By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
According to Claire Warnes, Partner in KPMG’s Risk Consulting practice, one of the best parts of working in consultancy is that there are lots of moments which make you feel proud. “There’s not one occasion, but many. That’s why I like working for a consultancy with so many clients. My proudest moments are when we work as a team with a client, bringing diversity of thought to bear and really making a difference in how our clients implement change,” she explained.
Warnes spent nine years in three roles in the UK public sector before being headhunted into KPMG’s Public Sector practice. “At KPMG, I’ve done eight years work as a management consultant, implementing and designing change in the public sector, for universities, defense, and increasingly in healthcare,” she said.
In addition to those eight years, Warnes cited a valuable assignment in Frankfurt that propelled her career forward. “In 2009, I was asked to take on a strategic secondment to be the Executive Assistant to the Joint Chairman of KPMG Europe. It was a fantastic experience and one of the highlights of my career.”
Then, last year, after ten years with the firm, she was promoted to partner. “Now I’m back to consulting, working with lots of clients and helping them think about the future and plan for the significant changes they are facing, and what that could mean for their business.”
Currently Warnes’ work is mainly around the regulation of healthcare. “I’m passionate about that, and the role of regulation in enhancing the quality, efficiency, and patient safety of healthcare. I think it makes a difference.”
She added that she is also interested in how the economy will impact consultancies moving forward. “In austere times which many mature economies are facing now, the role of consultancy is extremely important. Even when money is tight there is an important role for consultants to play and add value to organizations.”
Finally, Warnes added, she is involved in a number of projects at the firm, including serving as a sponsor for its women’s development program and participating in a forward-thinking project involving a group of young partners. “It’s thinking about the future and it’s very exciting,” she said.
Leading Your Team as a Straight Ally
Managing Change“A lot of times, people don’t necessarily want advice, they just want someone to talk to,” explained Nini Mishra, manager in Accenture’s change management practice and an active member of its LGBT allies program.
Mishra is an enthusiastic LGBT ally (also known as “straight ally”) at the company. She explained that the company’s formal LGBT ally program was launched recently, but she has been participating in the informal “Friends of LGBT” group for quite some time. “I had a number of friends and colleagues who are open and out, and they were people who I had a huge amount of respect for personally and professionally. Over the years, a lot of them confided in me, just going out to coffee and talking about their feelings,” she explained. “To me, that’s what the LGBT allies program is about – to support fellow colleagues and be role models for how to foster inclusiveness.”
She suggested that LGBT inclusiveness is just one layer to Accenture’s wider value set of diversity and inclusion. “I think it transcends a lot of other points. It’s just treating people as individuals, with respect, and being open to differences,” she explained.
Anthony Sharrock, IT Strategy and Transformation Consultant at Accenture, and UK co-lead of the company’s LGBT Allies program, agreed. “I initially thought, ‘what’s the point of an LGBT ally network?’” he explained. “As a gay man, I didn’t really get the concept. But I began to realize it’s actually another avenue to help make LGBT employees feel comfortable about being themselves at work, and to do this well. It needs to be okay to be gay any place in the firm, no matter your project, team, et cetera. That takes more than just having a great LGBT network.”
He added, “It’s part of pushing the agenda forward. In the same way we want to see men at women’s networking events, we want to see straight people at LGBT events.”
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Voice of Experience: Claire Warnes, Partner, KPMG
Voices of ExperienceAccording to Claire Warnes, Partner in KPMG’s Risk Consulting practice, one of the best parts of working in consultancy is that there are lots of moments which make you feel proud. “There’s not one occasion, but many. That’s why I like working for a consultancy with so many clients. My proudest moments are when we work as a team with a client, bringing diversity of thought to bear and really making a difference in how our clients implement change,” she explained.
Warnes spent nine years in three roles in the UK public sector before being headhunted into KPMG’s Public Sector practice. “At KPMG, I’ve done eight years work as a management consultant, implementing and designing change in the public sector, for universities, defense, and increasingly in healthcare,” she said.
In addition to those eight years, Warnes cited a valuable assignment in Frankfurt that propelled her career forward. “In 2009, I was asked to take on a strategic secondment to be the Executive Assistant to the Joint Chairman of KPMG Europe. It was a fantastic experience and one of the highlights of my career.”
Then, last year, after ten years with the firm, she was promoted to partner. “Now I’m back to consulting, working with lots of clients and helping them think about the future and plan for the significant changes they are facing, and what that could mean for their business.”
Currently Warnes’ work is mainly around the regulation of healthcare. “I’m passionate about that, and the role of regulation in enhancing the quality, efficiency, and patient safety of healthcare. I think it makes a difference.”
She added that she is also interested in how the economy will impact consultancies moving forward. “In austere times which many mature economies are facing now, the role of consultancy is extremely important. Even when money is tight there is an important role for consultants to play and add value to organizations.”
Finally, Warnes added, she is involved in a number of projects at the firm, including serving as a sponsor for its women’s development program and participating in a forward-thinking project involving a group of young partners. “It’s thinking about the future and it’s very exciting,” she said.
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LGBT: Progress and Problems in the Workplace, Part 1
Managing ChangeIn light of the growing emphasis on how much progress has been made for LGBT professionals via diversity programs (particularly in the financial industry), and the better general acceptance of gay and lesbian individuals in the workplace, it’s easy to grow complacent about the need for continued progress.
Therefore, as part of The Glass Hammer’s coverage of Pride Month, we consulted with diversity experts and human resources professionals who weighed in on issues that LGBT professionals identify as ongoing challenges in the workplace—as well as suggested strategies that companies should consider for improvement. What follows is a special two-part series (read more Thursday) that summarizes their thoughts on current problem areas and opportunities for change.
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How Self-Compassion Makes You A Better Leader
Ask A Career CoachHere’s a scenario. You have a friend. Every time your friend makes a mistake, you point it out to her. You berate her for making that mistake. “I can’t believe you did that again! What a moron!” Then if she wants to try something new, you say to her, “Well, not sure you’ll really make it. Remember you failed the last hundred times you tried something new.” How long would this friend stick around? Yet, do we stop to think how often we say these words to ourselves? Self-compassion is about being your own best friend, befriending who you are now, in this moment, with all your faults and failures. There is new scientific research that shows it can make you a better leader.
I recently read a fascinating interview with Kristin Neff, author of the book “Self-Compassion.” In her interview she describes self-compassion as having 3 core components: kindness toward yourself when you fail, a willingness to accept imperfections in yourself, and mindfulness in being aware of when you need to stop and practice compassion toward yourself. One of the biggest barriers to self-compassion is our misguided belief that being kind to ourselves will make us fat and happy and complacent. The research actually suggests that self-criticism actually undermines our ability to meet our goals.
Here are five ways why self-compassion can make you a better leader.
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Gender Metrics: The Solution to Macho Attitudes that Won’t Change
Managing ChangeA new study shows that one workforce subgroup isn’t likely to add their support to women’s leadership equality anytime soon. According to researchers at UNC Chapel Hill, NYU, and the University of Utah, men whose wives don’t work outside the home are less likely to treat women with respect in the workplace. In fact, they tend to believe women are unsuited for the corporate world.
Based on a study of 718 married men, the research revealed that men with stay-at-home wives tend to take a more “traditional” view of gender roles, viewing the presence of female coworkers “unfavorably.” They more often perceive companies with lots of women as poorly run. They also more frequently deny promotions to qualified women.
What’s more, these attitudes about women are implicit – that is, many of the men in this group don’t actively seek to keep women back. They don’t even realize they hold these beliefs or that they can effectively end women’s careers.
To make matters worse, the study continues, these men are more highly concentrated in management. In addition to holding more power over hiring and promotion, they also more frequently hold the purse strings for leadership development initiatives and employee resource groups that can be instrumental in helping women advance.
And – the researchers suggest – they’re unlikely to change, no matter how much diversity training they sit through or HR messages they receive.
But there is a potential solution for dealing with this macho cohort. The researchers suggest that rather than waste time and energy trying to convince these men of the importance of gender equality, leadership should lay down the law, set diversity targets tied to compensation, and hold managers accountable for achieving their goals. Here’s why the gender metrics approach could work.
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Movers and Shakers: Sue Allon, CEO and Founder, Allonhill
Movers and ShakersAccording to Sue Allon, CEO and Founder of Allonhill, a mortgage due diligence and credit risk management firm, one of the most important things people can do when they are building their own companies is speak up, and showcase their thought leadership.
“When Allonhill was founded in 2008, I couldn’t imagine that the financial crisis would get worse. At the time, Wall Street couldn’t speak for itself,” she said. “It was being indicted and servicers were being indicted. But a statement had to be made: mortgages were still a good investment.”
She continued, “Many people felt they couldn’t talk, but I felt I could speak for the industry. There were flaws that needed to be corrected, but I didn’t feel there were problems with mortgage securitizations as a product. So I embarked on a press campaign to talk about mortgage securities.”
It was risky, she continued, but worth it. “It was such a wonderful boost for my company. I was jettisoned to a highly recognized position in the industry. And even when there was no market, we became the number one firm.”
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Why Do We Need a Business Case for Equality Anyway?
Managing ChangeHow many times have you heard a business leader announcing the oft-repeated refrain: “Diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it means good business”?
In a recent study by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Mindy Storrie, Director of Leadership Development, discusses the business imperative for gender equality. She writes:
Storrie provides references to several studies showing the business case for gender equality:
And she also references research on the benefits of female leaders:
And let’s not forget the slew of research done by organizations like Catalyst, as well as consultancies like Deloitte, and many academic studies by universities on the business advantages associated with an increased percentage of women in leadership.
Sure, the business case is widely available and accepted. We’ve discussed it many times on The Glass Hammer. And yet.
As Storrie explains, women are still a significant minority the senior levels of the business, management, and financial space. In addition to that, she continues, women in the C-suite make 13-25% less than their male counterparts. Why isn’t the business case convincing companies to work harder to ensure their women are being treated equally?
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Networking with Women
NetworkingIn a Forbes piece last month, Stacey Gordon, Managing Principal of The Gordon Group and former President of the National Association of Women MBAs asked why women need women-only networks.
After all, if the majority of powerful people at this point are men, wouldn’t it be wise to network with them? Of course. But there’s good cause to build relationships in a women-focused environment as well. Gordon’s answer is simple and powerful.
Women’s networks are the one place where women don’t face questions about whether they belong, based solely from their gender. She writes, “When we’re not being judged by our actions, our speech, our tone of voice or our discussion of families and babies in business setting, we are able to put those perceived (and in many cases, actual) condemnations aside and get down to business.”
When gender differences are removed from the equation, questions of legitimacy are based solely on your credentials.
“We are judged all the time and we’d like to occasionally be in a place where we are judged less. Or at least judged on criteria that pertains to our jobs rather than to our gender,” she adds.
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Professional Duos Make Dual Careers Work at PwC
Work-LifeDual-career couples represent a large and growing segment of the international workforce. A 2011 study by the SPE Talent Council, which reported results from 93 countries, suggests that dual-career couples comprise about half of the workforce globally.
According to a 2012 Catalyst study, nearly 60 percent of married couples with children in the United States were dual-career couples in 2011. A recent article published by the American Counseling Association (ACA) reports that the number within major U.S. corporations may be as high as 70 percent, and notes that earlier research has predicted that the percentage may climb to 80 percent in the next decade.
In addition to these percentages reported for heterosexual married couples, there are also many gay and lesbian working couples in the mix. The ACA article noted that the number of gay and lesbian dual-career couples is expected to increase along with straight couples. The article also pointed out that gay and lesbian dual-career couples “share common relationship and career experiences with dual-career heterosexual couples, such as time management, multiple roles, and division of labor.”
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Voice of Experience: PJ Johnson, Managing Director and Global Head for Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Compliance, Citi
Voices of ExperienceTo Pamela (PJ) Johnson, Managing Director and Global Head for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions Compliance at Citi, mentoring and developing individuals is a chief source of satisfaction.
“I’ve worked on pieces of important legislation, including the USA PATRIOT Act, and a number of significant money laundering cases. But, as I turn 50, what I’m most proud of is my role in creating a community of AML professionals.”
“Whether it is people with whom I have worked or others who have worked for me, it is satisfying to see people develop and move up the ranks to larger and more challenging positions.”
She continued, “As I look at my team in particular, I’m very humbled to be surrounded by such experienced and dedicated professionals. I’d be delighted to think that I may have contributed in some positive way either through mentoring or educating people about AML.”
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