Since last week’s article went live, I’ve had my regal thinking cap on about why playing princess riles some folks and I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the problem many have with the idea of being a princess is, well, the need for the prince. Women who want to run big organisations need to choose a consort wisely. Part of the difficulty arises from the way society still tends to peg us patriarchally as ‘wife of’ or ‘daughter of’ or ‘mother of’ as though our value lies solely in our relationship to others, usually male. I can’t tell you how royally annoyed I get when I see City financial doyenne Nicola Horlick described as ‘mother of six.’ So what? Mr. Horlick would not be described as ‘father of six’ in any business publication worth reading. It’s utterly irrelevant to her business acumen and success, even if it leaves me in awe of her organisational abilities. I suppose the message is that you can’t afford to be seen as an adjunct to anyone if you want to be taken seriously in the business world.
Really modern women want to do more than just act as an attractive clothes horse. We want to make a difference – and sometimes having a man in tow can slow you down. There is an exception to this: I’ve mentioned Queen Rania of Jordan before – bright, educated, capable, beautiful – and making a valuable contribution to women’s health, education and their role in Jordan and wider Islamic society. The world could do with more like her.
But when you think of all the powerful women on the world stage today like our Queen Elizabeth, Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Maggie Thatcher in her heyday, Germany’s Angela Merkel, only Hillary can claim that her other half is as much – if not more – famous than she is. Interestingly, he hasn’t minded her sharing the glory, even though the balance of power there has demonstrably moved. And so Hillary memorably pointed it out in her lovely terse response that ‘Bill Clinton is not the Secretary of State. I am,’ at that infamous Congolese press briefing after her recent African whirlwind tour.
On this side of the pond, we admire Prince Philip for being a terrific consort who has never stolen the limelight from his majestic spouse. We know almost zero about Oprah’s other half. Mrs Thatcher’s Denis famously took a back seat. And I don’t know anyone who knows anything about Mr Merkel. It seems that powerful women don’t really need a consort up there on the podium with them. A prince on your arm might be ‘nice to have’ but it is not a necessity.
We tend not to tag our men as ‘husband of’ (unless it’s Brad Pitt) or ‘father of’ (same again). The men who run Coca-Cola, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, NASA and McDonald’s (insert your favourite global businesses of choice here) are never bracketed this way. It’s time women weren’t either.
Ask-A-Career-Coach: How Do I Create A Cover Letter Template?
Ask A Career CoachWhen creating a profile specifically for a company’s hiring site, what is the best, most effective “generic” cover letter for different positions within various divisions?
This question came from a recent teleseminar attendee, and I love the sub-questions implicit in it.
First of all, should you ever write a generic cover letter? The ideal answer is no. You should have a specific position in mind and a specific person to whom to address the letter. Knowing the position enables you to highlight the right skills and experiences within your background that position you appropriately. Knowing the person enables you to better engage the reader. However, some companies ask that all candidates, even senior ones, upload their resume into the hiring site, so in that case your cover letter ideally mentions you are referred by Jane Doe Insider regarding the X Specific Spot.
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Overcoming Madoff in Fund Management
Featured, Newsby Elizabeth Harrin (London)
UPI Photo/Monika Graff
“We have definitely seen a deterioration in potential investors because of Mr. Madoff’s activities,” says Tonya Powell, Principal at ELP Capital, Inc, investment company which specializes in real estate-secured assets. “The biggest issue is trust, and the almost automatic assumption created by the media that all fund managers may have participated in the same kind of activities.”
Judi Snyder, Partner at JP Snyder, Inc, a boutique financial planning firm, agrees. “Previously, people blindly trusted advisors and didn’t do their own research. This blind trust led to much of the current economic and investor climate.”
Both women’s firms are using multi-pronged approaches to win back consumer confidence. “There’s a fundamental shift – clients are demanding more education,” says Snyder. “I believe, however, Wall Street doesn’t necessarily want people to be educated.” This is a problem that Snyder’s firm is tackling head-on. “We give our clients homework,” she says. “We want them to do research, become educated and ask questions. We want them to take as long as they need to be comfortable with the investment options that we recommend.”
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Voice of Experience: Marlys Appleton, Vice President and Chair of Sustainability Steering Committee, AIG Investments
Voices of ExperienceMarlys Appleton, chair of AIG Investments’ Sustainability Steering Committee, is a champion for and architect of the integration of sustainability into the investment process. But it is a role no one – not even she – could have foreseen when she began her career more than 20 years ago.
Upon completing a fellowship and an MS from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Appleton started her multi-disciplinary career as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley. But she switched paths and companies a few years later when she heard the siren call of sales. “It looked as if people were having more fun and making more money [on the sales track].” When Appleton reached out to management to try to make the switch, she was told that, while adding her to the sales force would likely upgrade the skill level of the force, the head of the sales desk only hired his ski buddies. It was an important lesson for Appleton, who then realized that not all promotions are based on one’s abilities; some are based purely on who you are.
She then joined Bank of America as an institutional fixed income sales person, ultimately becoming the top producing salesperson on the East Coast in the bond trading operation for the bank. She attributes that success to her thoroughness and her ability to build trusting relationships with clients. “I’m an information hound,” says Appleton, “I want to know and understand everything myself before presenting it to clients. I think that what made me the most comfortable was what made the clients most comfortable with me. I was successful because, over time, the foreign and domestic banks and domestic money managers I had as clients learned that I wouldn’t lead them down the wrong path and they could trust me to deliver for them.”
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up
NewsEuropean private equity LBO activity shows signs of life. The Swiss government makes a 26% annualised return on the UBS bail-out. Global corporate bond issuance for 2009 is already more than $1 trillion. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.
Economic Backdrop
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Top 10 Global Locations for Executive Women
Next LevelWe can’t think of anything better for a woman than travel. And as a professional woman, what better way to experience the world than to become an expat? The cultural experiences alone are enough to make us want to hop on the next plane to Amsterdam, but the added bonus of enhancing your résumé makes it even more tempting.
Sending employees abroad is becoming more common. A survey by ORC Worldwide shows that 56% of companies have increased their expat usage. But, as usual, it’s mostly men who are jumping on this particular bandwagon. Catalyst research points out that only 13% of Americans managers who are sent abroad are women, despite representing 49% of professionals. However, women are more likely than men to accept a position abroad as 80% agree to relocation compared to only 71% of men.
But where to go? Here are the top 10 global locations for executive women, listed in no particular order:
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Queen of the City: Hillary Clinton is a Powerful Woman not a Princess
Queen of the CityReally modern women want to do more than just act as an attractive clothes horse. We want to make a difference – and sometimes having a man in tow can slow you down. There is an exception to this: I’ve mentioned Queen Rania of Jordan before – bright, educated, capable, beautiful – and making a valuable contribution to women’s health, education and their role in Jordan and wider Islamic society. The world could do with more like her.
But when you think of all the powerful women on the world stage today like our Queen Elizabeth, Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Maggie Thatcher in her heyday, Germany’s Angela Merkel, only Hillary can claim that her other half is as much – if not more – famous than she is. Interestingly, he hasn’t minded her sharing the glory, even though the balance of power there has demonstrably moved. And so Hillary memorably pointed it out in her lovely terse response that ‘Bill Clinton is not the Secretary of State. I am,’ at that infamous Congolese press briefing after her recent African whirlwind tour.
On this side of the pond, we admire Prince Philip for being a terrific consort who has never stolen the limelight from his majestic spouse. We know almost zero about Oprah’s other half. Mrs Thatcher’s Denis famously took a back seat. And I don’t know anyone who knows anything about Mr Merkel. It seems that powerful women don’t really need a consort up there on the podium with them. A prince on your arm might be ‘nice to have’ but it is not a necessity.
We tend not to tag our men as ‘husband of’ (unless it’s Brad Pitt) or ‘father of’ (same again). The men who run Coca-Cola, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, NASA and McDonald’s (insert your favourite global businesses of choice here) are never bracketed this way. It’s time women weren’t either.
Voice of Experience: Ann Margaret Pointer, Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP
Voices of ExperiencePointer, who has been practicing labor and employment law for 30 years, was guided to the specific area of practice while at the University of Virginia School of Law. “I said I wanted to do litigation in Atlanta, and a law school professor told me to try to get a job with I. Walter Fisher, who he said was the best management labor lawyer in the country.” She did indeed get that job and has been with the firm ever since.
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5 Tips for Executive Women Concerning Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate SustainabilityThe days of make money at all costs are quickly disappearing. There is value to be built-in products and services that bring profit to society and the bottom line. As a busy executive woman and manager, you can use these five simple tips to incorporate social responsibility into your management style and, ultimately, your company’s culture:
Each time you have the opportunity to take part in developing a product, service or new strategy, ask the group what the implications of this ‘new effort’ are to the environment and to society. If there are risks to people or the planet, ask how it can be re-strategized or mitigated. You can cite examples of “socially responsible” efforts of other companies in your industry and make mention to any news articles or press releases on their website. You don’t have to have the answer, but simply raising the question may get others thinking. Read more
Ask-A-Career-Coach: How Long Do You Wait To Follow-up?
Ask A Career CoachI had an interview with a small financial services firm this week. I thought it went well and the interviewer (in this case, the owner) muttered that he would decide to hire me by the end of the day. 3 days have passed and I have not heard anything. He seemed like he would tell me either way. I really want the position and it seemed like we connected. How long do I wait before contacting him? What do you suggest I do or say?
While I normally advise waiting a business week before following up, if you know a decision is forthcoming much earlier or much later, then you follow up according to the timetable you know. In this case, since the owner (and clearly a key decision maker) said he was going to know by end of day, I would certainly call him after 3 days. I would have called him earlier in fact because he suggested he would have known earlier. Had he said that they were just starting the process and he was going to be on vacation next week, then you would need to wait till well after the vacation.
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Women on Corporate Boards: The New Economic Stimulus
NewsSince Catalyst first published the report “The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity” in 2004 showing a positive connection between women in top management positions and an organization’s bottom line, a number of financial institutions, law firms and Fortune 500 companies have introduced some kind of gender diversity program. However, when you look at how few women there are in the top spots today, and then you contemplate the magnitude of the financial crisis we have witnessed, it begs the question: what if there was greater diversity on the boards and management teams of our financial institutions and major corporations?
“Would we have avoided this [economic crisis]? No. [But] I do believe it would have been different,” says Jacki Zehner, a founding partner of private wealth management firm Circle Financial Group and a former partner at Goldman Sachs. ”
While we can’t change the past, we can re-examine how businesses operate going forward. As Shyama Venkateswar, Ph.D., Director of Research & Programs for the National Council for Research on Women, says of Wall Street, “It is so full of opportunities.”
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