentiated Sieczkowski from his peers was his drive to understand the nuances and complexities of each business, even as a technologist. For example, if he was delivering technology for derivative traders, it was important for him to understand how options were priced and how factors such as volatility would affect them. He subsequently held technology leadership roles at Deutsche Bank and then Bear Stearns. At Bear, Sieczkowski worked in the global clearing services division, where they were developing white labeled trading websites for their institutional clients.
With a desire to earn his MBA always in the back of his mind, Sieczkowski took the opportunity to do so during the market turmoil of 2008. During this time, he did advisory work and subsequently joined TIAA in 2011 as Chief Architect/Engineer where he currently leads a cross-functional team of technology leaders in strategy, architecture and enterprise data.
Lifelong Diversity Champion
Beginning with his mom, and leading up to a female CIO at TIAA, Sieczkowski has had a series of women role models who instilled the importance of diversity. He was proud watching his mom as he grew up: She juggled three kids while working and going to school where she graduated summa cum laude. Her career progressed from being a nurse to head nurse to nurse manager and also president of the New Jersey State Nurses Association. With that upbringing, he never doubted the capabilities of women, who have been his colleagues and managers ever since.
That’s why he champions diversity throughout TIAA, realizing that the department’s success depends on the skills of his team. With a proven correlation between innovative teams, success and diversity, he embraces the need to seek diverse points of view to challenge the status quo and ultimately reach better conclusions. “My teams are known for highlighting diversity, and I believe that’s one of the reasons we consistently outperform norms,” he says. “When an employee takes pride in their differences, they are more apt to seek out opportunities that showcase their skills, which in turn helps us perform.”
Groom and Let Go
Sieczkowski takes pride in the leaders he has helped develop, explaining that it’s a four-part process that involves mentoring, grooming, promoting and releasing. “Often that fourth step can be the hardest, but you have to do all four,” he asserts.
“If you insist that you need a certain person on your team, you are holding them back. When you develop talent, it’s in the best interest of the firm to let them fly.” He has taken that to heart, and prides himself on leading a development-focused organization that constantly works to promote people into larger roles.
Part of that evolution in driving female success is bringing in entry-level talent and then making sure they have opportunities to be in front of senior leaders. “When you have outstanding people, you want to make sure they are visible,” he says. “Effectively sponsoring people entails identifying potential and spotlighting and nurturing talent.”
He also encourages his female employees to pursue continuing education, whether formally through a master’s program or informally through the many training opportunities TIAA provides.
Failing Fast and Focusing on Output
While he is an official sponsor of a group mentoring program, he also believes it’s in the informal actions where he can make a difference, and that supporting emerging talent through stretch assignments should be part of each leader’s job. “You have to let them know that it’s ok to fail,” he says, adding that his department understands the value of “failing fast.” When they undertake an innovative initiative, they’ll term it a “fast fail pilot,” knowing that they have the chance to watch it for four to six weeks to see if it will be effective and move on if not.
As leaders consider opportunities for women, there is one key area where they should be focused: output. “We have to remember that flexibility thrives when we focus on the outputs of performance and effectiveness, rather than time. It yields a better work environment and a better work product.”
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Movers and Shakers: Kristy Finnegan, Portfolio Manager, Voya Investment Management
Movers and Shakers, News“When you begin your career, it’s easy to assume that you’ll choose your path, and that you’ll start at the bottom rung and work up in a linear fashion,” says Kristy Finnegan, a portfolio manager on the global equity team at Voya Investment Management.
This theory has propelled Finnegan from her initial career in investment banking after earning a BS in economics from Vanderbilt University. She moved to New York with the intent of landing a position on the sell side, but the 9/11 tragedy set off a hiring freeze.
Finnegan eventually joined the precursor firm to Voya, where she started pursuing her Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, initially working with the small cap value team.
A Courageous Meeting Yields a Career Break
When Finnegan realized she was not in her ideal role, she worked up the courage to pitch a stock, unsolicited, to the portfolio manager.
“It ended up being the best career move I ever made,” she says, since it set off a discussion that ultimately led to the manager recognizing what she wanted to do and moving her into a junior analyst role. To this day, she says the portfolio manager she spoke with was fundamental to her career success. “He believed in me and took a risk in promoting me into the analyst role. He guided me the first few years, during the start of my career path, and his investing style of avoiding group think formed my current approach to stock selection.”
That was her first break into equity research, which she followed with a stint as a technology analyst and then consumer staples analyst before becoming a portfolio manager. “That was a huge professional achievement, because it was a recognition of both my analytical abilities and interpersonal skills,” she says.
In her current role on the global equity team, she has been instrumental in forming a platform that brings together U.S. and international teams and portfolio engineering groups. “Joining these groups has been a really exciting process and we are off to a great collaborative start,” she says.
Learning Along the Way
For Finnegan, learning moments have come via mistakes, as they do for most. Equity analysts work with available data to form estimates for the future, which means there are inherent risks. “Early on I missed some lucrative opportunities because I deferred to others rather than trusting my own work,” she says. “Those misses taught me to be an advocate for my own stock picks and trust my instincts.”
Finnegan believes that success comes most naturally if you love your job. “I’ve always had career goals, but my major motivation is to excel for both myself and my team, and that breeds success.”
While she credits her portfolio manager as her sponsor, Finnegan knows that you can find mentors anywhere and everywhere, which is why she names Sheryl Sandberg as one of hers. “When I read her book Lean In, I felt like she was talking to me, with clear, tangible advice on how to overcome obstacles and the challenges that all of us face.”
Mentoring the Next Generation
Several years ago, Finnegan was part of the team that introduced the Voya Investment Challenge in collaboration with Girls Inc. She and another colleague were chosen as volunteers to lead a group of eighth grade girls. They worked with the same girls through sophomore year, educating and mentoring them on financial foundations and how to take charge of their financial future. The challenge took place over three years, concluding in their sophomore year. They were given $50,000 pretend dollars gradually over their first year, which they invested it in stocks, bonds and other funds. They tracked the investment performance and made buy/sell decisions as you would with a real portfolio.
“It is so important for girls to gain exposure to these situations where they might not otherwise have the chance to learn these principles,” says Finnegan. Her involvement came full circle when a colleague attended this year’s celebratory lunch and excitedly told her that one of the speakers was a girl whom Finnegan had mentored, now attending Cornell University. “It was so impressive to see the success she had become.”
These days Finnegan is still mentoring young people, but it’s her own children, a five-year-old daughter and three-year-old twins. She’s also an avid reader and runner, but spends most of her time having fun with her family.
By Cathie Ericson
Is it time to change jobs, change firms or leave the industry?
Career AdviceBy NIcki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organisational Psychologist
Image provided by Shutterstock.
If you have been feeling like you need a change of scene for a while or even if that feeling has just begun then you have to firstly listen to it and then secondly distill what is really going on.
This series of three posts over the next three weeks discusses the triggers that can make us want to leave and they are worth understanding for each of you if they are just triggers or actually accurate instincts that you should follow. Often when I am coaching there are three scenarios that are happening when someone comes to me with a “ I want to leave my job” instinct.
Scenario 1: You do not see a path for promotion at your current job
Scenario 2: There is a lack of trust in the people in your team/your boss to do the right thing or be competent.
Scenario 3: The company and /or industry is in flux. Let’s discuss this scenario this week.
The thought of yet another reshuffle or round of layoffs have my coachee anxious and they want to pre-empt being on the receiving end of an HR conversation by finding a new job first. The politics involved in surviving can be exhausting and some people have the right personality to ride it out without it eating them. The reality is that most people do not have quite the capacity for not getting sucked into the politics at play when the heat is on. In fact sensitive people can be worn out to a point of burnout so it is absolutely necessary to know oneself and your endurance levels. All my long term coaching clients do a personality test called the Hogan which does give us an indication for their natural ability to ride out these messy company restructures and mergers.
However, I think that sometimes it is perfectly valid to leave when you want to leave and get a head start on your vision for your next career job before the market is flooded with laid off employees. To this end, it is fairly important to understand the external environment and your specific industry niche or job niche so that you do not end up wondering what happened to the segment. Keep thinking about the transferability of your skills and update them regularly as well as keeping your network strategic and up-to-date.
Finally, if you do decide to go, know that proactivity and first mover advantage is always rewarded and with the element of choice on your hands you can choose your next job wisely since you have a job and therefore in a position of strength in the talent pool.
If you are looking for an executive coach to help you navigate your career contact nicki@theglasshammer.com for a no obligation conversation to discuss how we may help
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