Feminine-inclusive leadership is a management style for which women leaders are earning global respect. This is a moment on the world stage where the importance of feminine values in leadership are drawing attention.
Beyond the headlines pinning female leaders versus male leaders, the real question is what do we value in leadership? The world might be waking up to the truth that ‘feminine’ traits are essential to human leadership.
Female Leaders In the Spotlight for Effective Crisis Management
Depending on the media source, it’s a tempting headline, but also simplifying and sweeping conclusion, that women political leaders have handled COVID-19 better than male leaders have. Regardless of whether ‘better’ is verifiable, the effectiveness of women leaders in several countries is garnering respect on the world stage.
From German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, to Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin, to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, women leaders have been acknowledged for their success in navigating their country through the pandemic response while limiting multi-level damage.
Merkel’s government took into account a variety of diverse information sources when developing its approach, which has correlated with drastically lower fatality rates in Germany versus other Western European countries. Ardern’s caring, empathetic, cautious and rational approach in New Zealand has flown in the face of male swagger, including her rawness of addressing the country directly from her home and in her domestic context as a mother.
It’s speculated in the New York Times that a female leader may indicate these countries generally have more inclusive (feminine) values and diverse representation, including presence of women, throughout the leadership ranks. Indeed, these same countries do rank high on the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 in terms of gender equality performance, as well as having women on corporate boards.
“A small number of female leaders have emerged as a benchmark for what competent leadership looks like — and been applauded for it,” states co-authors Chamorro-Premuzic and Wittenburg-Cox in Harvard Business Review. “This group of talented leaders may become the first visible wave of role models for the generations to come, redefining the way we pick leaders in politics and business. In short, tales of strong female leaders succeeding through this crisis could lead to a change in the overarching narrative of what a strong leader looks like.”
Women Do Score Better Across Most Perceived Leadership Qualities
In a 2019 Harvard Business Review article, researchers Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman updated their 2012 research that demonstrated women leaders were perceived as effective as men, and actually scored higher on a “vast majority of leadership competencies”.
The research update was even more compelling. “Women are perceived by their managers — particularly their male managers — to be slightly more effective than men at every hierarchical level and in virtually every functional area of the organization,” wrote the authors. “That includes the traditional male bastions of IT, operations, and legal.”
Based on an analysis of 360 degree reviews, “women outscored men on 17 of the 19 capabilities that differentiate excellent leaders from average or poor ones” — including taking initiative (55.6% v. 48.2%), resilience (54.7% v. 49.3%), practicing self-development (54.8% v. 49.6%), driving for results (53.9% v. 48.8%), and displaying high integrity and honesty (54.0% v. 49.1%)”.
“We are accustomed to hearing that women are more other-directed and emotionally intelligent, which is actually proven in the research,” writes Cami Anderson in Forbes. “But, it turns out women are just as good and sometimes better at some of what we think of as male qualities, like being decisive and making tough calls.”
In part, this skill proficiency might be attributed to what it takes for women to arrive to leadership amidst the double standards they face, which makes them well-rounded, spherical leaders when they do make it to these positions.
What Feminine Leadership Traits Are Being Celebrated
Traits that have been exemplified by women leaders during the pandemic include “resilience, pragmatism, benevolence, trust in collective common sense, mutual aid and humility” as well as traits often perceived as feminine such as empathy, compassion, listening and collaboration.
“…what we know now is a “strong” leader isn’t necessarily a man who stands alone, making all the tough choices by himself,” writes Nicole Lipkin in Forbes, “But rather a servant leader, who gathers all points of view in a collaborative effort in order to arrive at the best course of action.”
Especially in a time of so much certainty, the “feminine” trait of humility is a “critical driver of leadership effectiveness in both men and women.”
As Chamarro-Premuzic and Gallop point out in HBR, “Without humility it will be very hard for anyone in charge to acknowledge their mistakes, learn from experience, take into account other people’s perspectives, and be willing to change and get better.”
Women are more collaborative, and tend to have a more realistic view of their abilities and know their limitations, and men tend to overestimate their abilities. This humility, which may not help with self-advocacy, means that women are more willing to seek support and solutions outside of their own perspective once in a leadership role.
“Decades of research show that female leaders are more likely to be democratic or participative — and less autocratic — in their leadership style, meaning they invite subordinates to participate in decision-making,” writes Zoe Marks in The Washington Post.
As written in HBR, women are also more likely to lead through transformational leadership – inspiring people, transforming attitudes and beliefs, and encouraging high levels of engagement and motivation, as well as performance. They also focus more on developing their direct reports than male leaders do.
Not only are more women leaders increasingly gaining profile internationally, but we are beginning to witness the necessity of feminine qualities of leadership that have too long been undervalued in positions of power.
by Aimee Hansen
There’s No Such Thing as a “Set” Career Path
Career Advice, NewsBefore the phrase “social distancing” became a part of our collective vocabularies, in-person interviews and orientation were part of the usual recruitment and new joiner process. Now, like everything else, joining a new company does not look quite like it used to – orientation is done virtually, and networking with fellow new joiners might not seem as simple. But while integrating into a new role virtually is a different experience, non-traditional beginnings can be a good thing.
Take Goldman Sachs’ Returnship® program for instance – founded in 2008, the program is an eight-week, paid program designed specifically for individuals who left the workforce for two or more years and are ready to return. The program aims to help talented professionals restart their careers after an extended absence from the workforce and provides access to training, networking and support from the firm’s senior leaders, as well as hands-on work experience with meaningful responsibilities in a variety of divisions across the firm.
Lori Taylor, a member of the Returnship Class of 2015, joined Goldman Sachs in the immersion program after a six-year hiatus from the workforce. After hitting the ground running in the Risk Division, Lori joined the firm full-time, and became the first Returnship Class member to be named managing director.
Read on for Lori’s unique perspective on integrating into Goldman Sachs quickly and efficiently, her best advice for making the most of a non-traditional career path, and how she stays in touch with other Returnship program alumni virtually.
Tell us about your career before Goldman Sachs and what drew you to the firm’s Returnship program.
Lori: After a decade-long career at GE Capital, I left work to focus on my family full-time. After six years, I wanted to explore going back to work. A friend of mine was an alumni of the program and told me about it.
When I was applying, I explained to friends and family that the program was a chance to learn about Goldman Sachs and see if it would be a good fit for me. The Returnship program was attractive because, of all the opportunities I had been looking into, it was the one that had the longest and best track record.
What were your favorite parts of the program?
Lori: I really appreciated the focus on networking. Coming in with a Returnship class made the transition smoother, and I’m still close with my Returnship colleagues today. The role I was placed in made a lot of sense for me, and returning to work in a position that I felt excited about showed me how much I missed this part of my life. It was like I had never left.
The program also does a great job of organizing panels and other forums for participants to hear from leaders at the firm; some of the advice I heard in those early days still resonates with me today. I continue to be involved with the Returnship program, and just recently participated in an event for the new class, with half of the class via video conference given diverse locations.
What did you find most surprising?
Lori: Probably how fast it went by! Once I hit the desk, the days flew by, I think in large part because right away I was given opportunities where I felt like I was really providing value.
The Returnship program allows the firm to access pockets of talent that we might not be able to get to otherwise – experienced hires with a range of professional and life experiences bring fresh perspectives that can help teams evaluate challenges through a new lens.
Can you tell us about the make-up of your class?
Lori: My class was comprised of people who had been out of the workforce for very different amounts of time and for various reasons – some colleagues had taken a two-year break, while others had been out of the workforce for closer to 20 years. We were a mostly female cohort, with one male colleague in our ranks.
You’re a trailblazer as the first program participant to be named managing director as a member of the Managing Director Class of 2019. Can you tell us about that journey?
Lori: I had worked in Credit Risk earlier in my career, so it was a natural fit for me. While the markets are constantly changing, the skills and tools we use to evaluate risk stay the same. I spent the last five years working hard, and I was fortunate enough to have mentors and supporters along the way who gave me opportunities to take on more and more responsibility and continue expanding my scope.
We’re welcoming new people to the firm remotely every week. Do you have any advice for them or for people wondering how to face the challenges of joining a new company under unique circumstances?
Lori: I’d say that there is no such thing as a “set” career path. My career certainly hasn’t been linear, and the fact that it has been non-traditional provides me with a different perspective and experience.
What might we not know about you?
Lori: I’m a twin! Also, I was inducted into the University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame for basketball – even though UVM is surrounded by mountains, I didn’t ski there until after my senior season, because I couldn’t risk an injury.
By Sophie Jacob
Erin England, Partner, Katten
Voices of ExperienceGittingsLegal – NE73197
Success comes in many forms, and you have to define it for yourself, explains Katten’s Erin England.
Today England enjoys being able to share her story with young professionals and students, and says she often hears from advice seekers after a presentation. But that advice can’t be one-size-fits-all because success looks different for everyone and has to be targeted toward their unique goals. “If they don’t know what they are looking for personally, the advice won’t be in alignment with the outcome they want,” England said.
For England, she initially viewed success as becoming financially stable. “I know what it’s like to struggle financially – my family did when I was young – so in the beginning I set my sights on academic and professional achievement and the financial stability that comes with it.” Upon achieving that security, England has revamped her definition of success.
Living Her Dream
As the youngest of three raised by a single mother, England was the first in her family to go to college. She graduated with a business degree from Texas A&M University. After graduation, she spent a few years in banking, and then set her sights on law school at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
She started her legal career at another Dallas law firm where she worked for nearly 12 years, making partner along the way, and recently joined Katten as the first Commercial Finance partner in Texas.
At her former firm, she specialized in “fund finance” or “subscription financing,” which involves lending to private equity funds and securing the loans by the capital commitments of investors in the fund. She has brought her experience to Katten and is looking forward to building out the practice at the firm.
Learning Along the Way
England speaks of her early years in law as marked by a condition many young professionals experience: a dose of imposter syndrome, which for her created a sense of not belonging and having to “fake” it. “I was hesitant to speak up and was afraid to be myself because I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. My perception was that I did not grow up like other lawyers in the firm, which may have not been true, but my sphere of influence was so different than my colleagues at the time,” she says. But she soon realized that everyone makes mistakes, everyone has their own story of struggle, and the firm is better off having people from many different backgrounds.
Helping Others With the Climb
At her former firm, England co-chaired the women’s initiative committee and is looking forward to getting involved with Katten’s robust Women’s Leadership Forum. Opportunities to support fellow women attorneys are important to her, she says. “I love the reciprocal mentoring and encouragement these programs offer, and it’s an excellent way to meet others across the firm.”
She believes women should work to lift each other up. “Lift as you climb,” is one of her favorite sayings. And she thinks it’s vital for women in her position to stay aware of how to help others. She recommends her peers “move over and add a chair when they get a seat at the table.”
When younger women are overwhelmed at a law firm, she encourages them to know that it will get better. “For example, when you make partner, you have much more control of your day and you’ve earned the respect of your peers.” Unfortunately, in her experience, it’s been the case that many women leave firm life or the practice altogether just when they’re hitting their stride.
England believes that the prevailing barrier to success for women in the legal industry in general is the lack of women in positions of power. She notes that it’s “tough to be what you can’t see.” And while she acknowledges that there are systemic flaws that make it difficult for women to achieve positions of power, she says sometimes the only thing you can do is “just keep swimming.”
With over a decade of practice under her belt, England says she no longer views success in terms of financial security, but as having the opportunity to pay it forward by helping others achieve their professional or personal goals.
With a husband who is also a partner at a large law firm and a young daughter, England’s family is busy. As she works remotely, she makes a point to bring her daughter in to video calls as appropriate to help show other associates how family can be part of a full professional life.
England is devoted to nonprofit work, having been on several boards, including her local YMCA and the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. She recently joined her first for-profit board for a new company called the Bold Women Society, a community that spotlights women with courageous stories.
Cathy Del Colle, President, Burrelles
Voices of Experience“In order to thrive, be ready to let others know about the good work you are doing, and always be eager to learn new things; ask your supervisor how you can assist them since you always need to be ready to seize opportunities for growth.”
That attitude has propelled Del Colle’s career as she has stayed with the same company for 33 years. It is a tenure she is very proud of, rising from sales associate to become the newest president – and the first female president in the company’s history.
Growing a Solid Career
Del Colle joined Burrelles fresh out of college, when she saw a promising sales opportunity at the growing company. She thrived in the Washington, D.C., market for eight years when she was asked to move back to New Jersey headquarters. Over the years, she held a number of client service positions as the company pivoted to meet customer needs, including introducing the client portal, with a forward-thinking vision that was recently rewarded as she was named president.
She is looking forward to her role in helping Burrelles continue to make relevant changes. As a 132-year-old organization, it recently rebranded. However, she notes, it still focuses on its core service, differentiating it from other media monitoring companies by relying on human curation rather than computer models.
To capitalize on the value of a cross-channel strategy, Burrelles has recently added podcasts and social media tracking for its clients. “We have the same goal of tracking the news customers need but always adding new mediums as they become important,” she says.
An Increase in Women’s Influence
Throughout the years, Del Colle has seen women take on more prominent roles in the industry, something that she has noticed from attending media-related conferences where she has seen a rise of women speakers giving their insights. “Previous gender roles in the industry have largely been removed, which has been nice to see,” she says.
She notes that when she received her recent promotion, it was her fellow female executives who highlighted that she was the first female president, a designation she hadn’t even realized she had achieved. “It helped build pride in the company among my fellow women colleagues to have reached this milestone,” she says.
She remains active in a number of trade groups, including Washington Women in Public Relations, which she joined early in her career and makes a point to continue to attend meetings as her schedule permits.
While remaining dedicated to her career, Del Colle thinks it’s important for professionals to realize that it is possible to make work-life balance a reality. She met her husband early on in her career and feels that the relationship was an asset. “It takes a team, and my family are all part of my professional success,” she says. “My family ranks number one, two and three in importance to me.”
In addition to family time, she also takes part in a wide variety of healthy living activities, from daily exercise to wellness-focused vacations. Mindfulness ranks high, with podcasts and mediation keeping her grounded, especially in today’s challenging circumstances.
by Cathie Ericson
Tell your career story! It matters.
NewsWe are looking to profile more amazing women on theglasshammer.com this Fall and would love for you to tell your career story around our global digital campfire. We believe visibility matters more than ever in these remote times. We want to inspire other women and help you stay front and center in your firm and to your industry. We are looking to profile professional women in SVP or Managing Director roles as well as rising stars so if you are a VP or director please get in touch also for consideration. Thematically, we have our annual Latina Leaders series coming up for Hispanic Heritage month, and every October we profile women in technology roles and teams. We are super interested in sharing your story with other women in any role in financial, professional services, technology or Fortune 500 firms. You do not have to fit the themes, but you do have to be willing to tell your career story!
The Story of theglasshammer.com
In many ways theglasshammer is my story, because I have dedicated more time and attention to the topic of gender in the workplace, leadership and organization development regarding “diversity” than to anything else in my life. When I launched it thirteen summers ago, back in 2007, I had no idea that the journey would be so interesting, so enriching intellectually and at times so emotionally wrenching.
I had just wrapped up the sale of efinancialcareers.com to venture backed Dice Inc. I had come to the USA in 2004 from the UK headquarters to launch and run the US arm of the business. I came up with the concept of what become theglasshammer.com in 2007 after seeing a gap in the market for women to feel as confident as men to apply to the highest paid jobs in financial services and “go for it.”
I knew that women existed in all levels of financial services and that there was a visibility issue. There were panels of male talking heads, interviews by male experts written by male journalists, and the straight white man in a pinstripe was still firmly the default. It was a generation ago, and much progress has been made but it feels like we are still only just on the brink of deep change. Most firms are not much further on, and some are just starting the journey. Back then in 2007, millennials were just entering the workplace and diversity work for most was a version of box-checking Noah’s Ark – two women, two people of color and two LGB (not even T) people in the whole firm. If they achieved that in optics, some leaders thought they were in good shape.
The reason that I decided to launch theglasshammer.com was simple; I knew there were others like me. Other women navigating their career, high-performing ambitious women who just needed to know they were not alone. Being a country manager and head of the business at efinancialcareers was certainly a big responsibility. Like many other people who are promoted into big jobs in their late twenties, I had been the main rainmaker in the sales team of the Financial News in London and the Chairman had seen my naked ambition and knew where to put it to good use. I was a young, female Managing Director, a foreigner, openly gay with a strong instinct to call out nonsense where and when I saw it. I had three things going for me: I knew how to build brands and sales operations from scratch, having done it with the Financial News in the original team. I had long term vision and good instincts. And, I didn’t really know I was a “girl,” meaning no one had openly or covertly tried to oppress me due to my gender. Like so many young women until a certain point, I had no sense of “not possible”. But, by the end of that experience, as a Managing Director and young ( and only female) board member, I had navigated successfully and uncovered, yet couldn’t name what I later realized were systemic issues regarding gender. It was not by accident that the acquiring company had not one single person of color or openly gay person in the entire firm and that the one female in senior management was paid one third of the salary of the other members, revealed when they went public to all.
Within the first two years of theglasshammer.com, I wanted to understand for real what I saw and felt. I knew quickly that we needed more than career advice, i knew women where asking for what they wanted and that they were already leaning it. It was the system that was letting them down. I went to Columbia University in 2011 to study for an Executive Masters in social-organizational psychology with a specialization in change leadership to put real theory to the applied test. Highly recommended, life changing and I made some friends for life in this year long program.
Equality and equity happens in the human behavioral sphere and workplace culture matters. However, how systems and talent processes are built and maintained make the difference in how to incentivize the well intended, fair people and prevent the nonsense from the bad players who so often make insidious behaviors acceptable.
Data points are always good. If you suspect dynamics that aren’t about you personally, look at how many women are on the board and how they are paid against male peers for measurement. Ask questions around talent processes. Understand how work gets done, who gets rewarded and why and what gets tolerated.
In 2012, I started coaching women and men as I realized that advancement is often to do with understanding the system as it is today. While we are working on what we want it to look like tomorrow, critical mass and good leadership behaviors from the women and men at the top right now, matters! And, upon returning to Columbia University to complete their coaching program in 2016, I was so fortunate to be educated again on a new discipline, developmental psychology. Each person who has been shaped by their experiences and it is how they develop a lens on that process that matters for real growth. You will never hear me say “all women” or “all men” as I truly feel privileged to help humans on their journey wherever they start or want to go to.
On bad days, I bellyache that the progress has been slow on the macro level for getting rid of mindsets that prevent all people from thriving on merit. But more often, I see that progress is real. I know that the 5,000 profiles on theglasshammer.com have contributed to making professional women visible to the world. I have coached hundreds of women who feel that they have gotten further and more out of their career than just going it alone.
At the end of the journey, I hope the word diversity leaves as this work is about stopping seeing the baselines as male or white. It is about getting rid of stereotypes and doing the work to understand what differences of all types means within each person and for each person. It is about personal, professional and organizational development.
Join our digital campfire and inspire other professional women!
Write to jennifer@theglasshammer.com with “Profile me” in the title if you wish to be considered.
If you wish to be coached by me or one of my selected associates, email nicki@theglasshammer.com
We run sessions for ERGs and High performing teams also.
Cindy Brown, Chief Revenue Officer, ViralGains
Voices of ExperienceSpeaking on panels like “How to Be a Boss Lady,” her advice includes staying the course: She sees resumes of women who’ve only been in jobs one or two years, yet she believes you have to remain in a position long enough to learn that when things get tough, that’s an opportunity to add certain skills to your personal toolkit. “When you reach higher levels, you are expected to have skills to handle situations, but you can only acquire those through seeing similar circumstances and the various reactions and responses,” Brown says.
Thriving on Challenge and Accountability
With a career spent in sales and customer success positions, Brown has always found the competitive aspect and absolute accountability energizing. “I’m very competitive, and I love to problem solve and create winning environments.”
Reflecting on her career, Brown feels fortunate to have worked for companies that have had many stages of growth and rapidly changing environments. She started in a large computer technology company in sales and quickly moved into sales leadership. There she was able to build a firm foundation with robust training programs in sales skills, leadership, HR, project management and other disciplines. Her first big challenge came when they were acquired by Compaq Computer, and she played a key role in the consolidation of two huge companies.
Eventually she decided she had reached a bit of a ceiling, so looked for a smaller start-up and joined a consulting firm that worked with companies to create customer-facing web sites. Shortly after, the dot-com bubble burst, and she was let go.
While it was a scary time, the uncertainty didn’t last long; she joined another start-up in the ad tech field as vice president of sales and operations to help them scale. And another challenge—9/11. The recessionary environment again made it critical to produce results, and she was able to show positive growth. Soon after Brown was recruited to join Yahoo! when they were still relatively small. She led a number of sales and support organizations over her dozen years there, including playing an active role in three major acquisitions and helping capture the most value between the combined organizations. One more pivot later, and for four years she has been at her current company, ViralGains, an ad tech company that creates customer-centric video ad journeys.
That adaptability is the professional achievement she is most proud of—the ability to assess needs and figure out how to motivate teams, then coalesce to drive success and scale. With extensive experience in both small and large companies, she can draw on her background to know what might work in a variety of situations.
At ViralGains, they focus on aligning customers and brands with a customer-centric approach that offers viewers a more customized ad experience, related to brands and companies that interest them. “My whole career I’ve been a ‘how can I help’ type of person, so now I’m working on technology that helps advertisers do that at scale,” she says.
Brown finds that marketing technology and advertising technology are not as aligned as they could or should be and is interested in driving a tighter connection between them. She finds that marketing technology is data-centric, while advertising is more prospect blasting, in other words, getting a message in front of millions of people without a deep understanding of whether they are actually real prospects. “There is still a lot of work to be done to seamlessly align the two, which will drive a better experience for individuals and greater efficiencies for brands,” she says.
Taking Chances Pays Off
Brown believes her success has come in part from being “naively optimistic,” pursuing jobs she really wasn’t yet qualified for, but asking for more and not overthinking. However, she has always been self-aware and focused on how her work fits into the larger organization; when she made mistakes, she would reflect on what happened and why. Commute time is the perfect time for that self-reflection, as well as to plan the next day.
While we’ve all been in a situation where a man says something a woman has just said and is listened to, Brown believes it’s important to get past that by avoiding an emotional response. “I’ve changed my verbiage from I ‘feel’ like we should do xyx to compiling facts, data and analytics that support a recommendation so it becomes a solid use case.”
Brown is proud that she has always made it a priority to spend time with her husband with a weekly date night and as a working mom would put the kids to bed and get a babysitter. Now they are grown and she believes that spending time together is the best gift. But it has to start at the beginning. “Having a strong marriage helps develop a strong family, and is a great balance to an active career. A woman can do both.”
by Cathie Ericson
Cristina Varner; Senior Vice President, National Life Science Practice Leader; ABD Insurance & Financial Services
Movers and ShakersIn her 25-year career, Cristina Varner has heard a number of buzzwords come and go, but one concept that she was delighted to first hear about and see endure is “sponsorship.”
“When that term came up it really resonated with me…who’s in the room talking about you when you’re not there?” she says, citing studies showing women tend to be over-mentored and under-sponsored. She recalls a former boss who was a strong producer, and they gravitated toward one another. “We didn’t put a name on it, but it was sponsorship as she helped me be my best,” Varner says. “She would tell me that I was passionate, not impatient, as others might call me. In that way she would replace what sounded like a negative that I might be thinking I needed to fix and reframing it in a way that was positive.”
That’s why everyone who wants to grow in their career needs a sponsor, says Varner.
A Career Pivot Proves Successful
Turns out Varner had a lifetime “sponsor,” even though she just called him “dad.” That’s because she had initially planned on being a fashion buyer, but when she joined Nordstrom during a tough economic period, it didn’t take long to realize that buyers weren’t soon going to be giving up their jobs.
Her father was in insurance, and while he’d always said that insurance was a great business, she hadn’t intended to follow in his footsteps…and yet since he was nearing the end of his career, she joined to see what it was all about. “He was very old school and treated me like any employee,” she says. But that taste of the industry worked, and from there she decided it was what she wanted to do, embarking on what would become a fruitful and fascinating career.
Since Varner didn’t want to take over his business, he recommended she consider becoming a retail broker on the commercial side. She was willing to learn and also realized it was the right time as it was the Silicon Valley heyday, with companies unable to hire people fast enough. Varner started on the ground level and worked her way up, primarily working with tech companies at the time, before a pivot moved her into the life science industry. Since then she’s built two life science practices from the ground up, and that has led her to the professional achievement she is most proud of so far—building robust teams and being part of watching younger people grow and make names for themselves.
Her current company, which she spun out with a core group in 2012, is now in its eighth year.
A Fearless Leader
While she doesn’t recall having specific assumptions starting her career, she realizes the importance of not only having a strong work ethic—being willing to raise your hand for new opportunities, but also the power of being a non-conformist. Varner describes herself as not “cookie cutter,” but rather fearless, a trait she didn’t recognize as unique and valuable until she was farther along in her career.
That instinct was on full display when she and a small group decided to leave a large employer to spin off their new company, an unusual and courageous decision, given that insurance people in general are risk averse in their careers. “It took a leap of faith to believe in a new CEO and leave much of my team behind.” And of course, that sowed doubts: How would I be able to do this? Will clients come with us?
One of her biggest fears was that people wouldn’t come along with her, but her biggest client followed her with words that stuck with her, “I don’t do business with companies; I do it with people.”
Even with initial misgivings, looking back, she knows it was the best career decision she has made. “It allowed me to start fresh in that I could come up with creative ideas, and that was the biggest turning point in my career,” Varner says.
Building Support Mechanisms
Varner has been proud to be part of creating culture at ABD, including a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council formed last year. She also founded the ABDHer Employee Resource Group (ERG), a passion that comes from the fact that she was strongly challenged, inspired and mentored by female leaders in her career and wanted to pay it forward.
The group has spearheaded a number of initiatives, including currently hosting webinars with other female leaders. Recent offerings have included topics like how people can successfully lead in times of tumult.
“When I started my career, we were expected to just figure it out, but I think it’s important that we now have much more focus to help people navigate their careers and growth and build skills.” She also finds that men gravitate toward the group, many of whom had been supported by a strong female figure in their own lives, to show their support.
While Varner has had her share of mentors, she also looks to other avenues for inspiration, including Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey, citing the quote, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” Varner heard this early on and became a devotee of her teachings, which she has found to be very impactful on her career.
Aside from her work, Varner is married and enjoys spending time outside, boating or just enjoying the summer weather, along with her “two spoiled dogs.” Her passion for dogs inspired her to connect with a local man who helps feed the dogs of homeless people and eventually started the nonprofit “Project Open Paw.” Varner also is close to completing training to be a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line, which she heard about when she caught a podcast with the CEO. “It resonated with me as something outside of my career or normal hobbies,” she says. While it’s daunting, she is excited to make a difference. “You should always be doing things that scare you.”
by Cathie Ericson
How to Make Your Next Career Move During COVID-19
Career AdviceExecutive-level jobs in the financial services and Fortune 500 are not exempt to disruption as the economic damage starts to take effect and it is very possible that companies will start slashing budgets and downsizing later this year. So now, not later, is the time to prepare to make your next career move.
It won’t be the old-fashioned tap on the shoulder informing you that your team is being consolidated and there is no place for you. The digital version of getting marched out of the building can provoke the same feelings of rejection, shame, anxiety and fear of what job to do next. If you are fired or made redundant, furloughed or re-org’ed out, then all is not lost. Instead, start with your own inner voice and control your psychology around what just happened, as self-talk and old fears and feelings can easily surface at this point. Your unconscious mind will enjoy slapping you with paradigms developed over a lifetime. These can take many forms; for those with imposter syndrome it could be “told you so, you didn’t belong there.” In the case of general self-worth concepts it could be the shame of “letting them down,” even though when I push my clients to further consider this internal message the “them” is mystical, general and undefined.
The best investigation you can do into your own constructs can be done using concepts from Lahey and Kegan’s work in Immunity to Change. This is a book I write about often and pursue with coaching clients to help them understand how to break out of implicit notions that your brain is quietly telling you. These notions are working as the operating system beneath all the human apps or hacks that you think you are running for things like productivity and mastery in your life.
In times of potential trauma, such as job loss, you are faced with a choice of how to recover, as there are many emotions and thoughts involved with this type of situation. The best thing you can do is let go of any negative emotions such as anger or bitterness or shame. This is often easier said than done. Get perspective, as most likely this is not about you personally in these COVID-19 times. Use this event instead as reframe the change as an opportunity to understand what you enjoyed most, and least, about both the job itself and the company culture. This will help you figure out what is next for you professionally. If you have any kind of decent financial cushion, make a promise to yourself that you will not make rash decisions and instead take the time to reflect on what you really want to do. That could come quickly if clarity happens, which is why a good coach can help you by supercharging you and your process. What do you need more of? Less of? How do you get what you want? This can be more satisfaction, more time, more flexibility, more money, a different title or even a complete pivot into a different career.
Not Furloughed or Fired but Ready for a Change
Even if things are steady at work it is okay to think about making a change, especially if your industry doesn’t look robust in terms of future sustainability or growth. See the writing on the wall regarding how your company is dealing with employees during COVID-19. Look for actions and behaviors. Are they laying off staff in other departments or teams? How are they doing it? Is there a voluntary severance program in place where the deal is lucrative? If so, perhaps it is worth talking to your manager about the future, specifically your future. This can be a courageous conversation to have so make sure you are in good standing with your boss as of course there is risk attached. If everything looks steady, find ways to ensure you make your value visible at all times. Working smarter not harder is the key here.
Take this time to think about what you want long term. In these exhausting times, it is easy to just survive the day and pour a cocktail on a Friday to celebrate getting through another week at work. Do an exercise of “flash forward” and picture yourself three years from now; what are you doing work-wise? Which firm are you in, if any, and what does your day-to-day look like? Start with the end in mind and start to think about the steps that could be taken to get there as Rome (or anything) was not built in a day. What skills do you need to develop? What connections do you need to make? What does starting the transition or pivot to a new job, career or industry look like? Herminia Ibarra’s fabulous book Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader very much argues that we are all in transition, and we just might not know it yet. From this perspective, looking at networks and skills is a worthy action at all times. I highly endorse her work, and this is a consistent recommendation from me to my coaching clients across senior levels on Wall Street, tech, fintech, healthcare and pharma.
As gloomy as things might seem right now with the outlook for the economy and personal risks in going to work, it is ultimately an ideal time to figure out what you want and what works for you. Things will return to a normal of sorts, but who knows when? Think about the last time you interviewed for a job. You might have been in a different place in your life and it’s okay to acknowledge that everything has changed. Not least, you have a chance to think about your enhanced skillset. And surely all of our resilience muscles have increased, as we have been resourceful though quarantine, kids crawling in to zoom meetings and productivity despite lack of connectivity. You are better placed than ever to be the best executive version of yourself!
If you wish to have a complimentary, exploratory conversation to see if executive coaching with Nicki Gilmour or one of our associate coaches could help you navigate your career this year and beyond, then please select the time that works best for you from the link below.
Event: Exploratory Coaching chat – see full list of times
Christina J. Grigorian, Partner, Katten
Voices of ExperienceForging a Path Paved with Balance
During law school at the University of Maryland, Grigorian served as the student editor-in-chief of “The Business Lawyer,” which at the time was the largest law journal in circulation and published in conjunction with the American Bar Association. After passing the bar, she went directly to a firm where she discovered how much she loved the banking side of law, and after six years practicing with two other firms, has been with Katten for 18 years. During her tenure, she has worn many hats, including associate, contractor, senior associate, then counsel and partner in the firm’s Corporate practice.
The road wasn’t smooth, she acknowledges. When she started a family, she initially doubted whether she could juggle three children with her high-powered work and considered a leave. Fortunately, Katten was solution-oriented and offered her a reduced schedule of 10 to 15 hours a week working remotely as a contractor.
As her youngest child transitioned to preschool, she started working three mornings a week in the office and then further increased her hours when her youngest child began elementary school. Although it took her 21 years to become a partner, she did it on her own terms. “I have been very fortunate that I could walk a path that was both professionally and personally fulfilling,” Grigorian says.
Even today, she makes sure that her family demands do not interfere with her work responsibilities at the firm. “I never say ‘no’ to any project – the only question I may raise is with respect to timing,” she says, adhering to a flexible schedule that often had her rounding out her work in the evening while her children did their homework. “I have found this willingness has led to a lot of credibility that I will come through and the work will get done.”
Expanding a Welcome Niche
The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 brought new financial reforms and regulations for lenders and banks, creating enormous demand for an attorney like Grigorian who has an extensive background in banking law. It opened opportunities for her practice to flourish and evolve to now where she advises banks, bank holding companies, and state-licensed consumer and commercial lenders to ensure they are complying with applicable laws related to providing consumer or commercial credit.
This specialty allows Grigorian to work with a wide variety of teams as she can parlay her knowledge of banking and consumer and commercial lending law to a variety of deals and transactions.
“I am proud that I’ve been able to grow professionally in a way that allows me to be a resource to support so many teams,” she says. That ability came into sharp focus when the CARES Act passed earlier this year; her background allowed her to jump in to help clients understand the guidelines of the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides small businesses with funding to cover payroll costs, rent and utilities.
“It was amazing to join forces with so many people across the firm and help clients from bakeries to doctor’s offices to nonprofits determine if they were eligible to apply. It was such a wonderfully collaborative effort for these companies that really needed the lifeline,” she says, adding that it was a welcome spot in her practice to spend so much time with different types of clients and partners.
Balancing Work With Other Interests
The company you keep is as important as the work, Grigorian believes, meaning you must seek out those with whom you enjoy spending time. Through the years, she has had mentors who have been good role models with their work-life balance, along with being active in their communities, and she was able to model her career path in that view. She shares those lessons with others as an active participant in the Women’s Leadership Forum in Katten’s Washington, D.C. office, which has been a good outlet for her fellow female colleagues with its dynamic programming that offers everything from networking events to professional development programs.
Active in her community, Grigorian enjoys her volunteer work with the Washington National Cathedral, where she supports its horticulture projects, including recent efforts to create a bee sanctuary. “I adore this group of people who are dedicated to this mission to provide a haven to reflect and relax on the stunning Cathedral grounds located in DC’s urban core,” she says. “And in these times, it’s more important than ever.” In addition to her volunteer work, she enjoys traveling with her husband and children and reading her book club’s monthly selections.
by Cathie Ericson
Feminine-Inclusive Leadership Is Earning Global Respect
Career AdviceFeminine-inclusive leadership is a management style for which women leaders are earning global respect. This is a moment on the world stage where the importance of feminine values in leadership are drawing attention.
Beyond the headlines pinning female leaders versus male leaders, the real question is what do we value in leadership? The world might be waking up to the truth that ‘feminine’ traits are essential to human leadership.
Female Leaders In the Spotlight for Effective Crisis Management
Depending on the media source, it’s a tempting headline, but also simplifying and sweeping conclusion, that women political leaders have handled COVID-19 better than male leaders have. Regardless of whether ‘better’ is verifiable, the effectiveness of women leaders in several countries is garnering respect on the world stage.
From German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, to Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin, to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, women leaders have been acknowledged for their success in navigating their country through the pandemic response while limiting multi-level damage.
Merkel’s government took into account a variety of diverse information sources when developing its approach, which has correlated with drastically lower fatality rates in Germany versus other Western European countries. Ardern’s caring, empathetic, cautious and rational approach in New Zealand has flown in the face of male swagger, including her rawness of addressing the country directly from her home and in her domestic context as a mother.
It’s speculated in the New York Times that a female leader may indicate these countries generally have more inclusive (feminine) values and diverse representation, including presence of women, throughout the leadership ranks. Indeed, these same countries do rank high on the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 in terms of gender equality performance, as well as having women on corporate boards.
“A small number of female leaders have emerged as a benchmark for what competent leadership looks like — and been applauded for it,” states co-authors Chamorro-Premuzic and Wittenburg-Cox in Harvard Business Review. “This group of talented leaders may become the first visible wave of role models for the generations to come, redefining the way we pick leaders in politics and business. In short, tales of strong female leaders succeeding through this crisis could lead to a change in the overarching narrative of what a strong leader looks like.”
Women Do Score Better Across Most Perceived Leadership Qualities
In a 2019 Harvard Business Review article, researchers Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman updated their 2012 research that demonstrated women leaders were perceived as effective as men, and actually scored higher on a “vast majority of leadership competencies”.
The research update was even more compelling. “Women are perceived by their managers — particularly their male managers — to be slightly more effective than men at every hierarchical level and in virtually every functional area of the organization,” wrote the authors. “That includes the traditional male bastions of IT, operations, and legal.”
Based on an analysis of 360 degree reviews, “women outscored men on 17 of the 19 capabilities that differentiate excellent leaders from average or poor ones” — including taking initiative (55.6% v. 48.2%), resilience (54.7% v. 49.3%), practicing self-development (54.8% v. 49.6%), driving for results (53.9% v. 48.8%), and displaying high integrity and honesty (54.0% v. 49.1%)”.
“We are accustomed to hearing that women are more other-directed and emotionally intelligent, which is actually proven in the research,” writes Cami Anderson in Forbes. “But, it turns out women are just as good and sometimes better at some of what we think of as male qualities, like being decisive and making tough calls.”
In part, this skill proficiency might be attributed to what it takes for women to arrive to leadership amidst the double standards they face, which makes them well-rounded, spherical leaders when they do make it to these positions.
What Feminine Leadership Traits Are Being Celebrated
Traits that have been exemplified by women leaders during the pandemic include “resilience, pragmatism, benevolence, trust in collective common sense, mutual aid and humility” as well as traits often perceived as feminine such as empathy, compassion, listening and collaboration.
“…what we know now is a “strong” leader isn’t necessarily a man who stands alone, making all the tough choices by himself,” writes Nicole Lipkin in Forbes, “But rather a servant leader, who gathers all points of view in a collaborative effort in order to arrive at the best course of action.”
Especially in a time of so much certainty, the “feminine” trait of humility is a “critical driver of leadership effectiveness in both men and women.”
As Chamarro-Premuzic and Gallop point out in HBR, “Without humility it will be very hard for anyone in charge to acknowledge their mistakes, learn from experience, take into account other people’s perspectives, and be willing to change and get better.”
Women are more collaborative, and tend to have a more realistic view of their abilities and know their limitations, and men tend to overestimate their abilities. This humility, which may not help with self-advocacy, means that women are more willing to seek support and solutions outside of their own perspective once in a leadership role.
“Decades of research show that female leaders are more likely to be democratic or participative — and less autocratic — in their leadership style, meaning they invite subordinates to participate in decision-making,” writes Zoe Marks in The Washington Post.
As written in HBR, women are also more likely to lead through transformational leadership – inspiring people, transforming attitudes and beliefs, and encouraging high levels of engagement and motivation, as well as performance. They also focus more on developing their direct reports than male leaders do.
Not only are more women leaders increasingly gaining profile internationally, but we are beginning to witness the necessity of feminine qualities of leadership that have too long been undervalued in positions of power.
by Aimee Hansen
Wendy Strutt, SVP, Head of US Accounts at PGIM Investments
Voices of ExperienceFor example, she was always intimidated by negotiation, assuming it was something one just had a talent for, until she learned anyone could build the skill through obtaining sufficient information and then thinking through the next steps. “Anyone can do those things, especially early in your career where you have time to doggedly go about researching something. It was transformational when I realized there really isn’t a mystique about it.”
An Orientation Toward Success
Hard work never was an issue for Strutt, which has propelled her rapid rise in the world of sales, although she began her career in consulting. After earning her MBA, she worked in a chief of staff role, which she considers her “real MBA,” due to having a seat at the table where decisions were made, then helping them implement and measure their success.
While that was exciting, she soon learned that she wasn’t as enamored with the fact there were 10 decision makers in the room in addition to her when something great was achieved, “I couldn’t determine what part of the win was mine. That’s when my mentor sagely said, ‘Maybe you’re a sales person,’ even though I had always believed I was an analytics person.”
That sent Strutt’s path in a new direction that she embraced, and now she has combined those two disciplines with a role in analytical sales, where she leads a team that sells active management investment solutions to finance companies. She is proud of this opportunity and takes very seriously her fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of their clients and help them meet their goals.
Strutt’s successes have included overseeing a team whose sales efforts have led to 11 consecutive years of positive net flows at the No. 1 mutual fund firm (by net flows) year to date. Now the company is actively expanding its solution set to help deepen relationships with larger clients. “They tell us they want to do more business with fewer partners so we are exploring different ways to offer investments to our clients,” she says. In response they have broadened their product range and have launched active ETFs, the first of which was named “ETF of the Year” by Fund Intelligence in 2019, as well as PGIM’s first private real estate product through a large national wealth management firm.
“These different solutions allow us to pour all of our portfolio managers’ insights together, which can help us solve for retirement income in different ways,” she points out.
Building the Next Generation
Viewing her industry from a gender perspective, she finds that the biggest challenge is that there are just not enough women, especially in senior positions. While asset management is not alone in this regard, she believes it’s important for her firm to position themselves to be a leader. To this end, Strutt is part of PGIM’s very active Women’s Advisory Council which supports the success, development and engagement of women across PGIM.
“I notice how my colleagues light up at a women-oriented conference, and I want us to feel that way every day,” Strutt says. “We can feel that support and energy on a regular basis, and I want to leave my industry that way for the next generation.”
She sees that support is crucial to help those entering the industry, and urges her fellow senior colleagues to reach back to those beginning their careers. On that note, she finds that most women don’t realize that a sales career can be fantastic for women. While she admits she herself had to be pushed, she has since found that while there are some tradeoffs in terms of time commitment, it also can be very flexible when needed. It’s also a great role because you have a number attached to your name, which removes the burden of self-promotion. “The metrics speak for themselves, which can make it easier to rise through the ranks of a company by doing a great job.”
In addition to taking roles in women’s organizations across all sectors of capital markets, Strutt is active in her firm’s Women’s Advisory Council, which supports engagement and visibility across the organization. She’s especially proud of a cross-gendered mentorship program that pairs senior leadership to deepen the appreciation of gender-based issues and share solutions—what she describes as “one aha moment at a time.”
The firm also has a “back-to-business” returnship program that helps professionals who have been out of the workforce for any length of time for any reason, such as caring for children or a parent, or serving in the Armed Forces.
With a husband, two boys and a dog, her family keeps her busy and engaged when she’s not working.
“My view on balance is you can’t always stay right in the center of that teeter totter, and accepting that fact alone has helped me lower the stress we sometimes put on ourselves to be great at everything,” Strutt says. “I’ve learned to take care of myself and unplug when I need to. It gets me recharged, and the work is always there waiting for you.”
by Cathie Ericson