“The world is different now and leadership looks different,” says Pamela Peace, “Today anyone at any level should be afforded a trusted space to have a dialogue with their manager about the support needed to be successful.”
Peace talks about the values she holds dear, lessons learned throughout her career and how she has developed as a leader in ways that feel true to her goals, ambitions, and most importantly authentic to who she is as a person.
As a Senior Client Manager for PGIM Fixed Income, Pamela recently expanded her role as a leader within the organization, taking on responsibilities as lead manager for PGIM Fixed Income’s North America Client Management team: a role which she notes is intentionally focused on creating valuable partnerships for clients and opportunities for teammates in Fixed Income to deliver excellence in client relations.
Pamela reflects on driving change and rising above dissenting voices. “It is vital to perform well at our core duties to be viewed as credible and effective. What makes an individual a true leader? One who motivates and inspires others to perform well at their core duties, has the courage to push for change, and holds the unique ability to cultivate diverse perspectives.”
Her perspectives as Co-Chair of PGIM Fixed Income’s Culture Council highlight her commitment to amplify the organization’s cultural values.
Values She Holds Dear: Diversity of Perspectives
Having worked in fixed income and asset management for over twenty-five years, and with PGIM Fixed Income for the past seven years serving international clients in several regions of the world, Peace thrives on interacting with a range of people and cultures, from language to food. Even more, she loves experiencing the diversity of perspectives that come forth, and she learns broadly from every interaction in her job.
“We are a global organization. When we think about different investment strategies, we must consider every aspect of the world. We must take in various inputs – we must look at the world holistically, make decisions based on our analysis, clients’ expectations, what the markets are doing, geopolitical climate, regulatory, etc. These are just a few of many inputs that go into framing our decisions,” she reflects. “As a Client Manager, for a global asset management firm, I bring a wider awareness into everything I do. I believe it is core to my job and how I live in a global society.”
Peace is motivated by watching the people she leads develop uniquely in their skillsets and the legacy her commitment to talent will leave. “I’m so excited to see how the PGIM Fixed Income North America client managers, which consist of different generations, experiences, and cultures, are going to come together to bring forward new ideas for client engagement,” she says. “Our team embraces the view, ‘we can do hard things for our clients’, and if we believe we can do hard things together, that means we’re all thinking and bringing in ideas, and that’s going to be an exciting adventure.”
Lessons Learned: The Values of Humility, Constant Learning and Service
On advice for those developing their talents, she is open about her own path of development, “Trust me, I have made a lot of mistakes where I have had to say, that was not a good decision. Now, how can I actually take that and learn from it?” says Peace. “Humility allows me to understand where I am in my learning journey and acquiring more knowledge has been something I’ve had to own and develop personally.”
In her very first job at a naval base, she worked under an educator, who was a computer scientist, who imparted upon Peace that she could learn anything once you accept your ability to learn it. That woman, she noted, looked like her. Long before that, her mother, who raised eight children spanning twenty-two years as a single mom after becoming widowed, showed her the merits of hard work.
Combining those influences, Peace is a self-confessed constant learner who takes night courses to stay abreast on new topics in management and leadership. She’s presently taking courses to continue to improve on being an effective leader, as well as pondering the EMBA journey. Early on in her career, she learned there was value to admitting what you don’t know and being receptive to educational opportunities was essential – and that has stayed with her.
“I think vulnerability was important to getting me to this level in my career at PGIM, “she notes. “Also, having grace, humility, determination, and the curiosity to learn at any point in life are key attributes everyone should channel.”
She would add that being in service of others is a core value that has carried her through work and life: “My job is to serve others, and I wake each day reminding myself of that fact. In my job it is – PGIM’s clients first, the people working alongside me and those that I’m responsible for.”
In her personal time, she volunteers with aged people in underserviced areas and learns deep lessons from the elders she serves.
Lessons Learned: Leading as a Partner in Growth
A few years back, Peace had the experience of leading the London team and realized a lot about adjusting her communication and leadership style. Through that experience, she recognized the value of “meeting individuals where they are” to take them where you see they can go. This required adjusting her approach as a leader. When it comes to supporting her team now, Peace seeks to collaborate with those she leads on their development goals.
“The discussions I have with the individuals that work with me directly are very much: I am your advocate. I am your support. Let’s talk about what you need and where I think you need to grow. Then we’ll work together,” she says. “It’s an intellectual dialogue about development and being a partner and advocate in the space. It’s more of a leadership of equals as opposed to that of a hierarchy. Let’s come along as a partnership, and we’ll both get there and grow together.”
Every year in the annual reviews, Peace asks her direct reports to tell her one thing they want to learn or develop during that year, and she helps make that happen.
“They are accountable and feel as though they have ownership of their careers and development,” says Peace. “I’m there as a guide, support, and bumper when needed. That’s a valuable leadership skill that has worked for me.”
Not only does she see her own role as being supportive, but at this stage in her journey, Peace sees it as important to communicate to her own bosses what support she is going to need from them to be successful. Having the direct conversation cemented their willingness to commit that support.
“It’s important to be able to trust and communicate to your leaders: here’s what I need from you and what I need you to help me with,” she says. “That has made the difference for me in my career. And that is not wisdom that one must wait until they are well into their careers to acquire anymore. Remember, what I said at the outset of this interview, the world is different now, and leadership looks different.”
Both parties must agree and hold each other accountable but creating the space to have the conversation matters: “I know, it is a hard thing for some people to understand and accept – I must trust you enough to say, here’s what I’m looking for and here’s what I need. As managers, we must work to create the space for trust, and be ready to receive and act on the needs request.”
Developing as a Leader: Promoting Inclusion and Inspiring Women
Peace wants her team members to feel she brings positivity, openness, inclusivity, and a space of trust, where they can bring their best talents forward.
Inviting inclusion daily might mean giving people, who do not always get the opportunity to speak up on a call, a direct invitation to share their opinion or to lead a discussion. It is also being interested in her team as individuals outside of work. As Co-Chair of the PGIM Fixed Income Culture Council, she’s responsible for executing the values of the organization and creating a safe and inclusive environment built on collegiality, trust, and an unwavering commitment to clients among other positive attributes.
“Part of my responsibility, as a Co-Chair, is to model those values,” says Peace, “which includes bringing together our differences. Valuing people with different backgrounds and different skills to create diversity of thought to execute our mission, which often involves making a lot of subtle connections.”
Going back to her early career before PGIM, Peace lived the experiences, as a black woman, of being the “background individual,” there but not getting the opportunities, not receiving the speaking role, being trivialized. “Having had these experiences, I can say to young women who are coming into their careers, including my own daughter, you don’t have to take it. You do not have to shrink to the biases or comments that make you feel less than – change the norm and the direction of conversation,” she states. “Challenge the behavior appropriately – Ask the question, what does that really mean? Express when you’re offended and why, be prepared to have the conversation, receive the apology and extend grace if appropriate.”
She notes that she usually gives the benefit of the doubt and in most cases, believes there is value in having the hard conversations, because those questions often expose blind spots and lead to achieving a wider, more compassionate understanding of other’s lived experiences.
Developing as a Leader: Embracing Who You Are as a Person and Professional
Taking up distance running after age 40, Peace has completed four marathons and several half-marathons, and considers running outdoors to be spiritual.
Growing up in the middle of eight children gave her early life lessons in responsibility, navigating different personalities, taking care of each other, collaborating and valuing family – including her husband, adult son, and daughter.
She’s animated by new food, great wine with friends, the house she and her husband are remodeling, and she loves to dance. Peace recently cherished a holiday moment of karaoke and dancing with her daughter for the first time since her daughter was a child: “She is definitely smarter and has more rhythm, and that’s okay with me.”
It’s Pamela Peace’s lived experiences both inside and outside of work that define her as a leader and more precisely as someone who motivates and inspires those around her each day in service of PGIM’s clients.
Leveraging a Bicultural Background and “Celebrating” Diversity: Akiko Koda’s Story
People, Voices of Experience“I have a bicultural background – I lived in Queens, NY until I was 10, and then my family moved back to Japan, where I have lived ever since,” shared Akiko Koda, chief of staff for Goldman Sachs in Japan. “I was motivated to apply to Goldman Sachs due to my prior experience growing up in both the US and Japan – I thought I could contribute in a unique way to a global firm and serve as a facilitator between both cultures.”
Koda joined Goldman Sachs as a campus hire in 1994, initially within the Equities Division, as a member of a sales trading team. She gained seniority and held numerous roles within Equities, before moving to the Financing Group within the Investment Banking Division (IBD). In 2008, Koda joined the IBD Advisory Group, and then transferred to the Executive Office in the midst of the financial crisis. At that time, she began her current chief of staff role, and now also serves as co-chief administrative officer for Japan and head of Human Capital Management in Japan.
“My day to day role is focused on ensuring that the Japan office is running effectively and efficiently in all aspects,” Koda said. “Looking ahead, the office will be moving to a new building in the coming years, and we’re excited about further growth in the region – particularly following the launch of the Goldman Sachs Bank USA Tokyo branch earlier this year.”
As the new year begins, Koda shared that she typically selects a word to help lead and rally her team around, noting that for 2022, she selected “Focus.” “I believe that by focusing and prioritizing our work and the output, we can continue to make progress,” Koda said. “Given we have now entered the third year of the pandemic, I think it is important to focus on what we can control, rather than what we cannot, and focusing on what is important to you and on what brings you joy during this challenging period.”
Supporting Goldman Sachs’ Focus on Recruiting, Retaining Talent
Commenting on the firm’s focus on recruitment, Koda shared: “Our Japan entity was voted the ‘Best Financial Firm to Work For’ by both potential campus hires and former employees.
This is an incredible recognition of our business over the last 45 years.” She added: “The firm has a long history of hiring campus hires who go on to lead the business – several members of the Japan leadership team are campus or MBA hires.”
Koda noted that her own experience at the firm has included extensive, firm-provided coaching. “I was a member of the firm’s first class of VP LAI, or Vice President Leadership Acceleration Initiative, in 2004. Participating in the program helped me to understand how I could be a better leader,” she said. “Throughout my time at the firm, I’ve asked Pine Street, the firm’s leadership development group, to help me evolve my leadership style, and received a lot of helpful and candid feedback from my coach.”
She noted that during her time at Goldman Sachs, she has aimed to pass along the guidance she has received over the course of her career by serving as a mentor to others, both to individuals based in Japan, as well as those in other countries. Koda notes that she regularly reminds junior professionals of the importance of soliciting feedback and guidance from a variety of mentors: “Think of your mentors as your Board of Directors.”
Koda also shared that mentors, managers and colleagues have all helped her progress throughout her tenure at Goldman Sachs. “I haven’t come this far in my career without the help of many people – I’m incredibly grateful to those who have helped guide and support me throughout my time at the firm.”
Finding Time For Herself – and Her Community
Koda shared that after being at the firm for several years: “I burned out in 1999. I needed to take a break, and left the firm for a year, and then returned to Goldman Sachs.” She
reflected on guidance she received later on in her career, which has continued to shape her approach to work: “A mentor advised me to be ‘relentless about managing my schedule, and to feel empowered to make my schedule my own.’”
“That advice has stayed with me, and I would recommend others really understand their limits and priorities. You need to take control of your calendar to prioritize what is important for you at each moment. For me, that’s my family,” shared Koda.
Throughout the pandemic, Koda has focused on spending time with her sons – who are aged 8 and 10 – and training their new Pekingese that they welcomed during the pandemic. In addition, she has a “green thumb” and tends to several orchids that call her office home. “When I became a board member of the firm’s Japan entity, I was gifted several orchids from clients – I’m lucky that they continue to bloom each year and remind me of that important
accomplishment.”
Outside of her day to day responsibilities, Koda is also a managing director ally of the LGBTQ+ Network. “When I lived in New York, there were only a handful of Asian students in my school – I was different,” she said. “When my family moved back to Japan, even though I looked like my classmates, I was labeled as a ‘returnee’ and considered not Japanese enough. To fit in, I tried to hide the fact that I grew up overseas.”
Koda noted: “I know firsthand how hard it can be to be considered different. I continue to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community because it’s so important for each individual to feel comfortable bringing their authentic self to the workplace, and to be welcomed.”
She described the progress the firm has made in fostering an environment where all diverse individuals can succeed, and highlighted as one example the variety of events the firm’s LGBTQ+ Network holds each year, including celebrating Pink Friday. “As a Japanese woman, who grew up in the US and became a devoted ally of the LGBTQ+ community, I feel my own identity and experiences touch on so many aspects of diversity. I want to celebrate them all.”
Learn more about Goldman Sachs’ recent awards and recognitions and the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Listen to an Exchanges at GS podcast, in which Koda discusses the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights in Japan and companies’ efforts to create more inclusive environments.
World Water Day 2022: Why Water Is A Women’s Issue
Guest Contribution, News, Women and PhilanthropyRight now, a lack of access to safe water at home is why 771 million people around the world remain trapped in a cycle of poverty. And those who suffer the most are women and girls, which is critical to highlight since it is International Women’s History Month. Their lives are disproportionately affected by the water crisis as they have no choice but to spend hours daily, collecting the water their families need to survive. Globally, women and girls spend 200 million hours on the task each day. Time and energy spent collecting water means time and energy not invested in opportunities like earning an income, starting a business, or going to school. This is why the global water crisis is a women’s crisis.
And this is why theglasshammer.com is bringing this issue to our readers. As part of the global community of women, we have the opportunity to use our influence to make a positive difference in other women’s lives.
The water crisis is a women’s crisis
There is an inextricable link between the global goal to ensure universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030, Sustainable Development Goal 6, and the global goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, Sustainable Development Goal 5. To solve gender equality, we must solve the water crisis. And to solve the water crisis, we must look to new sources of capital.
Ending the water crisis will unlock the power and potential of women and girls globally but right now, there is not enough money dedicated to solving it. This is why millions of women, girls, and their families remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, unable to realize their potential as contributors to their household incomes and the global economy. The World Bank estimates that to achieve universal access to safe water and sanitation, it will cost approximately $114 billion a year between now and 2030, and those are only the costs for constructing new infrastructure, not the costs of operating and maintaining infrastructure over time. Meanwhile, Official Development Assistance (ODA) hovers around $13 billion a year – far short of what is needed. Mechanisms that strategically use donor finance to catalyze private investment are critical to filling the financing gap, and Water.org is well-poised to help the global community move forward.
Empowered women empower other women
This is where you, your position as a leader, and your philanthropy can help drive change for women living in poverty. The reality is access to a water tap or toilet at home costs money upfront and women who lack access to safe water and sanitation often cannot afford the investment. Water.org focuses on removing this financial barrier.
With your support, we help women and families in need get access to small loans through our local, partner financial institutions so they can pay for the upfront costs of establishing lasting water connections and sanitation solutions. They make affordable payments over time and their loans are repaid at a rate of 99%. This is because with safe water at home, they can swap the hours once spent on water collection for time to earn and explore their financial potential. This approach gives women choices, it is immensely empowering, and it is working. To date we’ve helped change more than 43 million lives with safe water and the pace of our impact is increasing.
Case Study: Read about how a small loan empowered Patricia (pictured) and her family in Kenya with affordable, lasting access to safe water.
An investment in water is an investment in women
Our solution is in high demand, sustainable, and reaching people in need. Eighty-eight percent of borrowers are women and the majority of households borrowing the loans live on less than $3.73 a day. Your investment in water will help reduce poverty and give women more choices.
Join us. Our work to help the world reach a critical goal – safe water and sanitation for all – drives our desire to make a dollar go as far as possible. Our donors recognize that giving to Water.org is a smart investment. And our funding partners know that working with us is a smart business decision. Together, with women leaders like you, we can change more lives, faster and more efficiently.
Call-to-Action: Go to Water.org to learn more about how you can help empower women, girls, and their families with affordable, lasting access to the safe water they need to survive and thrive.
Danielle Arnone: Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Combe
People, Voices of ExperienceArnone speaks to leading through disruption, the value of listening and encouragement and the importance of taking risks as the stakes rise.
Be Willing to Challenge, Even as Stakes Rise
“Each step along the way has offered me an opportunity to learn and develop my leadership style. From a career perspective, I continue to challenge myself to push ahead in order to grow,” says Arnone, about her twenty plus year of working in technology, digital and e-commerce across various industries – and most recently, in beauty, health and wellness.
With tech at the center of every business, her work is about leading enterprise change “from the inside out and the outside in.”
Early on in her career, she felt she brought a different perspective to problem solving and would regularly test the status quo. Often the only woman in the room, as she began to move up the ranks and the stakes rose, it began to feel riskier.
“It’s a double whammy. You’re challenging the status quo and you represent change in just who you are,” says Arnone. “I’ve had many moments where I had to remind myself – you’ve got to stick with it – because I believed in what I was fighting for.”
She continues: “I won’t say it’s not hard, because in my opinion, it’s unnecessarily hard for women in STEM and why we lose so many and particularly those with high potential. At a certain stage, I decided I didn’t want to be another of those women.”
Being in a male-dominated industry can amplify self-doubt, but being aware of that has often helped her to overcome it.
While many hurdles are systemic and the pace of change is very slow,” Arnone says, “I realized that I’m the only one that can get me unstuck and that is powerful.”
Navigating Uncertainty through Vision
Despite the challenges during these pandemic years, Arnone has focused on leading long term change. While the emphasis in tech has often been to develop the next innovation as quickly as possible, today she stops and asks at every critical decision point: “Where do we ultimately want to go? Not just in the next twelve months but what do we want to envision in five or ten years time? And are the things we’re focusing energy on now truly in service of that long-term goal?”
“The circumstances of the last two years have made me a different leader. I had to take a step back and ask: what did I do in this time? And take the necessary steps to hopefully be proud of the answer,” reflects Arnone.
If there’s one thing Arnone has confronted as she rose, it is getting comfortable with uncertainty. She’s found that by letting go of the notion that you need to have answers, you can come together with curiosity and openness as a team, and arrive at better results.
Speaking to vision and prioritization, she says, “You have to conserve energy to focus on what’s really important, knowing that can change in a moment’s notice.”
“I’ve had to get comfortable with ambiguity. We often don’t know the target or the rules of the game to hit the target,” says Arnone.
Listening and Fluidity in Thinking
“The leaders that I admire most have the ability to listen deeply and surface the question behind the question, without putting people on the defensive, and in a way that takes the conversation to the next stage,” says Arnone.
She feels that listening is key and that an analytical approach can be useful in managing conflict and problem solving. “In an emotionally charged situation, I will encourage the team to tease out the facts, take the personalities out of it and then listen for what is not being talked about.”
When it comes to what she brings to the table, Arnone is adept at absorbing new and broad ideas and loves encouraging the exchange of ideas around the table.
She also enjoys the invitation to step out of linear thought and indulge her penchant for abstract thinking, in which perceptions move and change shape, which is not unlike the leadership skill of having the flexibility to navigate uncertainty.
She will often step away from work to get in the zone so that she can reset and let ideas pour in. These days, she’s exploring artistic outlets. She also jokes that if you saw her many playlists, you wouldn’t even believe they belonged to same person.
Encouraging Others Towards Their Best
Arnone finds leaders who encourage others towards their personal best in service of a greater mission to be the most inspiring. She feels it is rare to encounter, but she has had the fortune to have supportive mentors along the way that have greatly impacted what she values most in her life and in her work.
“Encouragement can be an antidote to self-doubt and frustration. It’s as simple as saying, ‘I see you struggling – what’s going on and how can I help you’.”
She wants to be known for her work to develop people and is especially passionate about helping women succeed. She observes that women coming into the workforce today have a strong sense of what they expect from employers beyond a paycheck.
“I want to see this generation of women keep the momentum going. They are demanding more equity, more balanced and fulfilling lives and holding leaders accountable. To me, that is progress.”
By Aimee Hansen
OP-Ed: International Women’s Day 2022: Burnout, Sustainability and What Matters?
Career Advice, International Womens Day, NewsAs we enter year three of the global pandemic, with so many of us doing extreme amounts of work, and some of us also still balancing childcare with covid related closures of daycares and schools, isn’t it time to ask ourselves how can professional women and men (and especially anyone who has second and third shifts with kids and aging parents) do balance and self-care, better? What matters? And what role do firms have in creating the workplace of the future that we are ready to be in, now? This International Women’s Day, the manifesto should be to take a day off. Tomorrow the work will still be there!
Overwork and Burnout
There is work and then there is overwork. Chances are if you are reading this article, you have spent at least some of your career in the overwork zone. You probably work in financial, legal or professional services, in technology firms, big pharma, manufacturing, media or Fortune 500. You are probably a go-getter, highly ambitious and very successful. You probably have engaged some of the usual methods and possess some of the characteristics often needed to get to the top, including old fashioned hard and long work, a competitive nature, cognitive smarts, higher than average EQ to read the room, and a belief that improvement is always possible. Possibly three generations of professional women are reading this article with similar, yet evolving, culturally programmed definitions of success regarding wealth, status and career ladder climb concepts.
Is the extreme achievement mindset in sync with your life goals, your health and mental wellness? Is overachievement about meeting other people’s standards or earning your worth?
Dr. Devon Price, like many of us, came to his senses regarding extreme productivity after a health emergency. He insists that we should stop valuing ourselves in terms of our productivity at work. In the book, Laziness Does Not Exist, he affirms that ‘we don’t have to earn our right to exist’ with overwork and endless achievement.
Advice includes to listen to your body and to forget grinding away all the time to meet arbitrary standards. By reframing what being ‘lazy’ means, versus the allure of validation through achievement, a healthier, happier you can emerge.
“Laziness is usually a warning sign from our bodies and our mind that we need a break.”
In an interview with NPR, he discusses why we rationalize working so hard, and how asking for help, and helping others to helps us, prevents tiredness from overwork but also facilitates us to be better , due to feeling less exhausted as “our brains take micro-naps either way.”
It isn’t just you.
In several recent studies, isolated overwork came up as the most demotivating factor and biggest reason people are quitting jobs. This isn’t new news. Back in 2017, Inc magazine reported on employees quitting when leaders overwork people, show zero empathy and don’t respect time when people are out of the office living their lives, but it is further accentuated by the pandemic. Microsoft conducted an employee indexing survey of 30,000 that resulted in a study called “The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are we Ready?”
By looking at trends including desire for flexible work and hybrid structures, the study reiterated what their CEO Satya Nadella called the hybrid work paradox. This study reveals that while people want more flexibility and remote options, they also seek deep human social connection. The same study reveals that high productivity is masking employee exhaustion and overwork. It states measurable uptick over the course of the year – February 2020 to February 2021 – on volume of emails sent, 66% increase on people working on documents, and meeting usage on teams increased in volume and time on meeting applications.
Uncovering your own Competing Agendas
Isn’t it time you figured out what you want for you? Start with your values. Take a look at what matters to you on this worksheet – literally, pick ten words that mean the most and then rank them 1-10, with one being what you value most. Are your actions matching your values? Are you living a humdrum existence while your top value is adventure? Are you spending fourteen hours a day at work when your top value is family? Now is a great to re-evaluate what matters to you. Be yourself, everyone else is taken as the adage goes.
If you had trouble thinking about how all of this meets reality, or deciding what your values are , or felt conflicted, that is part of the journey too. Hyper achievement and superhuman productivity are sometimes part of deep developmental gremlins that have made their way into our heads over time, so we can’t see any other way to be, making them our base operating system with everything else being an app on top. Kegan and Lahey, Developmental psychologists at Harvard, really have a superb method in their book, Immunity to Change, to help you figure out what your unconscious mind is doing to you while you happily goal set in your conscious mind all day long regarding work, fitness and home life. We are all a product of whatever beliefs and paradigms that we have accumulated throughout our life and if your granny/dad/mother/friend told you words to live by, chances are you are doing just that, implicitly following some guidelines without even knowing.
What are your saboteurs? There is another easy way to find out what is going on inside your own head by taking this short quiz on “How we self-sabotage” by Positive Intelligence. It is key to understand what is going on with yourself and what your self-talk is likely to be telling you. Let’s start with the gremlins. If you have something like hyperachievement as your top saboteur, then it is likely you will justify the overworking with sentences like ‘I must be effective and efficient, and ’emotions get in the way of performance.’ Or if you have a high control saboteur, you might be telling yourself things like, ‘well if I don’t do it, who will?’ Or, that people need people like you to get the job done. Show yourself some compassion and a great book to understand how to even begin to approach such a daunting task is Radical Compassion by Tara Brach. It is normal to feel your feelings and that includes joy.
In short, honor yourself on International Women’s Day by taking stock of what matters to you now, and how closely your own life feels aligned to that.
We are starting a Spring coaching cohort in May for sustainable success in 2022. Cost is $3,999 per person and includes a yearlong program with 6 sessions of executive coaching, peer coaching and career development training. Limited spots, contact nicki@theglasshammer.com and write spring coaching cohort in the title of the email.
By Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com
Nicki founded theglasshammer in 2007 to inspire, inform and empower professional women in their careers. We have been the leading and longest running career advice online and in person media company in the USA for professional women in financial services.
Erica Klinkowize: CBNA Treasurer, Citi
People, Voices of ExperienceKlinkowize speaks to developing gut instincts, the shorter- and longer-term journeys of networking, and intensive listening.
Hone Your Personal Gut Instinct
After working a short while at Prudential Securities, then at Goldman Sachs for over a decade, moving to Bank of America for seven years, and then to Citi last summer, Klinkowize observed that she, early in her career, internalized a gut instinct that was highly influenced by organizational viewpoints.
She found herself consistently asking what would the company do? While a valuable perspective, she realized it was important to differentiate her own gut instincts as she grew as a leader, so as to discern different perspectives, including what was her own intuition.
“Something would pop up, for example, in a meeting or conversation, and I’d have a negative feeling,” says Klinkowize. “I’d often quash it or question it until I came to a rationalized conclusion or the whole thing dissolved, which is not the same as listening to your gut instinct.”
She intentionally learned, with the help of executive coaching, to develop her gut instincts, recognizing that her emotional responses are often held in her upper stomach where her ribs meet, around her solar plexus: “You should know where your emotions strike you.”
Learning to discern, trust, and develop her gut instincts has been a core component of her leadership journey: “First, you need to be able to identify it: I’m having a feeling. Then you need to name the feeling and ask yourself: What is driving that feeling and is it worthy of speaking up for? Then you ultimately need the self-confidence to speak up, be potentially willing to engage in a disagreement, and simply not question it too much. The more you question it, the more likely you are to miss the appropriate moment to say something, or to lose the feeling entirely. As you move through life, your gut instinct is one thing that stays with you, no matter what you choose.”
Enrich Your Leadership With Exposure
Her background is largely in Treasury, but Klinkowize spent over two years partnering to head up a trading desk for Global Markets at Bank of America before joining Citi and returning to Treasury.
“It’s like riding a bike coming back to Treasury, in that things don’t change that quickly, but I found that I was different,” she observes. “Every experience changes you. Every risk you take, every career move you make, each one enhances your perspective on things, provides you with moments to improve your ability to hone your gut instincts, and increases your understanding of human beings. How you respond in situations changes, and you learn to do things better for everyone around you.”
Klinkowize attributes her recent move to Citi once again to instinct. She loved her team and trading desk journey at Bank of America and the rich connections she made. But when an unexpected opportunity came, along with an interview journey full of sparks and connections, she heeded the call on what was right for her development.
Along with diversifying experiences, she takes inspiration from other leaders and mentors to catalyze her growth.
“I spend time observing the people who I feel are ‘ahead of me’ in a way that I feel matters, and I ask myself what are they really good at – I watch people in meetings, noticing mannerisms, how they sit, how they dress, the speed and cadence of speech, the way they organize a deck or argument. I also note what characteristics I would not want to adopt,” she reflects. “That practice has helped me bring out a wider breadth of traits and abilities within myself.”
Klinkowize feels a big part of her own value as a mentor is her willingness to share openly all kinds of experiences including the most challenging moments of her career, such as going through pregnancy with an unsupportive manager at a previous employer. She sees mentorships as mutually beneficial and useful for reflecting on her own growth.
“Everyone looks at people who they consider successful and thinks it was a straight shot up,” she notes. “But it’s been a very up and down experience. I’ve constantly tried to remind myself that perception is reality and ask myself what am I doing (or accepting) that I need to change, which comes back to gut instinct.”
Network Early and Broadly
While at Columbia working on her MBA, Klinkowize was given the challenge to draw her network, which turned out to be very closed relative to her fellow professional classmates.
“It didn’t really register with me until I got to business school that I needed to network beyond my group and then beyond my organization,” she admits.
A latecomer to networking, initially more comfortable with keeping her head down and doing the work, Klinkowize is now its biggest advocate. She emphasizes the importance of networking early on and broadly – beyond formal programs, beyond your company, beyond your direct area of work.
“When I look back, I saw my (performance) equivalents at Goldman getting promoted faster than I was and only later did I realize that I had done a bad job at networking,” she realizes. “I had done a bad job at those things that felt hard and that I didn’t want to do.”
Klinkowize notes that while she was well-liked, she hadn’t cultivated the professional connections who would be pounding on the table for her at promotion time. Later, she gained that level of sponsorship and really felt the difference in support and validation of having someone put their name and reputation on the line for her.
Getting over her resistance to networking required having patience with the journey: “There’s a short-term experience and a longer-term experience to doing what is hard to do (for you),” notes Klinkowize.
“I’d walk away from a networking session exhausted and needing to recuperate, yet I would have learned new things and heard relatable experiences,” she reflects. “Then, it’s like a butterfly effect. You don’t exactly know how, but every interaction you have with someone makes you feel a certain way and changes your trajectory. It can be five minutes that simply reminds you of something that you forgot about yourself, and it’s revolutionary. Or it’s the fact that you’re now top of mind with that person when the next unexpected opportunity comes up.”
“On the other side of doing the hard thing (networking), you see both how your trajectory changes,” says Klinkowize, “and how it becomes more natural to you.”
Model Presence and Perspective
Klinkowize emphasizes the importance of intensive listening: “It’s about deep breathing, calming yourself, listening and not getting caught up in the chaos or the transactional nature of things but instead sitting back and observing the whole thing.”
She feels team members look to leaders for broadness and expansiveness, and embodying yourself in a meeting as a leader sets a tone for the team in terms of moderating stress.
Klinkowize feels intensive listening also helps her hear people on many levels beyond their words, and she tries to “hear with her gut” – for example, catching that moment when someone on the team suggests an idea and she knows intuitively, that’s it.
Despite days of back-to-back meetings, Klinkowize has stopped multitasking 75% of the time, noting that while her days may take a little longer, her stress levels have plummeted.
When with her daughter, her practice is to be fully present and immersed. She has come to appreciate, and actively chooses to spend, more time outdoors, along with their dog, Ash.
By Aimee Hansen
OP-ed: Menopause at Work – A Call To Action
Career Advice, Guest Contribution, NewsA senior HR official at a Fortune 500 company recently told me that women at her company routinely refuse to accept recognition awards for their years of service. Why? Because they don’t want people to know their age. Had that ever happened with a man, I asked? Never, she replied.
I am passionate about menopause because I believe that we are doing women and the people important to them a disservice by not talking more openly about the effects that menopause can have on some women, particularly at work. Many of us are in our prime professionally during these years, with senior positions of responsibility and management. It goes without saying (or it should) that having more women in C-suite positions is a good thing. Among other things, companies with greater C-suite diversity are shown to be more profitable, and more socially responsible.
The status quo of ignoring menopause is not ok. Menopause has a real effect on many women at work, as shown in this recent study, from Standard Chartered Bank and the Financial Services Skills commission in the UK. It delves into the effect that menopause is having on the financial services sector. A key finding centers around loss of talent due to menopausal symptoms – the study found that a quarter of employees experiencing menopausal symptoms said that they were more likely to leave the workforce early because of their experience. And the very real stigma around menopause means that only 22% are comfortable talking about it.
So what is menopause? The average age for menopause in the US is 51, and experienced by every cisgender woman (and some non-binary and transgender people.) Menopause marks the day when you have not had a period for 12 months. The time leading up to menopause is perimenopause, which generally begins in the mid 40s and lasts on average seven years. Perimenopause is caused by fluctuations in hormones, and this is when menopausal symptoms may start. During this time, periods may be uneven, heavier than normal, or irregular. You may have hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, heightened anxiety, reduced libido, weight gain (especially around the waist), heart palpitations, vaginal dryness, sleeping issues, or stiff and aching joints. In fact, there are 34 widely reported symptoms of menopause. 80% of women experience the most common symptoms, hot flashes and night sweats. For 15% of women, they are severe. For women who enter menopause surgically, perhaps due to a hysterectomy or cancer treatment, symptoms are often worse. The symptom that women find the most bothersome? Difficulty sleeping. Not surprising, as lack of sleep affects all other aspects of life. These menopausal symptoms don’t stop when your periods end; they often last for several years after you are officially in menopause, though they typically taper off. Once you have hit one year with no periods –a moment that can only be marked retroactively– you are post-menopausal. You will remain in this state the rest of your life.
Many women are familiar with the more common perimenopausal symptoms, but most don’t realize that their heightened anxiety, heart palpitations, sudden waking up in the middle of the night, lack of confidence, or difficulty remembering words might all be related to the fluctuating hormones of menopause. We tend to think of menopause as a gynecological issue, but it is so much more than that. It affects every organ in our body, and none more so than the brain. In fact, anti-depressants are often misprescribed during perimenopause: one study suggests that more than 60% of women have been inappropriately given antidepressants for low mood associated with menopause (and they won’t work if the cause is fluctuating hormones). It’s also important to note that menopause comes with many positives: no more periods! No more worrying about getting accidentally pregnant!
So what can we do to destigmatize menopause? Here are a few suggestions for actions to take, both personally and in your workplace.
Menopause is a natural, essential stage of life. It can also add to what’s already a stressful time – kids, parents, work, COVID. But by empowering ourselves and our communities with knowledge, support, and the right medical help, we can march into the next half of life with joy, strength and power.
About the writer:
Kate Brashares (she/her) is the co-Founder and CEO of a new startup, Hello Maisy, focused on developing clinically proven, effective products and services that are being designed to support women through all life stages, with an initial focus on perimenopause, menopause and healthy aging. She is passionate about building and growing organizations that drive societal change and improve health outcomes. Previously Kate was the Executive Director of Edible Schoolyard NYC, and has also worked in brand marketing and finance. Kate has a B.A from Cambridge University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Help us find out more! We are conducting a survey to find out more about women’s experience with menopause. Please fill in the anonymous survey here.
Pamela Peace: Principal & North America Client Management, PGIM Fixed Income
People, Voices of ExperiencePeace talks about the values she holds dear, lessons learned throughout her career and how she has developed as a leader in ways that feel true to her goals, ambitions, and most importantly authentic to who she is as a person.
As a Senior Client Manager for PGIM Fixed Income, Pamela recently expanded her role as a leader within the organization, taking on responsibilities as lead manager for PGIM Fixed Income’s North America Client Management team: a role which she notes is intentionally focused on creating valuable partnerships for clients and opportunities for teammates in Fixed Income to deliver excellence in client relations.
Pamela reflects on driving change and rising above dissenting voices. “It is vital to perform well at our core duties to be viewed as credible and effective. What makes an individual a true leader? One who motivates and inspires others to perform well at their core duties, has the courage to push for change, and holds the unique ability to cultivate diverse perspectives.”
Her perspectives as Co-Chair of PGIM Fixed Income’s Culture Council highlight her commitment to amplify the organization’s cultural values.
Values She Holds Dear: Diversity of Perspectives
Having worked in fixed income and asset management for over twenty-five years, and with PGIM Fixed Income for the past seven years serving international clients in several regions of the world, Peace thrives on interacting with a range of people and cultures, from language to food. Even more, she loves experiencing the diversity of perspectives that come forth, and she learns broadly from every interaction in her job.
“We are a global organization. When we think about different investment strategies, we must consider every aspect of the world. We must take in various inputs – we must look at the world holistically, make decisions based on our analysis, clients’ expectations, what the markets are doing, geopolitical climate, regulatory, etc. These are just a few of many inputs that go into framing our decisions,” she reflects. “As a Client Manager, for a global asset management firm, I bring a wider awareness into everything I do. I believe it is core to my job and how I live in a global society.”
Peace is motivated by watching the people she leads develop uniquely in their skillsets and the legacy her commitment to talent will leave. “I’m so excited to see how the PGIM Fixed Income North America client managers, which consist of different generations, experiences, and cultures, are going to come together to bring forward new ideas for client engagement,” she says. “Our team embraces the view, ‘we can do hard things for our clients’, and if we believe we can do hard things together, that means we’re all thinking and bringing in ideas, and that’s going to be an exciting adventure.”
Lessons Learned: The Values of Humility, Constant Learning and Service
On advice for those developing their talents, she is open about her own path of development, “Trust me, I have made a lot of mistakes where I have had to say, that was not a good decision. Now, how can I actually take that and learn from it?” says Peace. “Humility allows me to understand where I am in my learning journey and acquiring more knowledge has been something I’ve had to own and develop personally.”
In her very first job at a naval base, she worked under an educator, who was a computer scientist, who imparted upon Peace that she could learn anything once you accept your ability to learn it. That woman, she noted, looked like her. Long before that, her mother, who raised eight children spanning twenty-two years as a single mom after becoming widowed, showed her the merits of hard work.
Combining those influences, Peace is a self-confessed constant learner who takes night courses to stay abreast on new topics in management and leadership. She’s presently taking courses to continue to improve on being an effective leader, as well as pondering the EMBA journey. Early on in her career, she learned there was value to admitting what you don’t know and being receptive to educational opportunities was essential – and that has stayed with her.
“I think vulnerability was important to getting me to this level in my career at PGIM, “she notes. “Also, having grace, humility, determination, and the curiosity to learn at any point in life are key attributes everyone should channel.”
She would add that being in service of others is a core value that has carried her through work and life: “My job is to serve others, and I wake each day reminding myself of that fact. In my job it is – PGIM’s clients first, the people working alongside me and those that I’m responsible for.”
In her personal time, she volunteers with aged people in underserviced areas and learns deep lessons from the elders she serves.
Lessons Learned: Leading as a Partner in Growth
A few years back, Peace had the experience of leading the London team and realized a lot about adjusting her communication and leadership style. Through that experience, she recognized the value of “meeting individuals where they are” to take them where you see they can go. This required adjusting her approach as a leader. When it comes to supporting her team now, Peace seeks to collaborate with those she leads on their development goals.
“The discussions I have with the individuals that work with me directly are very much: I am your advocate. I am your support. Let’s talk about what you need and where I think you need to grow. Then we’ll work together,” she says. “It’s an intellectual dialogue about development and being a partner and advocate in the space. It’s more of a leadership of equals as opposed to that of a hierarchy. Let’s come along as a partnership, and we’ll both get there and grow together.”
Every year in the annual reviews, Peace asks her direct reports to tell her one thing they want to learn or develop during that year, and she helps make that happen.
“They are accountable and feel as though they have ownership of their careers and development,” says Peace. “I’m there as a guide, support, and bumper when needed. That’s a valuable leadership skill that has worked for me.”
Not only does she see her own role as being supportive, but at this stage in her journey, Peace sees it as important to communicate to her own bosses what support she is going to need from them to be successful. Having the direct conversation cemented their willingness to commit that support.
“It’s important to be able to trust and communicate to your leaders: here’s what I need from you and what I need you to help me with,” she says. “That has made the difference for me in my career. And that is not wisdom that one must wait until they are well into their careers to acquire anymore. Remember, what I said at the outset of this interview, the world is different now, and leadership looks different.”
Both parties must agree and hold each other accountable but creating the space to have the conversation matters: “I know, it is a hard thing for some people to understand and accept – I must trust you enough to say, here’s what I’m looking for and here’s what I need. As managers, we must work to create the space for trust, and be ready to receive and act on the needs request.”
Developing as a Leader: Promoting Inclusion and Inspiring Women
Peace wants her team members to feel she brings positivity, openness, inclusivity, and a space of trust, where they can bring their best talents forward.
Inviting inclusion daily might mean giving people, who do not always get the opportunity to speak up on a call, a direct invitation to share their opinion or to lead a discussion. It is also being interested in her team as individuals outside of work. As Co-Chair of the PGIM Fixed Income Culture Council, she’s responsible for executing the values of the organization and creating a safe and inclusive environment built on collegiality, trust, and an unwavering commitment to clients among other positive attributes.
“Part of my responsibility, as a Co-Chair, is to model those values,” says Peace, “which includes bringing together our differences. Valuing people with different backgrounds and different skills to create diversity of thought to execute our mission, which often involves making a lot of subtle connections.”
Going back to her early career before PGIM, Peace lived the experiences, as a black woman, of being the “background individual,” there but not getting the opportunities, not receiving the speaking role, being trivialized. “Having had these experiences, I can say to young women who are coming into their careers, including my own daughter, you don’t have to take it. You do not have to shrink to the biases or comments that make you feel less than – change the norm and the direction of conversation,” she states. “Challenge the behavior appropriately – Ask the question, what does that really mean? Express when you’re offended and why, be prepared to have the conversation, receive the apology and extend grace if appropriate.”
She notes that she usually gives the benefit of the doubt and in most cases, believes there is value in having the hard conversations, because those questions often expose blind spots and lead to achieving a wider, more compassionate understanding of other’s lived experiences.
Developing as a Leader: Embracing Who You Are as a Person and Professional
Taking up distance running after age 40, Peace has completed four marathons and several half-marathons, and considers running outdoors to be spiritual.
Growing up in the middle of eight children gave her early life lessons in responsibility, navigating different personalities, taking care of each other, collaborating and valuing family – including her husband, adult son, and daughter.
She’s animated by new food, great wine with friends, the house she and her husband are remodeling, and she loves to dance. Peace recently cherished a holiday moment of karaoke and dancing with her daughter for the first time since her daughter was a child: “She is definitely smarter and has more rhythm, and that’s okay with me.”
It’s Pamela Peace’s lived experiences both inside and outside of work that define her as a leader and more precisely as someone who motivates and inspires those around her each day in service of PGIM’s clients.
Spotlight on Change: Black History Month
Black History Month, Guest ContributionDespite the myriad of challenges women of color have faced, however, many have overcome them to achieve tremendous success and have inspired new generations of Black women to pursue their dreams.
Among the ranks of highly successful Black women at the helm of prosperous companies is Zandra Cunningham, who founded Zandra Beauty when she was just 10 years old. Now her products are found at major retail chains, including Target.
Farissa Knox is the CEO of RLM, a leading full-service integrated marketing and communications advertising agency. On the first day of Black History Month 2022, RLM announced its new social impact program called the RLM Reading Nook Initiative.
This initiative includes a five-year commitment to help women and girls in their local communities across the US and even abroad. To accomplish this goal, RLM is partnering with organizations that prioritize reading and are committed to ensuring all future female leaders have full access to books and education.
These collective efforts are purposeful about empowering girls with the freedom that comes through literacy and educational insights often required for professional success. Throughout the coming five years, RLM intends to raise and/or donate $500,000 in literacy education and hard materials to girls around the world.
Knox believes the Reading Nook Initiative is vital in the quest to help young Black women achieve success. “Women and girls across the globe are still being told by lawmakers and family members and everyone else in between what they can and cannot do, or what’s right or wrong for them,” she says. “I am an activist for women’s freedom, and I believe the number one way to freedom is through education. The more we know, the more we take power into our own hands and make decisions for our own lives. I want that for all women, and especially for Black women.”
To accomplish this purpose, Knox believes it is important for successful Black women to tap into their power and add value to the world for the following three reasons:
1. To change the minds of those who might have a deficit-based view about Black people and/or Black women and their ability to thrive in the world. There is still a lot of latent racism and sexism in modern society, and we have seen that ugliness more prominently in recent years. However, there are far more unexpressed—and sometimes even unacknowledged—biases that significantly impact the ability of minority groups to achieve success.
These hidden biases and stereotypes present formidable barriers. One such barrier has been Black business owners’ longstanding lack of access to venture capital. Even when the data says otherwise, stereotypes persist about the ability of Black business owners to successfully lead their companies as well as about the credit-worthiness of individuals. The only way to change these perceptions is to refute the narrative head-on—a necessity that underscores the importance of developing highly visible initiatives that demonstrate the competence, intelligence, and leadership abilities of women, particularly Black women.
2. So that young girls and children of color can see live examples of great leadership working in their communities, and they can be inspired to do something great too. Representation matters. If you don’t think it does, consider this: If you ask any American to name a few successful business owners or leaders, most could name at least five without giving it a second thought—but if you look at their list, you will most likely see names such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Cuban. If you specifically ask them to name a female leader or business owner, they might come up with one or two names at best. But most people in this country would not be able to list a single successful Black woman-owned company or CEO without doing some research.
Perhaps more significantly, most people wouldn’t give this fact a second thought. However, this lack of representation in the upper rungs of company leadership is a fact that Black women and girls live with every day. They don’t see the potential for success every day, but they do see the barriers to achieving that success every day. Those barriers are a substantial and unavoidable part of their lives—and that is why it is so important for successful Black women to be highly visible.
3. To ensure that we share our wealth, resources, and prosperity within the Black community and strive to change the narrative so our youth know they can avoid becoming a statistic. Once again, succeeding in this effort boils down to fostering hope and vision.
As a society, we need to start focusing on the many positive developments happening among Black youth in our country. They are capable of great things, but in many instances, they are discouraged from even trying because the statistics are not in their favor. When successful Black leaders can use their resources to help tip the scales to a more equitable environment for Black youth, it leads to new opportunities and tremendous growth for these young people, both in the near and long-term future.
That’s why the Reading Nook Initiative with RLM is so important. It provides an avenue through which to help young Black girls empower themselves with knowledge and to recognize their potential to achieve any dream they might hold in their chosen profession. When these young leaders can envision a successful future, then the sky’s the limit on what they can accomplish.
By Rikki Roehrich
(Guest contributed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of theglasshammer.com).
Geline Midouin: Chief People Officer, Shearman & Sterling LLP
People, Voices of ExperienceWhile energetically pacing at her standing desk, where she prefers to work in the mornings, Midouin talks to valuable lessons she’s learned at entry, mid-level and executive level positions in her journey – and the excitement of sitting in a people-oriented seat amidst the talent and inclusion challenges of today.
Joy of Purpose
Born in Haiti, Midouin came to the U.S. at three years old. Her Caribbean family consisted of doctors, nurses and medical professionals, so when Midouin shared she was going to pursue a liberal arts bachelor’s degree in psychology, her mother asked her how she was going to eat. Her family believed getting an education was about job security and thought obtaining a non-tangible degree wouldn’t help.
With a master’s in Organizational Behavior from Teachers College at Columbia University and having held several leadership positions across industries in the field of people and talent – from consulting to broadcast media to healthcare advertising to big law – Midouin feels inherent joy in how she approaches her work.
“I have a sense of purpose in really helping people to bring out the best in themselves to serve the greater good, whether it’s business, our clients or our community,” she says. “I’m motivated by purpose and doing something beyond myself to create a legacy.”
Midouin has always been curious by what motivates people and why they do things – and she loves driving impact and innovation, which catalyzed her move into Big Law a year ago with Shearman & Sterling, in the new post of Chief People Officer. In this position, she’s charged with having an umbrella oversight and influence on all people-related functions at the firm.
An avid reader, she is a curious thinker who draws inspiration from many places to look at issues from different lenses. She emphasizes that in today’s shifting world, it’s important to stay curious: “I ask a lot of questions. I don’t want to hear ‘I can’t’ from my team, but rather I want us to ask, ‘well, why can’t we?’”
“We’re moving away from managing structures and instead focusing on helping people manage their expertise and their careers, so they grow both personally and professionally,” says Midouin. “How can we not just provide information, but actually engage people and then measure the things we’re doing in terms of impact, so we can prioritize?”
Part of Midouin’s mission is to continue to thread diversity and inclusion through the firm’s culture: “Like the head of the orchestra, you’re able to see how things work from a more holistic view. That becomes a secret sauce in working in a more inclusive way,” she says. “You have to integrate inclusion through recruitment and professional development, so having it under one umbrella enables me to bring the key people to the table to have the right conversations and access to resources, to work in a more cohesive manner and make changes that move the needle.”
Early On: The Confidence To Speak and Go For It
Having been the only woman and/or person of color in the room often, Midouin has learned to not be intimidated by the perception from the room that she speaks for all black women or people of color (which she notes is impossible as not all individuals of any group think the same).
“I’m one person with one point of view. So I’ve had to make sure, whether I’m the only woman or only person of color, that I’m comfortable with myself so that I can share my authentic voice,” says Midouin. “You don’t want to waste that opportunity to speak, and you also want to make sure that you share a point of view that reflects authentically who you are.”
Midouin calls her confidence to speak up a learned behavior, as very early in her career she had a critical moment where she diminished her own voice. Two weeks into a new company as a junior employee, she walked into a meeting and the CEO asked what she thought. Taken aback, she caveated her response because she was new, and he replied that he asked her because he wanted a fresh perspective.
“I never did that again because I was questioning my right to give an opinion,” she reflects. “If you’re in a meeting, you’ve earned your right to be there. People are bringing you there for a reason and they want to know your opinion. And people may disagree with you too, and that’s okay, as that’s part of what gets you to a variety of views at the table.”
Noting that we often learn the most through mistakes, Midouin also recalls hesitating to go for a position because she lacked a couple of the qualifications, while watching a male colleague who possessed only a couple of them go for it. When her manager pushed her to apply, she got the position. She now realizes the “confidence gap” was at play for her.
“After I got the position, they told me it wasn’t necessarily about what I knew. It was that I asked the right questions and showed that I’d be able to figure it out,” she recalls. “Sometimes we talk ourselves out of a risk or putting ourselves out there, because we feel like we’re not good enough or that we have to be overqualified. I really encourage people to have the confidence to push themselves and take more calculated risks.”
Mid-Level: Managing People Who Are Different To You
Another key learning moment in Midouin’s earlier career was shifting from an individual contributor to a manager. The transition from being measured for your individual results to your ability to motivate the team was a wake-up call for her when a 360-degree performance review arrived: “The people who were on my team that thought more like me, loved me and my style, but the feedback from the people who were not like me was very different.”
Midouin learned that she had to pay attention to individuals and adjust her management style depending on what they needed. While she is a problem-solver who can deal with ambiguity, bring chaos to order and prefers not to be micro-managed, she realized others need structure, a more methodical agenda and more “touching base” time to flourish.
“People tend to begin by managing people how they like to be managed. You have to learn to be thoughtful and intentional about managing people that are not like you,” says Midouin. “And then, it’s not only making sure you’re hiring varied people of different styles, but also asking yourself if you are catering to all types of styles that you have on your team. Or, are the only people that are excelling, the people who are just like you?”
Executive Level: Leading with Self-Awareness
When it comes to success in the C-suite, Midouin emphasizes the value of self-awareness – including knowing what you’re good at, not good at and surrounding yourself with a team complementary to your skills.
Midouin also notes how critical it is to not surround yourself with people that only validate your viewpoint, but rather those who have the courage to disagree and give an authentic view. One time she said something intentionally ridiculous, observing that people try to be agreeable to senior figures. After no one disagreed with her, she gently chided her team with “come on.”
“I will purposely invite my team to play devil’s advocate and give me a contrary point of view, because that’s what you need in an organization. Let’s argue the opposite point of view – the one we’re not looking at,” she says. “If you’re in a team where you’re not getting dissenting points of view, you should be worried because you’ve probably hired too many people just like you and you’re looking at things in a one-dimensional way. If that is happening, ask yourself if you are creating a safe space where all people can really share their point of view, or do you need to help pull out some of the less expressed views?”
Motivating in Today’s Context
In these times when inclusion is in demand, and the Great Resignation has led to talent wars, it’s a unique moment to be in Midouin’s seat, with an increasing focus on retention and reducing turnover.
“The biggest difference is about motivation – historically you’ve competed against other organizations and now you’re competing against ideology and alternate careers and lifestyles and priorities. Because of the pandemic, people are rethinking what place work should have in their lives. Then you have generational shifts too,” she says. “Now we have to think about how to attract and retain a workforce that wants something different. What is that difference? How does that fit with your employee value proposition? And how do you shift that?”
As one example of alternative approaches, Midouin notes how Shearman & Sterling is leveraging its alumni as recruitment ambassadors, as research shows that when you hire people through a referral, they tend to stay longer than other types of hiring. Therefore, the recruitment strategy is already incorporating a consideration of retention. In addition to a direct payment, alumni also have the opportunity to gift their referral to one of a dozen charities.
Giving Back Where It’s Needed
Midouin’s family passion is tennis. In order to teach her youngest son, who is on the autism spectrum, tennis, she and her husband were driving 1.5 hours to Queens, NY to have him participate in Aceing Autism, a program that uses the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) method to teach tennis to children on the spectrum. When Midouin discovered that New Jersey, where she lives, had the highest per capita representation of autism, she and her husband introduced a six-week clinic through the tennis club in their local community, which they run twice per year. Midouin is also on the board of directors for MJHS, one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the region.
“It’s about impact, and how do you leave the world a better place?” she says. “Finding a way to give back is actually more pleasurable for me.”
By Aimee Hansen
Mariah Turner: Associate, PGIM Private Capital
People, Rising StarsTurner speaks to showing up in a room and the community, as both a team player and a leader who amplifies the voices around her.
Finding Balance Within Finance
Having grown up with a father in finance, an economics degree from Harvard University, and a couple of consultative internships under her belt, Turner sought a position in investment management right out of college. More than three years ago, after a year and a half at Allstate, she joined PGIM Private Capital (PPC) and transferred from Chicago to the London office last year.
Initially drawn to sociology out of a fascination for how and why people think and behave the way they do, Turner combined her interest in human behavior with her attraction to finance. She enjoys considering why people make economic decisions and what factors influence the choices they make ̶— a valuable perspective when assessing investment prospects.
“I’m definitely someone who is intellectually curious, and in this industry, every day is different,” says Turner. “There are new challenges and discoveries with each transaction and type of company you’re evaluating. This keeps the work fresh and exciting, which motivates me to learn and do more.”
Turner notes that entering into the workforce five years ago, she knew she was looking for a balance with family and personal life – as her own parents modeled through their involvement in church, community, and after-school activities when she was growing up. “Lifestyle balance can be particularly challenging in the finance world, so what motivated me to come to PPC was knowing that I’d be in a role, in a space in finance, where I could still have that balance.”
Showing Up in a Room and For the Community
“I’ve been very fortunate in that I don’t feel that my race or gender have really been factors in my career to this point. I think it has definitely been more performance-based,” Turner notes. “I participated in speech and debate in high school, and I played sports, so I’m very used to speaking in front of people, being very direct and voicing my concerns. If I didn’t have that personality or had worked in spaces that discouraged those behaviors, maybe my experience would be different.”
Turner admits she is more wary of the possible dynamics at play around race and gender when outside of the office, in external meetings where she might not know what kind of biases are present. This means she’s more hyper-conscious of how she presents herself to get the reactions she hopes for, which could mean changing how she dresses or does her hair. Turner says, “That is something that we, as a society, are going to have to deal with on a longer-term basis.”
Turner is impressed by the leaders who walk their talk day-to-day, be it in the office or the community. “I look up to people with authenticity and passion, who convey it not just with words, but with what they do –whether it’s actively reaching out to people who are more junior, actively seeking their advice, or introducing them to committees or organizations within industries to try to broaden their vantage point.”
Nobody has role-modeled walking their talk more than Turner’s mother. As president of the school-site council, she helped Turner’s elementary school become a distinguished California school. She also began a group in the school district, whose aim was to provide support and advocate for the needs of Black parents and students. Turner observed her mom continuously play an active role in supporting the wider community, a trait she hopes to emulate.
Championing Voices and Being a Team Player
Turner would like her colleagues to see her as a compassionate leader who helps to amplify all the voices in the room.
“If I’m leading a meeting, I like to cold call on people and get a pulse for what different people are thinking, because it’s often people who are more reserved or introverted who have very deep insight,” she says.
Another way she seeks to champion differing perspectives is by having one-on-one conversations, fostering a safe space for people to share their opinions in a more private setting. From here, she can determine how to help those individuals share their thoughts in a larger space.
A rugby player while in college, Turner joined a club rugby team in London and applies the lessons she learned about teamwork from her childhood and current participation in sports.
“Everyone needs to be on the same page and playing their role, and when one person isn’t, it affects the rest of the team,” she says. “This applies to both sports and in the workplace; it is critical to have good communication and know how your actions affect others. In those times when you aren’t feeling your best, I think it’s important to ask for and are willing to receive support from your teammates.”
“I also believe it’s important to be mindful of how your teammates are feeling. Actively asking how others are feeling not only makes them feel more part of the team, but also establishes a level of trust and morale that makes everyone perform better,” she says. “Being aware of how everyone else is feeling helps form a cohesive team because at the end of the day, we’re all working towards the same goal. If one person is having an off day, that’s going to impact the whole team. Knowing how to rally around and motivate that person not only helps the individual but brings the whole team closer together.”
Turner wants to be the type of leader that helps aligns individuals’ goals to the broader team and organization’s vision, enabling everyone to move ahead and progress together.
Being Strong and Giving Back
Growing up, Turner remembers hearing stories about her father’s family working as sharecroppers in Louisiana before they moved to California, her home state.
“Only two generations back, my grandmother was picking cotton in the fields and making dresses out of flour sacks. That’s a reminder the past is not as far back as we perceive it to be.”
The wisdom Turner’s grandmother imparted has influenced her perspectives, “She told me ‘whatever your husband knows how to do, you should know how to do, too.’ Her lessons in perseverance and being self-sufficient have motivated me to be independent.”
What’s in the decade ahead for Turner? She envisions herself with a family and continuing to be led by her curiosity. In Chicago, she was highly involved in volunteering, especially working with children–whether helping to provide healthy meals or reading to them–and was struck by the impact of food insecurity in her community. She now participates in community service through the Junior League of London by helping raise awareness about poverty in the city.
By Aimee Hansen