Welcome to M&A Week on The Glass Hammer — we’ll be profiling successful M&A business women all week long!
By Tina Vasquez, Editor
In the past three months alone, Clare O’Brien has been to London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro (twice), and Abu Dhabi. Traveling around the world isn’t unusual for a leading M&A lawyer with international clients, but the depth, breadth, scale and scope of her work as a partner at global law firm Shearman & Sterling is stunning.
O’Brien’s client list includes such global names as Ardagh S.A., Boston Scientific Corporation, Bunge Limited, Corning Incorporated, Danone, Lafarge S.A., Mubadala Development Company, Quest Diagnostics, and SunGard. She is annually ranked as a leading global M&A lawyer and her crowning achievements include her work on behalf of SunGard in 2005, representing the company in an $11.3 billion private equity-driven acquisition, which garnered her The American Lawyer’s 2005 “Dealmakers of the Year” award, one of the highest honors an M&A lawyer can receive. O’Brien also represented Boston Scientific in its 2006 acquisition of Guidant Corporation.
O’Brien had a rough start in the States that did not foreshadow the success that would come.
“I grew up in Ireland, went to law school at Trinity College in Dublin, and became an attorney at 23,” O’Brien recalls. “I worried that if I stayed in Ireland, I would get stuck there, so I decided to pack up and head to New York in 1985, thinking I’d get a job at a law firm and stay a year or two at the most.”
O’Brien applied to 30 firms for a job – including Shearman & Sterling – and received 30 rejection letters in response. At that time, it was more unusual for non-U.S. trained lawyers to apply for jobs at large New York-based law firms.
“The situation seemed bleak, but then I took and passed the New York Bar exam, which opened up some doors,” O’Brien said.
Making Hard Career Choices
Talent like O’Brien’s never goes unrecognized and before long, she was hired by a small firm based in New York City, the sole woman on a team of six lawyers. When a headhunter approached her with two job offers in 1987, she decided to take the one at Shearman & Sterling. Again, she figured it would be a one- or two-year commitment.
“I sometimes think that my career can be characterized by the absence of forethought,” O’Brien said with a laugh. “I came to New York without a big plan and here I am, 25 years later. I believe that I am still here, and still doing what I do, because I still like what I do, including – at least on some level – the unpredictability of being an M&A lawyer at a big firm.”
More Global Than Most
O’Brien’s achievements with Shearman & Sterling reflect its reputation as a trusted firm often brought in for its global expertise. She was recently involved in several significant transactions, including for Mubadala Development, Bunge Limited, Danone, Lafarge, and SunGard.
“While Shearman & Sterling is a major international law firm, my work is probably more global than most,” O’Brien explained. “Of course, there are many challenges: time zone differences, a hectic schedule, and long hours. Thankfully I have a very supportive husband, tolerant daughters, and a wonderful nanny to help take care of them.”
Remaining Resolute
Clearly, with a job as demanding as O’Brien’s, a great number of factors are out of her control, but there is one thing O’Brien is careful about.
“I rarely schedule client dinners or drinks,” O’Brien said. “If you have a family and a demanding job, you have to make choices as to how much ‘discretionary’ time you will spend on work-related activities. Given how much I travel, I try to avoid non-essential evening activities.”
O’Brien says she may not get to spend as much time as she’d like with her daughters, ages 8 and 14, but she believes there is value in the image she represents to them.
“When they grow up, I hope they will look back and know they had a mother who was successful doing something she loves. I think that’s quite powerful,” O’Brien said, acknowledging that it may also represent a degree of wishful thinking and rationalization.
Getting Ahead
At Shearman & Sterling, O’Brien says gender is not a barrier to success.
“In my 25 years with the firm, I’ve never encountered bias because of my gender,” O’Brien said. “The firm is very good at identifying and promoting talent, and I believe that women are given equal opportunity to succeed on their merits.”
Shearman & Sterling has a number of women’s initiatives, including an inclusion network called The Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention (WISER), as well as a LeanIn initiative. It is also a member of 85 Broads, The Glass Hammer, and other organizations.
Advice for Young Attorneys
Over her many years with the firm and through many important client meetings, O’Brien has worked hard and applied “street smarts” to her client work. Sometimes the simplest things can create significant results, she says.
“I know this is going to sound silly, but if you’re the person at the meeting who actually has the documents that people want to discuss or refer to, it makes a difference,” O’Brien explained. “It’s amazing how often others don’t have the relevant documents and if you do, it means that you become an important participant in that meeting.”
O’Brien reiterates how important it is to like your work if you’re an M&A attorney. The long hours, unpredictable schedule, and huge workload will make you “miserable” if your heart isn’t in it. It’s also important, she says, to set limits.
“Be prepared to set limits for yourself because if you don’t, no one else will set them for you,” O’Brien said. “It’s OK to take time off. If you trust your work and the relationships you’ve built with clients, they will understand that you also have – and need to have – a life outside of work.”
Breakfast of Corporate Champions: Eye-Opening and Inspiring
Managing Change, PipelineDespite a strong push for gender parity over the past 20 years, women on Fortune 500 boards have only increased, on average, by half a percent annually. Today, 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies have, at the most, one woman on their boards. At less than 17 percent representation, it will take 75 years to even out. On November 21, those statistics were enough to draw about 300 attendees to the New York Stock Exchange for the second bi-annual Breakfast of Corporate Champions, an event by the Women’s Forum of New York in partnership with the Committee for Economic Development and the National Association of Corporate Directors. The purpose of the breakfast was two-fold: to honor 174 US-based Fortune 500 Companies and 31 Fortune 1000 companies in the New York area with corporate boards that are at least 20 percent female and to hear CEOs discuss their companies’ success and how others can move toward parity.
Janice Reals Ellig, co-CEO of Chadick Ellig, opened the event, discussing the reasons to applaud the companies and executive leaders in the audience while also encouraging them to help inspire others to follow in their footsteps. “We honored the companies and their key decision makers to this event today and you have filled this room,” Ellig said. “You are driving change in the board room and we thank you for that.”
The Women’s Forum of New York City: Opening Doors
The Women’s Forum is New York City’s distinguished organization of over 450 women leaders representing the highest levels of achievement across all professional and business sectors, from finance to fine arts. Membership in the Forum is limited and by invitation only. Founded in 1974 by Elinor Guggenheimer, the Women’s Forum mission is to form a community where preeminent New York women leaders of diverse achievement come together to make a difference for each other and to take an active, leadership role in matters of importance to them.
Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour, monitored a panel at the breakfast, reminding the attendees the event was about figuring out how to open more doors for women, as only 16 percent of board members are women.
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Voice of Experience: Stephanie Schnabel, Managing Director, Corporate Development, Accenture
Voices of ExperienceStephanie Schnabel joined Accenture in April of 2001 and since 2005, she has led the organization’s corporate development efforts where she is responsible for the evaluation and execution of all potential global acquisitions and divestitures. Though she’s had a stellar career in M&A, what motivates her is not the acknowledgment of her peers, but rather the impression she is gifting her daughters.
“I’m a working mom with two young daughters and I want to ensure I’m a positive role model for them,” Schnabel said. “My mother was a professional in a male dominated industry and the first woman to get her master’s degree in mechanical engineering in the former East Germany. She encouraged me to have confidence in my capabilities, to work hard and to execute, and she continues to be a valuable role model for me at the young age of 87.”
Driving Growth
The Princeton University and Wharton alumna says that the one common theme in her successful career thus far has been “working to drive growth.”
In college, she worked for General Electric in their Plastics and their Nuclear Energy Businesses, which were industries “at very different stages of maturity, facing very different growth challenges.” Upon graduating, she worked as a strategy consultant developing growth strategies for clients in North America and Europe. Later, she utilized these skills at the private equity firm Catterton Partners, providing growth capital to businesses. Before joining Accenture, Schnabel took on the role of interim CEO at one of Catterton’s portfolio companies.
At Accenture, Schnabel works in close collaboration with Accenture’s leadership around the globe to ensure the organization is developing the right strategies and identifying and executing transactions.
“I have the pleasure of working with a strong team and we work with diverse parts of our business to acquire technology and services businesses to help further Accenture’s differentiation in key growth sectors,” Schnabel said. “I’m most proud of my role in developing a robust corporate development capability and driving impactful transactions for Accenture. I’m also proud of being able to tackle the diverse issues that arise in this field, including being able to navigate constant change in the technology space and deal with the economic, cultural, and business considerations of doing transactions on a global basis – while maintaining a fulfilling family life with my husband and two young daughters.”
Maximizing Your Impact
The recent Accenture survey “Defining Success” resonated with Schnabel deeply, as it highlighted the importance of personally defining success.
“It’s so important to maintain your drive, but you also need to know yourself well enough to know how to maximize your impact,” Schnabel said. “I am a mother, wife, daughter, and a working professional and face many of the same balance challenges other women face. It is critical to occasionally step back and think about how you can be most effective across all your priorities. We need to be honest with ourselves and focus on impact and efficacy, not just putting in long hours. It’s important to keep your eyes on your long-term goals and maintain your drive to reach your potential.”
Entering M&A
Schnabel says the M&A field is highly demanding, but it’s possible to have a fulfilling life, including family and other interests.
“Women entering this industry should recognize that it may not be easy, but much of their destiny is in their hands and it’s extremely important to keep focused on your long-term goals,” Schnabel said. “Think of your career as a chess game, not just thinking of your next move, but what position you want to be in a few moves down the board.”
The managing director also suggests focusing on effectiveness, impact, and continually challenging yourself as to how you can best leverage your skills to benefit your stakeholders. Schnabel also places emphasis on the importance of mentors, asserting that your best mentors don’t have to be women.
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Are Business Schools The Solution for Reaching Boardroom Parity?
PipelineAccording to the Alliance Board for Diversity’s recent report “Missing Pieces: Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards”, men hold a bulk of the 5,488 board seats at American companies, with women representing just 16.6 percent of board seats, a percentage that hasn’t changed since 2004. The 2013 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors and the 2013 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners confirm the same, announcing that while companies based in other countries are moving ahead with plans to advance women to top leadership, progress in the Fortune 500 remains flat.
We all know that progress is slow, but few anticipated that it would be so stagnant, begging the question of whether or not addressing parity at the corporate level too late. While we may never know the answer, one thing is for sure: the actions of business schools can naturally lead to more diversity in the c-level suite and on corporate boards.
This, according to Susan Kulp, associate professor of accountancy at George Washington University School of Business. In hopes of once again jumpstarting the number of women on boards, the school has created a new program called On the Board and Kulp is its academic director. According to the New York Times, the program will take a “two-pronged” approach to the issue by helping women get shortlisted to be considered for open seats, and training women to be ready to step into those roles.
“There’s no doubt that the world is full of incredibly smart and accomplished women who can easily step into board service,” Kulp said. “We just help them get ready to take on those challenges by providing experiences in our residencies designed to expose them to the inner workings of board activities.”
Real Tools for Board Service
The program starts with a rigorous screening process where only 15 female executives from diverse backgrounds are chosen to participate. Most of the women have little or no experience sitting on corporate boards, though they are top managers at major corporations. Once chosen, the Fellows meet for three residencies throughout the year: one in winter/spring, one in summer, and the third in late fall. Between residencies, the fellows meet with their mentors, implement what they’ve learned in the previous residency, and build their networks. The university will track their successes and assist in helping them achieve a board appointment.
On the Board exposes its fellows to case study exercises to help them understand the functions of audit or compensation committees, for example, or panel discussions with board members, along with a dose of academics to deepen their contextual understanding of board issues. Kulp says the women are also given lots of time for interaction, information, and activities with globally-known experts to help them understand and better leverage their networks, as well as one-on-one mentoring with women who currently serve as board directors.
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Movers & Shakers: Rhiannon Wood, Senior Manager M&A Private Equity, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Movers and Shakers“I’d say it’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened in my career,” Wood said. “It’s a 12-month program that enables us to spend six-weeks working on personal development and strategic projects for our global board. It really feels like being a part of change for our business in the UK and globally.”
Wood’s six-weeks were up in September and she says the most important takeaway was the focus the program had on authenticity.
“There are a lot of discussions happening about what it means to be authentic or how to be an authentic leader, but what does that really mean? Oftentimes it’s just talking in concepts,” Wood said. “In the program, we spent a lot time focusing on the question of what is authenticity. We discussed how knowing your own values is central to the idea and how we can spot values in others and perhaps most importantly, how to live by our own values on a personal and professional level in order to be a more authentic leader.”
Now that she’s completed her time in the program, Wood says that the most exciting thing she’s working on is helping the firm invest in the future and the “next generation of leadership.”
“PwC is trying to be at the forefront of the industry when it comes to leadership, talent development, and diversity. It’s an exciting time to be with the firm. So many people are receptive to these groundbreaking ideas,” Wood said.
Don’t Let Your Plans Get In The Way
As a senior manager reflecting back on her first years in the industry, Wood says she wishes that she would have understood earlier that there is no one way of doing things. Ambition, she says, is a good thing, but becoming too fixated on your plan rather than on the journey can prove to be problematic.
“You can let your plans get in the way of unexpected opportunities that come across your path,” Wood said. “You need to recognize things as opportunities, rather than diversions. In the end, you’ll regret what you didn’t take, not what you did.”
Embracing Strong Personalities
Before entering M&A, Wood also says it’s important to understand that it’s a field inhabited by strong personalities and strong opinions, both of which require working with and navigating around.
“The most overlooked portion of this job is the people management piece,” Wood said. “There are a lot of ideas as to what an ideal transaction should look like versus what it actually looks like. You have to get stakeholders on board with everything you do and sometimes that means working with 20 stakeholders with very strong personalities and different agendas. The end goal is the same for everyone, but it makes getting a transaction done incredibly tricky. It’s just a matter of getting where we all want to be.”
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Women’s Power in Numbers: How Sponsors and Protégés Can Band Together
Mentors and SponsorsOn the evening of November 20, Thomson Reuters and Wells Fargo Securities co-hosted a “Manhattan Mixer”, bringing together clients with senior female executives from both companies. Both Thomson Reuters and Wells Fargo are distinguished by their commitment to advancing women’s careers.
Together, these companies created an empowering night for women.
The event also had an interesting twist: senior women leaders were asked to invite a protégé. It is important for the advancement of emerging female leaders to have access to influential senior women. The “twist” on inviting protégés gave these women the opportunity to build personal connections with senior leaders based on a common goal: women’s advancement.
The keynote speaker was Diane Schumaker-Krieg, global head of Research, Economics, & Strategy at Wells Fargo Securities. An influential leader who believes in empowering other women, Schumaker-Krieg has been included in American Banker’s “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” for the past four years, with the latest recognition coming in September of this year. Schumaker-Krieg is a strong advocate for women and passionate about supporting their career development.
The main takeaway from Schumaker-Krieg was her assertion that “women have power, especially when they band together.” During her remarks, the global head touched on her own career path and the importance of speaking up at the right time.
The event was also packed full of career tips for women’s advancement in business, strategies for sponsorship, and advice on developing power networks. For sponsors, Schumaker-Krieg recommended they reach out to emerging women leaders to ensure their ideas are heard. Sponsors were also encouraged to diversify their portfolio of protégés, advocating for two or three talented women rather than focusing on one.
For protégés, Schumaker-Krieg shared advice she learned through her many years in the trenches. A few of the key takeaways from her keynote included being great at what you do. While this sounds obvious, it is the most important thing you can do to get noticed. Ask for more responsibility: be sure to have specific ideas for how you can contribute in deeper, more expansive ways. Also, be creative/think outside the box and don’t be a wallflower; participate in all meetings, even “optional” ones. Volunteer to represent your team on important department or enterprise-level initiatives. Prepare ahead of time so that you can meaningfully advance the discussion. Also, promote the success of others. Your generosity will be remembered. To build your support network, reach out to groups within your company and outside your line of business. Learn what they do and how you can help them succeed.
During the event, new associations were made, and existing connections were reinforced. Each individual was challenged to make new contacts and to meet up with them in the month following the event. Indeed, events like these are the foundation for women expanding their power networks and supporting each other in advancing their careers.
Voice of Experience: Clare O’Brien, Partner, Shearman & Sterling
Voices of ExperienceBy Tina Vasquez, Editor
In the past three months alone, Clare O’Brien has been to London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro (twice), and Abu Dhabi. Traveling around the world isn’t unusual for a leading M&A lawyer with international clients, but the depth, breadth, scale and scope of her work as a partner at global law firm Shearman & Sterling is stunning.
O’Brien’s client list includes such global names as Ardagh S.A., Boston Scientific Corporation, Bunge Limited, Corning Incorporated, Danone, Lafarge S.A., Mubadala Development Company, Quest Diagnostics, and SunGard. She is annually ranked as a leading global M&A lawyer and her crowning achievements include her work on behalf of SunGard in 2005, representing the company in an $11.3 billion private equity-driven acquisition, which garnered her The American Lawyer’s 2005 “Dealmakers of the Year” award, one of the highest honors an M&A lawyer can receive. O’Brien also represented Boston Scientific in its 2006 acquisition of Guidant Corporation.
O’Brien had a rough start in the States that did not foreshadow the success that would come.
“I grew up in Ireland, went to law school at Trinity College in Dublin, and became an attorney at 23,” O’Brien recalls. “I worried that if I stayed in Ireland, I would get stuck there, so I decided to pack up and head to New York in 1985, thinking I’d get a job at a law firm and stay a year or two at the most.”
O’Brien applied to 30 firms for a job – including Shearman & Sterling – and received 30 rejection letters in response. At that time, it was more unusual for non-U.S. trained lawyers to apply for jobs at large New York-based law firms.
“The situation seemed bleak, but then I took and passed the New York Bar exam, which opened up some doors,” O’Brien said.
Making Hard Career Choices
Talent like O’Brien’s never goes unrecognized and before long, she was hired by a small firm based in New York City, the sole woman on a team of six lawyers. When a headhunter approached her with two job offers in 1987, she decided to take the one at Shearman & Sterling. Again, she figured it would be a one- or two-year commitment.
“I sometimes think that my career can be characterized by the absence of forethought,” O’Brien said with a laugh. “I came to New York without a big plan and here I am, 25 years later. I believe that I am still here, and still doing what I do, because I still like what I do, including – at least on some level – the unpredictability of being an M&A lawyer at a big firm.”
More Global Than Most
O’Brien’s achievements with Shearman & Sterling reflect its reputation as a trusted firm often brought in for its global expertise. She was recently involved in several significant transactions, including for Mubadala Development, Bunge Limited, Danone, Lafarge, and SunGard.
“While Shearman & Sterling is a major international law firm, my work is probably more global than most,” O’Brien explained. “Of course, there are many challenges: time zone differences, a hectic schedule, and long hours. Thankfully I have a very supportive husband, tolerant daughters, and a wonderful nanny to help take care of them.”
Remaining Resolute
Clearly, with a job as demanding as O’Brien’s, a great number of factors are out of her control, but there is one thing O’Brien is careful about.
“I rarely schedule client dinners or drinks,” O’Brien said. “If you have a family and a demanding job, you have to make choices as to how much ‘discretionary’ time you will spend on work-related activities. Given how much I travel, I try to avoid non-essential evening activities.”
O’Brien says she may not get to spend as much time as she’d like with her daughters, ages 8 and 14, but she believes there is value in the image she represents to them.
“When they grow up, I hope they will look back and know they had a mother who was successful doing something she loves. I think that’s quite powerful,” O’Brien said, acknowledging that it may also represent a degree of wishful thinking and rationalization.
Getting Ahead
At Shearman & Sterling, O’Brien says gender is not a barrier to success.
“In my 25 years with the firm, I’ve never encountered bias because of my gender,” O’Brien said. “The firm is very good at identifying and promoting talent, and I believe that women are given equal opportunity to succeed on their merits.”
Shearman & Sterling has a number of women’s initiatives, including an inclusion network called The Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention (WISER), as well as a LeanIn initiative. It is also a member of 85 Broads, The Glass Hammer, and other organizations.
Advice for Young Attorneys
Over her many years with the firm and through many important client meetings, O’Brien has worked hard and applied “street smarts” to her client work. Sometimes the simplest things can create significant results, she says.
“I know this is going to sound silly, but if you’re the person at the meeting who actually has the documents that people want to discuss or refer to, it makes a difference,” O’Brien explained. “It’s amazing how often others don’t have the relevant documents and if you do, it means that you become an important participant in that meeting.”
O’Brien reiterates how important it is to like your work if you’re an M&A attorney. The long hours, unpredictable schedule, and huge workload will make you “miserable” if your heart isn’t in it. It’s also important, she says, to set limits.
“Be prepared to set limits for yourself because if you don’t, no one else will set them for you,” O’Brien said. “It’s OK to take time off. If you trust your work and the relationships you’ve built with clients, they will understand that you also have – and need to have – a life outside of work.”
The Road to Success, Paved with Failure
Expert AnswersImagine you’ve dedicated 15 years to a company — working your way up days, nights, weekends — then you’re passed up for a promotion. What’s your next step?
Or what if, after landing a dream job, you are demoted within a year? Do you resign, or do you work through it, doing your best to find the next rung on the ladder?
In the first case, if you’re Vera Wang, you switch gears and leverage your network to shape a new career. After being passed up for the editor-in-chief position at Vogue, Ms. Wang is now one of the most successful designers and entrepreneurs in fashion.
And if you’re Oprah Winfrey and get moved from co-anchor of the evening news to making local announcements in the morning, you make the most of your new situation. You meet your best friend (in her case, Gayle King). You do your job well. You use your new skills to land a job as a morning talk show host. Then you become one of the richest women in the world.
Failing never feels good in the moment. Especially if you’re a natural overachiever and perfectionist, accustomed to winning, you may think it impossible to bounce back after things don’t go as you’d have hoped. Yet experts point out several benefits to failure, plus tips on how to pull yourself up and focus after a professional disappointment.
Failure is Good for You
In Psychology Today, Dr. Nigel Barber points out the advantages of knowing how to fail. He writes, “An untested employee is like an untried soldier”, remarking that people who fail repeatedly develop valuable persistence. Thomas Edison is said to have failed a thousand times before creating the incandescent light bulb. Similarly, Steve Jobs released a horde of defunct Apple products such as the overpriced Power Mac g4 Cube and the buggy new MobileMe. Yet few people remember the failures while they’re zooming through Apps on their iPads. “With success”, as Dr. Barber writes, “people keep on doing the same thing. When they fail, they are forced to adapt and change … [Failure] rewires the brain and gets the creative juices flowing.”
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Voice of Experience: Emma McGuigan, Managing Director at Accenture
Voices of ExperienceEmma McGuigan has been with Accenture for 19 years, joining the organization shortly after obtaining her master’s degree in electronics from the University of Edinburgh. As managing director in Accenture’s technology practice, she says her career thus far has been “challenging, creative, and progressive.”
“It is challenging in that every day there are new hurdles to overcome and interesting problems to solve. It is creative, as I’ve learned to use my technology skills to find solutions to business issues as well as my people skills to build successful relationships and teams. It is progressive as I take on increasingly larger responsibilities and roles and make a larger impact,” McGuigan said.
Redefining Success
McGuigan’s area of focus is working with clients in financial services and the public sector, drawing on her extensive experience in building IT architecture and large scale delivery of projects. This, she says, is her proudest achievement. Impressively, McGuigan was promoted while on maternity leave and prior to that, she’d been working part-time for Accenture for two-years.
“I realized that to be successful, you don’t necessarily have to work a traditional five-day week,” McGuigan said. “I’m proud that I’ve defined success in my own way. Fortunately, Accenture supports its people with a variety of flexible work and career options.”
In her new role, McGuigan is focusing on an internal project that grants her exposure to many people on Accenture’s global leadership team. “I’ve found this opportunity to be incredibly insightful, and a great learning opportunity,” McGuigan said.
Getting the Most Out of Professional Relationships
McGuigan says that to get the most out of a professional relationship, you need to take the time to get to know the individual. “Don’t drive straight to the transactional outcome,” she said. McGuigan asserts that how people grow professional relationships will be different for everyone, but taking the time to learn about how people operate makes for better collaboration.
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How to Manage a Global Team Successfully
Managing ChangeToday’s companies are becoming more and more global, with teams spread across continents and time-zones, languages and cultures. As telecommuting becomes the norm, managers have to understand how to supervise teams that are spread across the globe.
In a recent working paper on designing virtual teams, INSEAD professor José Santos explains that managing a global team is becoming a core leadership competency. In fact, being able to work with colleagues who are very far away is even more common for those in executive leadership roles. He writes, “While companies use virtual teams in many areas of business, their most important function is in high-level management. The top management teams of many global business units are fast becoming virtual teams. Indeed, the hallmark of a globally integrated company is its virtual top management team.”
If you aspire to a top level role, being able to work well with people who are in a different location – and manage teams of people who are spread far and wide – could be an important skill to add to your resume. Here’s Santos’ best advice for managing virtual, global teams.
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Are Your Emails Communicating a Lack of Confidence?
Expert AnswersLook at the following emails. Which was more likely to have been written by a man and which by a woman?
Subject: Report
Sorry to chase you on this, but I really need that summary report by tomorrow in order to compile all the data on time for the meeting. If you could let me know when to expect it, that would be great. I really appreciate it.
Subject: NEED THAT SUMMARY REPORT ASAP
Thx
The first email writer starts with an apology, though it’s unclear what the offense is. The writer expresses a need for a late report, one that is holding up their work and threatening to make them miss a deadline, yet they are apologizing and appearing overly solicitous. This style is often employed by women in the workplace. Contrast this with the second email: it is brief and to the point, almost crossing the line into cold, but it’s clear what the writer needs. This style is typically employed by men.
What Is “Offensive”?
In a University of Waterloo study entitled, “Why Women Apologize More Than Men: Gender Differences in Thresholds for Perceiving Offensive Behavior”, researcher Karina Schumann concluded that women apologize far more frequently than men because women feel far more actions warrant an apology. Her theory held whether the test participant was the person apologizing or whether they were the victim of the offense, supporting the conclusion that women have a much lower threshold for deeming something an offense. Looking back at the email example above, consider the offense: is the fact that the writer needs a report to get her work done offensive? The answer may depend on gender. Men are less likely to think that chasing a report is inappropriate behavior, while studies suggest that women are more likely to feel the need to soften the language – and apologize – when asking for what they need.
The National Research Council Canada (NRC) study “Tracking Sentiment in Mail: How Genders Differ on Emotional Axes” data mined the publicly-available Enron email database, tagging words with certain emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation, noting both the gender of the sender and the recipient. The results were telling: women prefer to use words from the joy and sadness lexicon, while men tend to use words related to fear and trust. Specifically, women are using words like problem, misunderstanding, crazy, doubt, and guilty, while men are worried about a threat, predicament, confusion, or procedure. Both men and women used more words related to anticipation when speaking to each other across genders, which shows that to some degree, men and women are aware that they communicate differently and make some effort to adapt when speaking to the opposite sex.
The Power of Words
Saif M. Mohammad is a research officer at NRC whose work focuses on natural language processing, especially lexical semantics, the study of how and what the words of a language denote. According to the researcher, there isn’t enough information available to pinpoint why it is that there is a much higher use of anticipation words when communicating across genders than when communicating within. What the information we have does suggest, however, is that the words we use greatly impact how others see us.
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