“The problem just seemed so big, and I somehow had the naive courage to think that I could do something about it,” says Sylvana Q. Sinha, the Bangladeshi-American founder and CEO of Praava Health, Bangladesh’s fastest-growing healthcare company.
In 2014, Sinha left a promising career in international law to focus on the creation of a new disruptive, innovative healthcare company. The decision was prompted by a health scare her mother faced during a family visit to Bangladesh for a wedding; the challenges associated with the emergency appendectomy put Sylvana up close with the shortcomings of the healthcare system in that country.
Prior to founding Praava Health, Sinha led diverse, interdisciplinary teams in international law, business, development, and government relations at major international law firms (Gotshal, & Manges, LLP and Lovells LLP), management consulting firms (Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers), the World Bank in Kabul and Afghanistan and New York, and think tanks in the Middle East and South Asia.
She conducted research on business and human rights issues for the Special Representative to the UN Secretary General, held the position of social protection specialist at the International Labour Organization, and served as a foreign policy advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama. Today, Sinha is also a PATH board member and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Currently serving more than half a million patients, Praava Health’s tech-forward model is designed to be efficient, accessible, and scalable across emerging markets, where 85% of the world lives. Praava’s work has been featured by Forbes Magazine and Financial Times and was recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea in 2020. In 2021, the World Economic Forum named Praava Health a Technology Pioneer, and in 2023, they were named a Global Innovator.
Sinha shared with The Glass Hammer her experience as an emerging market entrepreneur and CEO in a male-dominated field and why she’s using her voice to speak out about the challenges women-led businesses face in emerging markets, particularly when it comes to raising capital.
On taking the wheel to improve healthcare in Bangladesh:
“I spent about a year at the beginning of this journey learning all the pain points of the healthcare system in Bangladesh and talking to patients and those involved in the delivery of healthcare, both in Bangladesh and all over the world. It was like a year long global listening tour.
“The more I dug in, the more I saw how deeply-rooted the problem was, and the more obsessed I became with trying to solve it. Candidly, I didn’t find anyone who both cared about solving this problem as much as I did, and had the global networks and local resources to be able to affect change.
“I came across a lot of people who complained about different parts of the system with no plans to do anything about it. Then, there were those who wanted to solve the problem but didn’t have the right skill sets to contribute. I felt that with my experience as a leader and as a global professional, I had the skills, tools, and access to make a difference. I had access to global leaders and innovators in healthcare that we were able to learn from, adapt the global best practice lessons and bring them back to Bangladesh.
“I’d been looking for ways to make more of a direct impact through my work, and I just felt like this was the opportunity I’d been seeking. This was the thing that was the culmination of all of my skills – managing international risk, managing political and economic risk in an emerging market, and having a direct impact, changing lives on the ground. All of those things together inspired me.
“The problem just seemed so big, and I somehow had the naive courage to think that I could do something about it. I became obsessed with solving this problem.”
On what drove her desire for more direct impact:
“I was on the ground in Afghanistan, but I was working in these large organizations and there was so much bureaucracy that was crippling us, as close as we were, from being able to have an impact. These large organizations are so challenged by their own size and by their own systems that it becomes hard to create change. I thought, maybe you have to just build it from scratch.
“Also, from the early stages of my career as a 22-year-old management consultant and junior lawyer – and throughout my career – I worked for men. In particular, when I worked in the services industry, the men were always pitching business to clients, and I remember they would always claim they could do things that we had never done before. I knew, because I was part of their team, that these were things they’d never done before. But then I realized we could do it. We would sell the business; then, we would go learn, and we would do it. And as a woman, just like many other women I know, I feel like we don’t like to claim we can do things until we’ve already done them.
“This experience taught me that, with the help of a skilled and motivated team, I can learn, and I can make things happen. With the right people, we can build the airplane while we’re flying it.”
On how Praava is disrupting the standard of healthcare in Bangladesh:
“The big challenge in Bangladesh is that in addition to the huge gap in terms of the quality of healthcare, there’s also a changing demographic. We now have a very quickly growing and urbanizing middle-income population.
“We have a country that was traditionally more dependent on foreign aid and charity to provide healthcare for our citizens, and just a generation ago, Bangladesh was considered one of the least developed countries in the world. But now, it’s one of the fastest growing economies. This means more people are accessing the private sector for healthcare. But the private sector is largely unregulated and offers very dramatic variations in terms of the quality of healthcare.
“I think the public system does a really good job in terms of prioritizing primary care. But for anything beyond basic vaccinations and deliveries, the masses are accessing the private system. In Bangladesh, 72% of health spending is coming from the private sector. And this is true across South Asia. In most countries, the opposite is true – the health funding is mostly coming from the government, but in South Asia, the private sector is driving the growth.
“The very specific pain point is providing quality healthcare at an affordable price point. When Praava entered the market, the average amount of time doctors spent with patients was 48 seconds. There were only four international standard labs for a country of 170 million people. And 20%+ of drugs in the market were counterfeit.
“What Praava offers, at an affordable price point, is a one-stop shop for all of your outpatient healthcare needs that’s truly at a world-class level: The doctors are practicing protocolized medicine and spending at least 15 minutes with each patient. Our lab meets international standards. Our pharmacy guarantees that there are no counterfeits because we source directly from manufacturers. We’re the only player that owns the outpatient healthcare experience and the only player that does so with both in-clinic physical services, as well as remote and virtual care. While there is still work to be done, we’re contributing to positive change.
“One of the greatest rewards has been hearing stories from our patients about how we’ve been able to change their lives. A lot of people say they never thought they could have healthcare like this in Bangladesh. They thought they would have to travel abroad. To hear that feedback is extremely rewarding and gratifying.”
On how her experience has prepared her to be an emerging market entrepreneur:
“This role is the confluence of all of the different things that I’ve done, particularly when I’ve been forced to manage uncertainty. I think my legal training gave me a framework for how to think in general and how to think about solving problems in a really methodical and logical way. My experience as a management consultant, and working in war-torn regions such as Afghanistan, helped me to learn how to navigate uncertainty methodically, how to problem-solve, and how to be constructive.
“Also, as a lawyer, advising clients on managing risk in investing in new countries and legal disputes in those markets helped prepare me. And my experience working in U.S. foreign policy allowed me to consider how different people think about the world and how Americans, in particular, see the rest of the world.
“The resilience of continuing to fight against daily, or even hourly, ups and downs is what I feel came from all of my various experiences.
“There’s an obsession with very young entrepreneurs, like Mark Zuckerberg, who quit college and go off to start their companies. “But I think building a new scalable business is really, really hard. I don’t think I could have done it when I was in my 20s. There’s a lot of evidence that the most successful entrepreneurs are people who start their companies in their late 30s and early 40s. I started when I was 37. I think that coming to entrepreneurship a bit later, after I had done a lot of different things, made me much more prepared for the resilience and patience that was required and is still required for what we’re building.”
On why we need to (sincerely) fund women entrepreneurs in emerging markets:
“My biggest surprise of this journey is how hard it has been to get funding. I really thought that if we proved the economics of our business, investors would want to invest. Once we prove our value proposition, investing should be a no-brainer. Well, our unit was profitable in ten months, as of November 2018, and I quickly discovered that it’s entirely untrue that proving the economics of your business alone is enough to get investors to invest.
“It’s been eye-opening for me to learn that 80% of venture dollars go to companies headquartered in New York, Massachusetts, and California – still sees the rest of the world as a charity case, not a place to make money.
“So that has pushed me to use my voice and platform to educate people on the opportunities that exist for emerging market entrepreneurs – and the overlooked opportunities financially, particularly for women. The amazing thing about emerging market businesses is you have an opportunity to make money and to have a big impact. Telling that story in a truly compelling and impactful way has been a challenge.
“As an American woman who moved to Bangladesh for the first time in my life to start this company, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for women entrepreneurs to access capital. There’s a lot of micro-money for women in emerging markets and outside the United States. But there’s not a lot of money for women to scale their businesses. There’s barely any, actually.
“When we hear about funding for women’s entrepreneurship and women-focused venture capital firms, unfortunately, it’s primarily U.S. and Europe-focused. Even Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda Gates, only invests in the United States.
“So the only way to help these countries stand up on their own and be less aid-dependent is to develop the private sector, which requires investment. And the only way to empower women in these countries is to help them build wealth. And the only way to build wealth is to have more access to capital.
“Women are not going to access power and be able to build their wealth if you only give them $10 a month to fund their micro-enterprises. That’s great. But once those micro-enterprises are ready to scale, at this moment, there’s no one to fund them.
“I’m still learning how to tell the story of how these problems are intertwined. Being a public figure and the public face of the organization is outside my comfort zone, so this role is really pushing me. But I realized these lessons are unique and need to be told.
I was at the Forbes 30/50 Summit on International Women’s Day in Abu Dhabi, which was supposedly one of the largest global gatherings of women leaders and innovators. Every single entrepreneur speaker was from America. The only speakers from outside the U.S. were focused on themes like human rights and charity.
“I found this offensive, and I gave that feedback. There are women leaders in other countries. There are female-founded unicorns in India. Canva was founded by a woman in Australia. We have to stop thinking that America is the center of the world. There are huge opportunities outside the U.S. Even BlackRock pointed out that in 2023, when you’re going through global recession, the only parts of the economy still growing are emerging markets.
“We must break out of thinking that the rest of the world needs charity, and America is where people make money.”
On leading in an industry where less than 15% of CEOS are women:
“Eighty-five percent of healthcare decisions for households all over the world are made by women. Sixty-five percent of health workers are women. I’ve always felt that being a woman ultimately makes me a better leader. It makes me better at building healthcare products for consumers and bringing the voice of women to the table. For that reason and so many more, we need more women leaders at the table.
“As a female leader, I think I have been both challenged and underestimated. I’ve been told directly by men who’ve been in the room when I pitch that I’ve been asked questions that investors wouldn’t think to ask men, and that investors challenge me and push back in ways they just don’t with men.
“But what I say about that, ultimately, is that it makes me a better founder. Because I have to have the answers to those questions. Knowing my business better is always a good thing. So yes, I’m sure it’s challenged me in ways that are not equal or fair. But ultimately, it makes me better and it makes my company better.”
On leveraging her voice and platform to challenge the status quo:
“I was at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that happens in January each year in San Francisco. It’s the largest healthcare investing conference in the world, though it’s mostly U.S. focused, and there was a panel of eight white men. How is this happening in 2023? This was 2023, and it was a panel talking about healthcare with eight white men.
“I think leadership is a double-edged sword for women. Because it’s harder for women, women don’t necessarily want to go after it. So you have fewer women going into leadership roles in this sector. Also, America likes seeing women-founded companies that are wellness-focused or fashion-focused. Those are important companies, and no disrespect to those founders, but I just think America is more comfortable with female founders for those types of businesses. We need to see more women leading financial services organizations and building companies that are providing basic services for consumers who are more than 50% women. We all have these needs in our life, so we need women’s voices to create the solutions.
“The lack of women in leadership in my field has pushed me to recognize that because there are so few women in these roles, I have to push myself to be out there more and to use my voice.”
On ‘walking the walk’ of valuing women in the workplace:
“An unexpected outcome of this journey has been recognizing the importance of valuing women’s work in business.
“During my first year as a founder, every single woman who worked for me – aged 22 to 40+ – on my team of 25 people got pregnant. This accounted for about half the team. It was a challenging year, to say the least. When one of my management team members came to me and told me she was also pregnant, she cried. I’m committed to being a founder who supports women, and while it was hard to manage, we did it.
“My team was able to rise to the occasion and create a workplace that truly supports women – even at a small startup with only 25 employees, we were able to succeed even with half the team out for three to six months in one year. And we are stronger for it. Providing the support women need to thrive in their careers IS possible.
“As an employer, I have now seen firsthand that women ask for less money and undervalue themselves. In our first year, a member of my management team asked for a certain salary, and we gave her what she asked for. Then, we did a market study, and I learned she was earning 30 to 40 percent less than the market, even though she had foreign experience at multinationals in the U.S. So I bumped her up – she didn’t ask for it, and she wasn’t going to. But it was the right thing to do.
“It’s so powerful to see the impact of the choices that create a supportive workplace for women. For example, during the pandemic, we did a lot of COVID testing through part-time consultants. When we discontinued some of their contracts, one of the women lab technicians begged us to find a job for her, explaining that she’d never worked in an organization that valued women the way ours does.
“This experience was so humbling. Frankly, I don’t know that I’ve been as intentional as I could have been about creating that workplace. But when the senior leadership of an organization has women at several points (at times, more than 50% of the management team), it trickles down.”
On why the world is waiting for women to step up:
“Our world has a lot of really big problems that need solving. I’m focused on one of them, but there are so many more that affect our day-to-day lives and our futures. We need people who are willing to take on these issues. We don’t get it right every day – I know I don’t – but what’s important is that we continue to have a positive impact. That’s what makes everything worth it.
“During a period in 2021, we were facing some regulatory challenges. It was a really dark time for me as a leader. I personally didn’t know how we were going to get out of this situation. As a resilient leader, I had faith we would but I didn’t know how.
“I do a lot of one-on-ones with people in the organization at all different levels, and I was doing more at this time to make sure the team felt supported, that we were being transparent, and that they had an opportunity to ask questions.
“In that time, I learned that they totally have faith in us as a management team. They know what we’re doing is the right thing and that we’re going to get through this. That was so inspiring to me to hear that and to see that in them. They were at risk of not even getting paid next month, but they were sure we’d figure this out. They were all so blasé about it and were just focusing on their regular day-to-day work. They put so much faith in me, and in us as a management team, that it was a great reminder that they believe in what we’re doing. What we’ve built is so much bigger than me or them, and it needs to be.”
On how she defines her own integrity as a leader:
“I think we’re always driven by treating each other well. I listen to this podcast series, Wiser Than Me, by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She herself is 62, and she interviews all women older than her. Yesterday, I was listening to the episode with Diane Von Furstenberg, and she said the only thing we can control in life is our character.
“This really resonated with me. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the markets. We cannot control whether investors are going to invest or not. But what we can control is the way we treat each other — from giving the security guard at the entrance of a building a friendly hello to the empathy and kindness we give our patients, it’s all about treating each other well. That’s always my guiding force – to be able to feel proud of how I interact with other people.
“There have been some hard moments where someone on my team has let me down, and I’m upset and disappointed. And these are the moments when we show who we really are. No matter what, leading in a respectful and dignified way is always important.”
Interviewed by Aimee Hansen
How to be an Ally to Latinas this Hispanic Heritage Month
Career Tip of the Week!, Hispanic HeritageIn the United States, the Latinx population are a major economic driver, contributing over 28% of the US GDP, as well as being the second largest ethnic group. Yet, they are the one of the least represented in the professional world, Latinas especially. Latinas make up 10% of the national population but hold less board seats at Fortune 500 companies (less than 1%) compared to any gender, ethnic or racial group. White women hold 1226 seats followed by Black women with 183 and 89 seats for women from Asian descent. While Latina professionals hold the smallest number of seats, thirty less than women of Asian heritage, as of 2022 women overall still only hold 30% of Fortune 500 board seats.
Currently, in 2023, there have been only three Latina CEOs in these companies. The first of these CEOs was Geisha Williams who acted as CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) from 2017 to 2019. She is the first Latina to ever hold the title of CEO at a Fortune 500 company. The second was Cheryl Miller who was CEO of AutoNation from 2019 to 2020. The third, and only current Latina CEO, is Priscilla Almodovar who began her journey as CEO at Fannie Mae at the end of 2022.
Although Latinx accounts for over 18% of the total population in the United States, the number of board seats allocated to Latina professionals is around 1%. Ester Aguilera, CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) shares, “In fact over the last 10 years, between 2010 and 2020, Latinos only gained 1%. We went from 2% of corporate board seats to 3%. Latinos and Latinas are invisible in the C-suite and the boardroom. For Latinas, it’s even smaller. Only about 1% of the public company board seats are held by Latinas.” Aguilera attributes this small number to lack of visibility which makes companies feel as though they cannot find qualified Latinas to hire for board positions. The LDCA prides themselves on helping quicken the search to find qualified Latinx professionals and have created a directory with a talent search tool to hone the search for Latinx employees.
What Can You Do To Be an Ally to Latina Professionals?
Understanding that there is a gap for Latina executives is the first step, but deciding what tactics you can bring into the workplace is the most vital step. It can be very difficult for a company to work cohesively if there is not a level of trust and safety felt by its employees. Amy Edmondson introduced the concept of team psychological safety in 1999. Research shows that it still rings true today in making employees more content in the workplace, lowering levels of conflict between coworkers while boosting higher levels of performance. When speaking of psychological safety, Edmondson explains, “Psychological safety exists when people feel their workplace is an environment where they can speak up, offer ideas, and ask questions without fear of being punished or embarrassed.”
In keeping true to the concept of psychological safety, employers must be willing to create an inclusive environment for all backgrounds and cultures. The Harvard Business Review found that 76% of Latinx employees repress parts of themselves at work. This includes their appearance, accents, body language and communication styles which are all part of executive presence, an important element when defining leadership potential. They also found 43% of Latinas feel as though they need to push aside their authenticity to meet the standards of executive presence at their companies. Employers need to create a space where Latinas can be their true selves and below are just a few examples as to how this can be achieved.
Check Your Own Bias
The change will start with you. As a leader, you are the first obstacle to creating an inclusive space. Take some time to sit with yourself and understand what biases you may have. Think about taking an Implicit Association Test to explore your biases. Once you’re aware of your biases, pay attention to them. Take a step back and think about why you made a decision and if your biases had any influence on that choice. See if there are any stereotypes you are holding in your head such as “I don’t like to work with her, she’s too fiery.” Or “I can never understand what she’s saying, her accent is too strong.” Acknowledging your own biases, and apologizing when they get in the way, is a considerably positive step to creating a healthy team culture.
Engage in Active Listening and Use That Information for Change
While attempting to increase any type of inclusion, leaders should strive to listen to what their team is telling them. Take time to connect to your employees, listen actively and be aware of who they are. If leaders want to retain Latinas and hire more, listening to their needs is overtly important. In learning about needs, you need to let the employees lead the conversation and make sure you ask questions and participate so they know you are listening to understand. From what you learned in these conversations, bring change. Create new policies that meet their needs and help them feel more comfortable in their work environment. Knowing the workplace they would be joining is a safe place, where they don’t have to hide their true selves, would be a driving factor to hiring more qualified Latinas.
Increase Opportunities for Latinas
Another way to help increase the number of Latina professionals is to provide more opportunities for advancement. One way would be to implement a mentorship program in your company. You can follow examples such as the one set by JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase has created an initiative for advancing Hispanic and Latinx in which they provide activities with emphasis on career readiness and support, entrepreneurship, community development and financial help. Having someone to go to for advice will help Latinas feel like they belong as well as give them someone who may have been in their position to help them advance confidently. The JPMorgan Chase initiative also includes fellowship programs for collegiate level Latinx to help them find their way while still in college. Applying an initiative like this, with a focus on Latinas, could create a better laid out path from college to executive positions. You may also try implementing groups for Latina women to connect with each other and share their own stories. Networks and connections play a large role in advancement in today’s professional occupations. Creating a space where Latina employees can feel as though they belong, with people who look and speak the same way they do, can help increase their executive power and feeling of confidence in an executive position.
While all of these ideas can positively affect Latinas professionally, you must keep in mind that change cannot happen overnight so stay focused. By following these suggestions, you can help take that step towards increasing the number of Latina executives in the professional leadership community. This Hispanic Heritage month, remember to be aware of your own biases, listen to understand, and work to increase opportunities for Latina professionals. Supporting this growing community is essential for companies to retain their Latina employees and create a space in which others will want to join.
By Chloe Williams
Liora Haymann: Managing Director, OBM International
People, Voices of ExperienceDuring her first year in Architecture School in Chile, Haymann’s studio teacher declared that he didn’t like wasting his time reviewing women’s projects because in two years they would marry and leave school. While it would be unacceptable today, that comment ignited a motivational fire in Haymann.
“I’m a rational person, so I looked at the classes above me and I thought, he’s just stating a fact. And then I said to myself, I’m going to prove him wrong,” she says. “I never thought he meant to dismiss us. He meant to push us. And that’s how I’ve taken it every time I found such challenges. I’ve never thought that somebody is putting me down. I’ve always thought it’s a challenge.”
Five years later, that teacher congratulated Haymann for being accepted for graduate studies at MIT in the US. But it remained true that out of a 50/50 gender split in the first year, only five women graduated as part of the 1983 class – whereas about twenty men did. She remains friends with her tight-knit female classmates still today.
From MIT to Chilean Urban Market to Global Destinations
MIT was eye-opening and introduced her to a more inclusive culture: “It gave me a lot more confidence on who I was, and I understood the freedom to pursue a path that was more mine.”
After graduating, and a couple of years working in Washington D.C., Haymann returned to Chile with her newborn daughter. With a few of her former male classmates, she co-founded an innovative architectural firm called URBE, as the only woman partner. With a combined background of US studies, they brought new techniques, visions and ways of introducing urban quality to the market. URBE became the best-in-class training ground for a new generation of young urban planners in Chile. But for family reasons, she then moved to Miami.
“Leaving URBE behind was difficult. It was my baby. At that time, there was not a global economy like we have now. Working across borders was not so common, so it was a darker time,” she reflects. “But again, every challenge is an opportunity.”
She crossed paths with OBMI, a premier hospitality and destination design company, which put her on the global stage and took her all around the world – China, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, the Caribbean and much more.
OBMI work is imbued with vision: the belief that design must celebrate local culture, landscape, or heritage, and create a journey of discovery for those who inhabit the space, whether for a weekend or a lifetime. OBMI became a great platform to develop her talents.
Moving From Design into Business Management
Being a very organized, structured, and process-oriented person, Haymann found that as she grew professionally, she gravitated towards management. After several years running international design projects – remote island resorts, boutique hotels, large scale master plans for waterfronts and mix-use, this eventually led to becoming a managing director and board member at OBMI, despite not having formal business education.
“Architects are trained to focus on design and to believe that design is the only valuable aspect of architecture,” she admits. “I had to re-educate my brain that I am even more valuable now because I understand design so well that I can make the bridge between management and design and make it much more effective for our clients, my team, and everybody to navigate the complex design process. I’m super proud of it, and now encourage others to become great managers. It’s been a great ride, with the company growing fivefold during this period.”
Recently, at 66 years old, she’s been contemplating what’s next and yet, it also feels premature.
“In my company, we are working towards passing on more power to the younger generation. OBMI is my second baby and therefore, letting go and trusting is again difficult,” she admits. “So you give it away, and then you grab it back because a part of you does not want to give it away. It’s a process and it’s a bit painful because I have a lot of energy and ideas related to work process and management that I want to apply.”
With a 102 year old father, Rudi Haymann, who has reinvented himself in his 90s, as a published author and public speaker, Haymann trusts in longevity and decades of re-creating herself ahead.
“It can be frustrating to see that a lot of business mentality is still caught in the 20th century where it was learn-work-retire,” she admits, “but that’s not the story today. How can businesses capture our acquired experience, at a time we are still full of energy?”
Being a ‘Shepherd Leader’ with A Wide Worldview
When it comes to her leadership style, Haymann self-identifies as what she dubs a “shepherd leader.” She leads from behind with a team that is organically in motion with many moving parts. She keeps her eye on the North and ensures everyone is staying oriented and moving towards the goal while she prevents anyone from getting stuck or going too far astray.
“There are many different ways of leading. I am not a ‘storyteller leader’ who may create large ideas and inspire people through their words. That’s a different way of moving people,” she says. “I will lead by example. I’ll walk the talk and people will see me walk, and they will learn.”
All along, she stays focused on three main goals: Design great projects. Make sure the team is inspired and fulfilled. Make good business.
Haymann feels her wide worldview has been essential to her success in global hospitality and luxury destination design. As a Jewish woman who grew up in Chile, with German parents, and then chose to study in the US, she carries different cultures and a great deal of heritage within her, always informing her perspective. She speaks several languages and notes “languages have embedded within them a way of seeing the world.”
She also believes her results-focused, solution-oriented, and driven nature have supported her in building trust. She’s adept at structuring, planning and breaking down complex projects into the who/how/when process and tasks to ensure everything comes together, flows and moves forward.
One of her strengths is to combine bird’s-eye strategy view with down-to-earth actionable tasks. With this double-lens she analyzed the firm’s data to identify key challenges and implemented processes, solutions, and unit linkages to drive smooth operations, efficiency, and communication as a basis to keep the team leveling up.
“In a design studio that is full of intuitive creatives, that is really useful. Because I understand the creative design process and I can also bring this structural talent that I have to respecting that intuitive process. Otherwise, it goes counter-current,” says Haymann. “How do you build that insight within the creative process? I can partner with the most creative person and become a really strong team because we cover it all.”
Fostering Honest and Direct Communication
“It’s difficult to give bad news, and so people often avoid it. I’ve learned through time that the best way to build trust and understanding is just to communicate as honestly as possible,” she says.
As she’s risen in leadership, a big mental shift has been making a strong and conscious effort to be more relationship-focused beyond the content of the work. This includes more check-ins and empathetic listening. With a half-smile, she admits she’s uncertain if she’d be called “nice,” but she trusts her team knows she cares about them.
“If we’re having a discussion, my focus is on the topic. I’m assuming that we’re both focusing on the content. But, with time, I’ve learned that many people focus on the relationship, and may sacrifice items in the topic to protect the relationship,” Haymann observes. “For example, they may not contradict. They may not bring up their ideas because they may be different from what somebody else in a more powerful position may be saying. They may feel vulnerable in expressing something.”
To invite others to speak honestly, she has learned to make an introduction upfront about her own direct style and valuing the discussion of viewpoints and being contradicted, because it encourages better, more nuanced thinking on the topic.
Being A Woman Architect in Real Estate Development
While architecture tends to be perceived as a very woman-friendly field, they’re less prominent in architecture in real estate development. “I’ve never had a woman client and I’ve worked for decades and decades,” says Haymann. “The industry is very male-dominated, likely because it involves both large money and big negotiations. In my company in Chile, URBE, I was the only woman partner. At OBMI, I was the first female managing director and board member. OBMI has been a great environment for growth, and I am grateful for the opportunities. I think the last fifteen years have been a big leap for women in design and hospitality, and I am happy to see that.”
She notes that the representation of women significantly diminishes as you escalate in the ranks. Architecture requires a lot of late nights and tense deadlines, and many women with family prefer to form their own smaller self-practice.
“I was super lucky. I had help that I trusted while raising a family, but I remember it as an extremely stressful time. I was forced to learn to be very efficient and focused to make decisions,” she recalls. “Maybe it’s just my personality, or that may have affected the relationship aspect of work for me. I would come in, do my work and go home, because I had stuff to do there and people waiting for me. Still today, it’s difficult for me to relax and go for a long lunch.”
At the same time, Haymann notes these days, she enjoys the ability to linger and work late: “I love to work. Why not work late if I can now? What a luxury.”
While things are changing visibly today around integrating family and work, it also brings up mixed feelings for the barriers women have faced.
“As a woman with a family, I, and the women I worked with, would never bring up family as an excuse for being late or not coming in. We would figure it out, because it could be counted against you,” she notes. “But today, I see young men who have families, very freely say, ‘I have a school meeting. My girl is sick. I have to stay home.’ I still don’t see the women saying that so freely. They’re still very careful. It’s nice to see the fathers being involved and taking this freedom, but I also lament that women never had it. It’s both good, and at the same time, it’s unfortunate guys have to say it for that to be acceptable.”
Haymann also notes being a woman has helped her to stand out and be memorable, and she leveraged it: “I made sure that people knew I was intelligent. That I would bring value. That what I would say was relevant. That I could speak up. That I was going to be absolutely responsive to my clients’ inquiries and needs and be available to them. I made sure that was clear, and that became an important platform,” she notes. Her expertise and confidence brought speaking opportunities at international forums and relationships that opened new business.
A female colleague recalled a moment when Haymann inspired her years ago. As attendees were coming into a boardroom, Haymann witnessed a young woman take a seat in the second row in a semi-full room.
“I immediately called her out and said, ‘You go sit at the table” she recalls. “I thought, why would a young woman decide to sit in the second row when there is space? The space at the table is for those who show up because they care. The second row is for those who come in late, no matter who they are.”
It took a while for Haymann to realize that she was a role model to other women, and she doubts young women today would default to the second row. Looking back, Haymann would tell her more junior self to be more playful and develop relationships more.
“With time and feedback, I became more aware other women were watching me, but I’ve never talked about it, because I think talking is cheap. Acting is important,” she notes. “For me, it’s always: Set the example. Show others what they can do.” She is adamant in supporting next gen at OBMI to expand their knowledge and leadership through their involvement in industry programs and events. She also led the creation of a hospitality design course at University of Miami, strengthening the firm’s position as a thought leader.
Carving a Path With Few Role Models
Haymann has a soft-spot for the Disney character, Maleficent: “The first time I met her was when my daughter was a little girl and we watched the original Disney film Sleeping Beauty from 1959. What struck me, were the female archetypes in this film. First, there is the queen who doesn’t speak a word in the whole movie. Then, the princess, who falls asleep; then the minuscule fairies, who do all the jobs for the prince, but they’re invisible. Like the secretaries and the wives and all these invisible people that, in those days, made things happen while the male hero shined. And then, there is Maleficent – who is independent, beautiful, lives in her own castle and has people that she reigns over. When she shows up, she is hated because she is powerful, she speaks and brings this curse, meaning she holds a power. Isn’t that interesting? This is how women were perceived in those days. Either powerful and bad. Or invisible and doing all the work, or mute.”
Across her career in architecture, Haymann had no particular real life female role models whom she wished to emulate, but rather was more inspired by her peers and colleagues. As she looks ahead to what’s next, she also finds few inspiring her for where she might go.
“I find myself again having to carve a path on my own. I’ve experienced enough transitions to know it’s going to be a good place, but I also expect there to be a rough time because you have to cross the rough sea before you can get to the other shore,” she reflects. “The rough times have always brought me good things later.”
Today, her 102 year old father is her inspiration. He’s living proof that you can always re-invent yourself, find enlivening purpose, and create relationships, again and again.
Translating old letters from German to Spanish (for the original edition) as she supported her father to write his own story, she also discovered more of herself. When she read that her grandfather wrote to her then 16-year old father, after being separated to escape Nazi persecution, that “Work is the holiest mission of man,” she saw herself in that perspective.
Referring to her “B side,” the life that is not as visible and happens outside of the realm of work, Haymann is looking for how to more deeply integrate all sides of who she is. Her “B side” passions include physical movement, nature, and writing.
Her passion for movement has gone from trekking, dancing and competitive skiing as a child to becoming immersed in Martha Graham technique to being certified as an Iyengar Yoga teacher to finding a love for free flow movement in Five Rhythms. While Iyengar yoga is about alignment, structures, weights, precision and tensions that mirror architecture, she’s moved towards a purer emotional expression in movement.
“I started working at a time where most feminine aspects didn’t have a place. So I put them on the side, and kept developing them because they’re extremely important. I think that’s why I find myself drawn to movement,” she says. “Movement is medicine. It’s an amazing self-knowledge tool, a place to go when emotions are driving, and a way to understand myself. I pray to move until the day I die.”
Her other big love is nature, reminding us we are both so small and capable of so much. She calls crossing the Andes Mountains on horseback and camping in the open air her “most luxurious trip” – not for the facilities, but to hold witness to the immensity of nature and the human spirit that would dare to cross mountains.
With her father being one of few living veterans of World War II’s 100 million fighting soldiers, she realizes that some stories reveal their layers and gain significance only with time.
“When we’re in middle of it, we’re just living. We’re doing our thing,” muses Haymann. “It’s only when we take a long-distance view that we start seeing the lessons and the value in all we’ve done. Things take on a different perspective. Perhaps that will also inform my next phase.”
By Aimee Hansen
How to Lead your Team Successfully at Work by Building Trust
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!The report also found that low trust workplaces often mean that people have to spend time navigating office politics. There have been decades of research into all aspects of the workplace, team performance being a dominant one. One person who has researched trust and dysfunction in teams is Patrick Lencioni who wrote the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
The book lists these dysfunctions as absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Absence of trust focuses on the lack of vulnerability based trust which leads to team members not willing to be open with teammates on things like admitting mistakes or weaknesses. Fear of conflict connects to trust as it involves team members being comfortable contradicting a teammate and debating topics. Lack of commitment happens when members’ ideas aren’t being taken into account. Avoidance of accountability is when peers don’t hold each other accountable for living up to the standards of the team. The final dysfunction is inattention to results in which individual team members are more focused on their own results than the team results. Many of these dysfunctions can be addressed by making sure psychological safety is present in the workplace.
The current definition of psychological safety was coined in 1999 by Amy Edmondson and is defined as, “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” In a recent study by Yuanqin Ge, it was found that employees that felt a sense of psychological safety in their workplace could speak more openly and often, provide their opinions to help decision making in teams and feel comfortable enough to share their ideas with managers. All of these outcomes are based on trust.
How can you apply psychological safety? According to Timothy Clarke, whose model is based off Edmondson’s 1999 research, there are Four Stages of Psychological Safety which include:
What Can You Do to Encourage Psychological Safety In Your Own Team?
Don’t put all the emphasis on being the “perfect” team where no mistakes are made and everything is always right. It’s understandable to strive for that as a leader, but it’s not exactly feasible. All of your employees are human and humans cannot be perfect all the time, as much as we may want to be. Studies show that a perfectionist boss has negative effects on motivation, effort, and willingness to work. Let go of your perfectionism a little and allow your employees to make mistakes and learn from them. Try to avoid anger in blaming the person and instead look for ways to rectify the situation. In doing so, you not only show your employees that you trust them enough to learn from this and not do it again but also show your team that coming to you with a mistake will not result in being berated by authority.
Try to create a space where everyone can say what they believe needs to be included in a discussion. Remind your team that their input is appreciated and cherished. Attempt to hear people out when they are sharing, instead of dismissing them with answers like “yes, but…” or “You don’t know enough context to understand this situation.” Instead, ask them questions and invite participation in a non threatening way such as “What point of view could we be missing?” and be willing to accept criticisms. It may help to even set up meetings with a portion for playing the devil’s advocate and addressing those concerns as a group. Making sure that your employees feel as though they are being heard can encourage them to continue speaking up and bringing unique ideas and solutions to the table.
Build a team where no one is afraid to ask each other for help. Make it the norm that coworkers encourage each other and have that begin with you. Try to schedule times for your team to spend time together and focus on feedback and appreciation. Make sure you let your team know you appreciate them and are supporting their development personally and professionally. Do this as well as events like happy hours or fun team building activities so your employees can let loose a little. You are with these people 35+ hours a week. Knowing more about them and feeling safe around them will make working with them more enjoyable and productive.
The addition of psychological safety can do wonders for increasing trust in your team. Trust and safety go hand in hand in making sure your workplace is one that can flourish and perform to its highest standards. Applying these few examples can make huge strides towards a more productive and happy work environment for your team.
By Chloe Williams
How Habit Stacking Can Help Busy Executive Women Supercharge Their Success
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!Habit stacking is a life saver for executive women who want to improve their personal or professional lives without sacrificing the quality of what they currently achieve on a daily basis. It’s a low-stress way to supercharge their success without taking time away from other tasks.
What is Habit Stacking?
Everyone has habits, whether you realize you have them or not. Choosing to pour cereal before your milk, what you reach for first in the morning and how you travel to work are all habits.
Some habits are neutral and don’t impact your quality of life. Others, however, could contribute to your stress, fatigue and well-being.
Research shows that only half of people keep their New Year’s resolutions, showing how bad humans are at creating positive habits. Habit stacking is a way to hack that.
Habit stacking connects your desire to improve your organization habits, heath or leadership skills to a pattern you previously established. You get used to performing the task while doing the one you’re used to, and you form a new habit. You can create positive habits by consistently doing them simultaneously and in the same setting.
By connecting a new habit to an old one, your brain combines the two and the new behavior gets ingrained. Author S.J. Scott popularized “habit-stacking” in the professionally-backed book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less. Since then, it’s become a tool for people to accomplish their goals.
Here are five ways habit stacking can help busy executives.
1. It Increases Focus
When you habit stack, you can improve your ability to focus on essential tasks. It can be hard to complete the steps in your routine without your mind wandering to other things you must do. Habit stacking is a great way to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into your life, helping you focus on the present moment.
Introducing a new habit into your life can seem daunting. Since habit stacking connects the new task to another routine, it is easier to add to your life. Instead of stressing about not doing it, you can focus on how well you’re doing with the new habit and what you can improve. For example, if you want to start bullet journaling, you can do so while you wait for your morning coffee to brew.
2. You Can Better Commit to Your Goals
Habit stacking makes it much easier to commit to what you desire. Sliding things into your other habits instead of creating a separate one makes achieving your goals easier.
If you want to stay hydrated but forget to drink water, habit stacking can help. Stack drinking a glass of water as you check your email. Doing so will help you meet your hydration goals without interfering with other parts of your day.
3. It Helps You Stay Organized
As an executive, you know the organization is a must. However, staying consistently organized is easier said than done. Habit stacking can be an excellent tool for managing your office and being punctual for important meetings and events.
With habit stacking, you can condition your brain to put things where they need to go and adequately prepare for your activities. Putting your pens back in their drawer is easier when you stack it by shutting down your computer for the evening. You can put your files away when you walk out of your office for the evening. Stack the things you often forget with the things you don’t for success.
4. You Can Effectively Prioritize
If you want to change your priorities but get stuck in a negative routine, habit-stacking can help. Connect one of the positive habits to your negative ones. If you bite your nails to handle stress, you can stack it to get up and take a walk. Eventually, the nail biting habit could turn into taking a walk instead.
As an executive, it can be hard to juggle important tasks, but by stacking the most important ones with your routine, you can complete them with haste.
5. It Promotes Healthier Coping Mechanisms
Life gets stressful, especially with the responsibilities of managing a company. Stacking your habits can help you introduce positive coping mechanisms to reduce stress. For example, you could listen to a chapter of your favorite audiobook while prepping your lunch.
Self-care is a vital tool for everyone, especially when you have the responsibilities of being an executive. The industry still has inappropriate biases, making you work harder for success. Incorporating habits that aid your body and mind can help you feel less stress, reduce symptoms of mental illness and allow you to live a more peaceful life.
Using Habit Stacking to Supercharge Your Success
Habit stacking effectively adds healthy habits into your life that support your personal and professional growth. Connecting a current pattern with one you want to implement can start you on the path to success.
By: Beth Rush is the career and finance editor at Body+Mind. She has 5+ years of experience writing about the power of human design to reveal entrepreneurial potential and time management strategies. She also writes about using the emotion of awe to activate our leadership prowess. You can find her on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth Rush.
(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).
Sherin Dawud: CEO at Nura Co. and Co-Founder at Power Pump Girls
People, Voices of ExperienceSocial Impact IS the Bottom Line
“As a child, my mom was huge on service to the community. And it was because we came from a low-income family in which we relied on donations for Christmas gifts and jackets and meals,” says Dawud, who grew up in Northern Louisiana. “As we became better-off, it was a repayment to serve the community. My parents instilled this deep in me, and I’ve always had a heart for serving people.”
Along with her co-founder and business partner Raina Vallot, Dawud has been carving her leadership path based on prioritizing social impact in both the non-profit and business world in Louisiana.
Power Pump Girls, Inc. is the duo’s non-profit 501 C3, a social impact club whose mission is to empower women to connect and serve. One of the key initiatives since 2018 focuses on menstrual equity to address the issue of period poverty. Those who do not have access to period care products – either through inability to access or afford – often resort to homemade solutions, resulting in damaging impacts on health and self-esteem. The team provides dignity, education and products (pads, cups, liners, tampons) to those who lack access – from women on the street, to girls missing school, to those who are incarcerated. Across several partnerships with organizations, Power Pump Girls has distributed many tens of thousands of products to the community. They’ve also advocated successfully to have the pink tax (the tax on feminine care products, diapers and other predominantly female purchases) removed statewide. Based in the hurricane, flood and tornado prone areas of southern Louisiana, Power Pump Girls also focuses on disaster relief and promotes civic engagement among women in the capital voting district of Baton Rouge.
But social impact is not only for non-profit work. As “social innovators” who are “fueled by servant leadership,” Dawud’s and Vallot’s marketing and impact consultancy Nura Co won’t accept projects from organizations unless they are focused on impact for people within the organization or the community because as Dawud puts it, “we will not be passionate about your work.”
Instead, they help organizations who are either seeking support for social impact initiatives or consultancy on creating more ways to serve or grow people.
Leaving to Lead On Her Terms
Going into agency life after graduating in 2012, Dawud was disillusioned, but not dissuaded, by her early experience in the workplace. Not only did she feel the culture lacked the inclusiveness she craved, which led her to begin an employee resource group (ERG), but she found her own leadership style rubbed up against the status quo.
“The environment wasn’t conducive to my leadership style. While I am a very firm woman, I am definitely compassionate and lenient in areas where I felt like my male counterparts were not, so my style of leadership was perceived as a little too soft,” reflects Dawud. “I felt there’s compassionate ways to handle people and things. Because I refuse to change who I am as a person in the way that I lead, I decided to leave.”
And that’s when she decided to start her own organizations: “I wanted to prove to myself that I didn’t have to change my leadership style in order to be successful at the things that I enjoy doing. So fast-forward and and we’re doing that and we’re doing it successfully.”
Defying the Narrow Boxes
With a mother from rural Georgia and father from Jordan, Dawud describes herself as half Jordanian, half Palestinian, half Black.
“I grew up in a bi-racial household that also celebrated two different religions. Outside of giving me a worldview of people, and understanding we really are all the same, it also gave me autonomy of choice early on,” reflects Dawud. “I started making big decisions while being offered multiple choices: You are Black and you are Arab. Are you Muslim or are you Christian? Nobody else was living like this. They were one race or one religion. Many times, I questioned if I had to choose one or the other. And then I decided: no, I can do or be all things.”
It’s not only that she didn’t want to be boxed in. Dawud remembers comparing her Arab cousins to her Black cousins, who all liked pizza, video games and going outside to play. “When you dive deeper and you’re looking at all the people in your life, everybody is the same. We all believe in the same big concepts of love and equality.”
This is what Dawud feels is her mission: “I have a heart for people, and have always felt the need to want to close the gaps in understanding between us. Lots of people feel two sides of a coin separate us when, in actuality, it doesn’t.”
Defying preset boxes has come into her professional life, too: “People have said to me, ‘you just need to focus on one thing, so what is the thing that you’re going to focus on?’ It’s just another box. My thinking is if you can only focus on one thing, let that be your limitation. It’s not mine.”
She continues, “I’ve been latching onto the concept of being multifaceted. I can be anything and everything I choose to be, as long as I have the mental and emotional capacity to do those things. When I don’t, I don’t do them anymore.”
Enjoying The Process and Embracing Failure
Dawud says her early confidence to launch on her own “goes to my mom, single-handedly.” While growing up, she watched her mother go for opportunities outside of her immediate reach, come up with new ideas and inspire everyone around her. But most of all, even through failure, she never traded in her energy, passion and excitement around exploring how to make new ideas happen.
“Witnessing her gave me the audacity and strength to jump in and make decisions, and to know that failure is okay, because you can always get re-energized again. I picked up that it didn’t matter whether it worked. The process is fun and inspiring,” says Dawud. “So I adopted enjoying the process, and then I’ve adapted that by also considering, how do I execute and make it sustainable so I do not have to fail? And if I do fail, how do I shift and pivot from those failures?”
Embracing failure was contrasted by her father’s immigrant frame of overachievement and success. That influence helped her know she could figure things out: “It goes back to that duality in my household and being able to draw from these two things that were starkly different. I can make them work together and do both.”
Patience, Communication and The Pivot
Inclined to throw herself into future-focused ideas, Dawud feels her business partner balances that out with structure and processes to actually make them happen, a necessary complement her mother did not have. Along with Vallot’s partnership, patience and communication have been key learning curves to ground her ideas towards success.
“I think so far ahead and I’m so inspired by the next thing, that often I haven’t given everybody else the opportunity to settle their footing in the current moment,” she says. “I feel like we’ve got it, and I can run up ahead and grab more. That’s always my mentality, so I’ve been learning the value of patience and moving slower.”
Dawud notes some of the compulsion to chase the next opportunity comes from imposter syndrome and the insecurity of comparison, and she’s had to outgrow that. She’s also had to learn to communicate better.
“Often I can see this great idea up ahead, but I’m not pausing to communicate in a way that people can understand,” reflects Dawud, “so they can also be inspired by it and add to the idea in ways I can’t see.”
But perhaps what has been most valuable so far is embracing ‘the pivot’ – turning towards, in whatever way it is, where you need to go.
“There’s power in the pivot. You can’t get stuck. You don’t want to plateau. You always want to stay fresh and connected. Pivoting is inevitable. You can’t not pivot, and if you feel like it’s not working, that’s your sign,” advises Dawud. “For every single problem, there is a solution. You just have to spend enough time to let it present itself. Sometimes, the solution is a tweak. But recognize where you are – and be willing to turn where you want to go, in whatever you are doing, whether it’s a 180 or a few degrees.”
The Value of Intuition
As a girl, Dawud’s mother spoke to her about the power of her intuition: that she could pause, listen to it and then stay with it long enough to get comfortable hearing the voice. As she’s grown older, Dawud has more deeply embraced the value of truly connecting with herself.
“I don’t think I would be as successful as I am, or where I am in my life, if I wasn’t directly connected to my intuition, because a lot of our business decisions are guided by that,” says Dawud. “And there are also the times when I realize I did hear it, but I didn’t listen. There’s a value in that, too. What part of what you heard made you decide not to go with it? If you can build the relationship with your intuition, you become more accurate.”
Outside of her multi-cultural home, Dawud is most inspired by women who are overcoming the societal odds to chart new paths – such as Sevetri Wilson, the first black female tech founder in New Orleans to close a 7-figure round of funding. Dawud has noted she’s inspired by the stories of women’s journeys and insights as they’ve risen into impact.
And so it goes, Dawud lives up to what she’s inspired by.
By Aimee Hansen
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and How to Address Them
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!Lencioni argues that trust is foundational for teams. Without the basis of trust, dysfunctions will not be able to be resolved. Research from the Harvard Business Review found that people who work in places with high trust levels reported 106% more energy at work, 76% more engagement, 74% less stress, 40% less burnout, 50% higher productivity and 29% more satisfaction with their lives compared to those at a low trust workplace. Low trust workplaces often have to deal with, and navigate, office politics. Resolving the absence of trust dysfunction is crucial to resolving the later dysfunctions. Each dysfunction is based on the resolution of the previous dysfunction and cannot be mastered out of order. For example, if your team shows lack of commitment, it is likely that there is also a fear of conflict from some, if not all of your team members. When a member doesn’t feel as though they can disagree and create conflict with a coworker, they will not be fully committed to the solution proposed because they were never able to weigh in their own opinions.
So how can you tell which dysfunction your team is stuck at and what can you do to resolve it? Here are some examples for each level:
Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust
Teams with absence of trust may:
What can you do to address it?
Addressing lack of trust can:
Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict
Teams that fear conflict may:
What can you do to address it?
Addressing fear of conflict can:
Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment
Teams that have a lack of commitment may:
What can you do to address it?
Addressing lack of commitment can:
Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability
Teams that have an avoidance of accountability may:
What can you do to address it?
Addressing avoidance of accountability can:
Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results
Teams that have an Inattention to Results:
What can you do to address it?
Addressing inattention to results can:
All of these dysfunctions take time and effort to resolve. You have to start at the beginning of the five dysfunctions and work your way through them all to create a truly functional team. If you find that your team is exhibiting dysfunctions of one stage and they can’t seem to be overcome, try taking a step back and looking at the dysfunction level before it. You may find that your team’s problem lies there. Sometimes moving backwards is the only way to avoid an obstacle (or dysfunction) and move forward. Use these tips and ideas to work on creating the trusting, highly functioning team that businesses should aim for and see if the research done by the Harvard Business Review rings true for you.
By Chloe Williams
Op-Ed: Want to be a CMO? Learn to Pivot.
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!I grew up playing basketball, and a pivot is a classic move in which the player stops, holds the ball, and looks around for an opening on the court. You can apply this move in your job and your career. It requires you to stop and evaluate potential next moves. You have to stop the daily grind and evaluate. The more you look around, the more opportunity you find to make the next big move. And, making a big move is the way that you help to accelerate your career and the success of your team.
Here are five ways you can actively bring a pivot-first mentality to your career:
There are similarities between these examples and all of them ladder up to mindset. The key to bringing the pivot forward is to be constantly learning, understanding the world around you and then leveraging that knowledge to help those within your team and company. The more you scale and grow yourself, the better you will be able to find roles that interest you and a career with exponential growth opportunities.
Marcy Comer is the CMO of the EagleView Commercial Business, a role she stepped into after leadership roles at Amazon, Sears, 7-Eleven, Dosh, and Spruce. As a leader who has worked across B2B, B2C, B2B2C and D2C, she has developed a perspective for herself and her team on what it takes to succeed. Her unconventional approach is this: focus on the pivot.
(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).
Sylvana Quader Sinha, Founder and CEO of Praava Health
People, Voices of ExperienceIn 2014, Sinha left a promising career in international law to focus on the creation of a new disruptive, innovative healthcare company. The decision was prompted by a health scare her mother faced during a family visit to Bangladesh for a wedding; the challenges associated with the emergency appendectomy put Sylvana up close with the shortcomings of the healthcare system in that country.
Prior to founding Praava Health, Sinha led diverse, interdisciplinary teams in international law, business, development, and government relations at major international law firms (Gotshal, & Manges, LLP and Lovells LLP), management consulting firms (Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers), the World Bank in Kabul and Afghanistan and New York, and think tanks in the Middle East and South Asia.
She conducted research on business and human rights issues for the Special Representative to the UN Secretary General, held the position of social protection specialist at the International Labour Organization, and served as a foreign policy advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama. Today, Sinha is also a PATH board member and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Currently serving more than half a million patients, Praava Health’s tech-forward model is designed to be efficient, accessible, and scalable across emerging markets, where 85% of the world lives. Praava’s work has been featured by Forbes Magazine and Financial Times and was recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea in 2020. In 2021, the World Economic Forum named Praava Health a Technology Pioneer, and in 2023, they were named a Global Innovator.
Sinha shared with The Glass Hammer her experience as an emerging market entrepreneur and CEO in a male-dominated field and why she’s using her voice to speak out about the challenges women-led businesses face in emerging markets, particularly when it comes to raising capital.
On taking the wheel to improve healthcare in Bangladesh:
“I spent about a year at the beginning of this journey learning all the pain points of the healthcare system in Bangladesh and talking to patients and those involved in the delivery of healthcare, both in Bangladesh and all over the world. It was like a year long global listening tour.
“The more I dug in, the more I saw how deeply-rooted the problem was, and the more obsessed I became with trying to solve it. Candidly, I didn’t find anyone who both cared about solving this problem as much as I did, and had the global networks and local resources to be able to affect change.
“I came across a lot of people who complained about different parts of the system with no plans to do anything about it. Then, there were those who wanted to solve the problem but didn’t have the right skill sets to contribute. I felt that with my experience as a leader and as a global professional, I had the skills, tools, and access to make a difference. I had access to global leaders and innovators in healthcare that we were able to learn from, adapt the global best practice lessons and bring them back to Bangladesh.
“I’d been looking for ways to make more of a direct impact through my work, and I just felt like this was the opportunity I’d been seeking. This was the thing that was the culmination of all of my skills – managing international risk, managing political and economic risk in an emerging market, and having a direct impact, changing lives on the ground. All of those things together inspired me.
“The problem just seemed so big, and I somehow had the naive courage to think that I could do something about it. I became obsessed with solving this problem.”
On what drove her desire for more direct impact:
“I was on the ground in Afghanistan, but I was working in these large organizations and there was so much bureaucracy that was crippling us, as close as we were, from being able to have an impact. These large organizations are so challenged by their own size and by their own systems that it becomes hard to create change. I thought, maybe you have to just build it from scratch.
“Also, from the early stages of my career as a 22-year-old management consultant and junior lawyer – and throughout my career – I worked for men. In particular, when I worked in the services industry, the men were always pitching business to clients, and I remember they would always claim they could do things that we had never done before. I knew, because I was part of their team, that these were things they’d never done before. But then I realized we could do it. We would sell the business; then, we would go learn, and we would do it. And as a woman, just like many other women I know, I feel like we don’t like to claim we can do things until we’ve already done them.
“This experience taught me that, with the help of a skilled and motivated team, I can learn, and I can make things happen. With the right people, we can build the airplane while we’re flying it.”
On how Praava is disrupting the standard of healthcare in Bangladesh:
“The big challenge in Bangladesh is that in addition to the huge gap in terms of the quality of healthcare, there’s also a changing demographic. We now have a very quickly growing and urbanizing middle-income population.
“We have a country that was traditionally more dependent on foreign aid and charity to provide healthcare for our citizens, and just a generation ago, Bangladesh was considered one of the least developed countries in the world. But now, it’s one of the fastest growing economies. This means more people are accessing the private sector for healthcare. But the private sector is largely unregulated and offers very dramatic variations in terms of the quality of healthcare.
“I think the public system does a really good job in terms of prioritizing primary care. But for anything beyond basic vaccinations and deliveries, the masses are accessing the private system. In Bangladesh, 72% of health spending is coming from the private sector. And this is true across South Asia. In most countries, the opposite is true – the health funding is mostly coming from the government, but in South Asia, the private sector is driving the growth.
“The very specific pain point is providing quality healthcare at an affordable price point. When Praava entered the market, the average amount of time doctors spent with patients was 48 seconds. There were only four international standard labs for a country of 170 million people. And 20%+ of drugs in the market were counterfeit.
“What Praava offers, at an affordable price point, is a one-stop shop for all of your outpatient healthcare needs that’s truly at a world-class level: The doctors are practicing protocolized medicine and spending at least 15 minutes with each patient. Our lab meets international standards. Our pharmacy guarantees that there are no counterfeits because we source directly from manufacturers. We’re the only player that owns the outpatient healthcare experience and the only player that does so with both in-clinic physical services, as well as remote and virtual care. While there is still work to be done, we’re contributing to positive change.
“One of the greatest rewards has been hearing stories from our patients about how we’ve been able to change their lives. A lot of people say they never thought they could have healthcare like this in Bangladesh. They thought they would have to travel abroad. To hear that feedback is extremely rewarding and gratifying.”
On how her experience has prepared her to be an emerging market entrepreneur:
“This role is the confluence of all of the different things that I’ve done, particularly when I’ve been forced to manage uncertainty. I think my legal training gave me a framework for how to think in general and how to think about solving problems in a really methodical and logical way. My experience as a management consultant, and working in war-torn regions such as Afghanistan, helped me to learn how to navigate uncertainty methodically, how to problem-solve, and how to be constructive.
“Also, as a lawyer, advising clients on managing risk in investing in new countries and legal disputes in those markets helped prepare me. And my experience working in U.S. foreign policy allowed me to consider how different people think about the world and how Americans, in particular, see the rest of the world.
“The resilience of continuing to fight against daily, or even hourly, ups and downs is what I feel came from all of my various experiences.
“There’s an obsession with very young entrepreneurs, like Mark Zuckerberg, who quit college and go off to start their companies. “But I think building a new scalable business is really, really hard. I don’t think I could have done it when I was in my 20s. There’s a lot of evidence that the most successful entrepreneurs are people who start their companies in their late 30s and early 40s. I started when I was 37. I think that coming to entrepreneurship a bit later, after I had done a lot of different things, made me much more prepared for the resilience and patience that was required and is still required for what we’re building.”
On why we need to (sincerely) fund women entrepreneurs in emerging markets:
“My biggest surprise of this journey is how hard it has been to get funding. I really thought that if we proved the economics of our business, investors would want to invest. Once we prove our value proposition, investing should be a no-brainer. Well, our unit was profitable in ten months, as of November 2018, and I quickly discovered that it’s entirely untrue that proving the economics of your business alone is enough to get investors to invest.
“It’s been eye-opening for me to learn that 80% of venture dollars go to companies headquartered in New York, Massachusetts, and California – still sees the rest of the world as a charity case, not a place to make money.
“So that has pushed me to use my voice and platform to educate people on the opportunities that exist for emerging market entrepreneurs – and the overlooked opportunities financially, particularly for women. The amazing thing about emerging market businesses is you have an opportunity to make money and to have a big impact. Telling that story in a truly compelling and impactful way has been a challenge.
“As an American woman who moved to Bangladesh for the first time in my life to start this company, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for women entrepreneurs to access capital. There’s a lot of micro-money for women in emerging markets and outside the United States. But there’s not a lot of money for women to scale their businesses. There’s barely any, actually.
“When we hear about funding for women’s entrepreneurship and women-focused venture capital firms, unfortunately, it’s primarily U.S. and Europe-focused. Even Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda Gates, only invests in the United States.
“So the only way to help these countries stand up on their own and be less aid-dependent is to develop the private sector, which requires investment. And the only way to empower women in these countries is to help them build wealth. And the only way to build wealth is to have more access to capital.
“Women are not going to access power and be able to build their wealth if you only give them $10 a month to fund their micro-enterprises. That’s great. But once those micro-enterprises are ready to scale, at this moment, there’s no one to fund them.
“I’m still learning how to tell the story of how these problems are intertwined. Being a public figure and the public face of the organization is outside my comfort zone, so this role is really pushing me. But I realized these lessons are unique and need to be told.
I was at the Forbes 30/50 Summit on International Women’s Day in Abu Dhabi, which was supposedly one of the largest global gatherings of women leaders and innovators. Every single entrepreneur speaker was from America. The only speakers from outside the U.S. were focused on themes like human rights and charity.
“I found this offensive, and I gave that feedback. There are women leaders in other countries. There are female-founded unicorns in India. Canva was founded by a woman in Australia. We have to stop thinking that America is the center of the world. There are huge opportunities outside the U.S. Even BlackRock pointed out that in 2023, when you’re going through global recession, the only parts of the economy still growing are emerging markets.
“We must break out of thinking that the rest of the world needs charity, and America is where people make money.”
On leading in an industry where less than 15% of CEOS are women:
“Eighty-five percent of healthcare decisions for households all over the world are made by women. Sixty-five percent of health workers are women. I’ve always felt that being a woman ultimately makes me a better leader. It makes me better at building healthcare products for consumers and bringing the voice of women to the table. For that reason and so many more, we need more women leaders at the table.
“As a female leader, I think I have been both challenged and underestimated. I’ve been told directly by men who’ve been in the room when I pitch that I’ve been asked questions that investors wouldn’t think to ask men, and that investors challenge me and push back in ways they just don’t with men.
“But what I say about that, ultimately, is that it makes me a better founder. Because I have to have the answers to those questions. Knowing my business better is always a good thing. So yes, I’m sure it’s challenged me in ways that are not equal or fair. But ultimately, it makes me better and it makes my company better.”
On leveraging her voice and platform to challenge the status quo:
“I was at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that happens in January each year in San Francisco. It’s the largest healthcare investing conference in the world, though it’s mostly U.S. focused, and there was a panel of eight white men. How is this happening in 2023? This was 2023, and it was a panel talking about healthcare with eight white men.
“I think leadership is a double-edged sword for women. Because it’s harder for women, women don’t necessarily want to go after it. So you have fewer women going into leadership roles in this sector. Also, America likes seeing women-founded companies that are wellness-focused or fashion-focused. Those are important companies, and no disrespect to those founders, but I just think America is more comfortable with female founders for those types of businesses. We need to see more women leading financial services organizations and building companies that are providing basic services for consumers who are more than 50% women. We all have these needs in our life, so we need women’s voices to create the solutions.
“The lack of women in leadership in my field has pushed me to recognize that because there are so few women in these roles, I have to push myself to be out there more and to use my voice.”
On ‘walking the walk’ of valuing women in the workplace:
“An unexpected outcome of this journey has been recognizing the importance of valuing women’s work in business.
“During my first year as a founder, every single woman who worked for me – aged 22 to 40+ – on my team of 25 people got pregnant. This accounted for about half the team. It was a challenging year, to say the least. When one of my management team members came to me and told me she was also pregnant, she cried. I’m committed to being a founder who supports women, and while it was hard to manage, we did it.
“My team was able to rise to the occasion and create a workplace that truly supports women – even at a small startup with only 25 employees, we were able to succeed even with half the team out for three to six months in one year. And we are stronger for it. Providing the support women need to thrive in their careers IS possible.
“As an employer, I have now seen firsthand that women ask for less money and undervalue themselves. In our first year, a member of my management team asked for a certain salary, and we gave her what she asked for. Then, we did a market study, and I learned she was earning 30 to 40 percent less than the market, even though she had foreign experience at multinationals in the U.S. So I bumped her up – she didn’t ask for it, and she wasn’t going to. But it was the right thing to do.
“It’s so powerful to see the impact of the choices that create a supportive workplace for women. For example, during the pandemic, we did a lot of COVID testing through part-time consultants. When we discontinued some of their contracts, one of the women lab technicians begged us to find a job for her, explaining that she’d never worked in an organization that valued women the way ours does.
“This experience was so humbling. Frankly, I don’t know that I’ve been as intentional as I could have been about creating that workplace. But when the senior leadership of an organization has women at several points (at times, more than 50% of the management team), it trickles down.”
On why the world is waiting for women to step up:
“Our world has a lot of really big problems that need solving. I’m focused on one of them, but there are so many more that affect our day-to-day lives and our futures. We need people who are willing to take on these issues. We don’t get it right every day – I know I don’t – but what’s important is that we continue to have a positive impact. That’s what makes everything worth it.
“During a period in 2021, we were facing some regulatory challenges. It was a really dark time for me as a leader. I personally didn’t know how we were going to get out of this situation. As a resilient leader, I had faith we would but I didn’t know how.
“I do a lot of one-on-ones with people in the organization at all different levels, and I was doing more at this time to make sure the team felt supported, that we were being transparent, and that they had an opportunity to ask questions.
“In that time, I learned that they totally have faith in us as a management team. They know what we’re doing is the right thing and that we’re going to get through this. That was so inspiring to me to hear that and to see that in them. They were at risk of not even getting paid next month, but they were sure we’d figure this out. They were all so blasé about it and were just focusing on their regular day-to-day work. They put so much faith in me, and in us as a management team, that it was a great reminder that they believe in what we’re doing. What we’ve built is so much bigger than me or them, and it needs to be.”
On how she defines her own integrity as a leader:
“I think we’re always driven by treating each other well. I listen to this podcast series, Wiser Than Me, by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She herself is 62, and she interviews all women older than her. Yesterday, I was listening to the episode with Diane Von Furstenberg, and she said the only thing we can control in life is our character.
“This really resonated with me. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the markets. We cannot control whether investors are going to invest or not. But what we can control is the way we treat each other — from giving the security guard at the entrance of a building a friendly hello to the empathy and kindness we give our patients, it’s all about treating each other well. That’s always my guiding force – to be able to feel proud of how I interact with other people.
“There have been some hard moments where someone on my team has let me down, and I’m upset and disappointed. And these are the moments when we show who we really are. No matter what, leading in a respectful and dignified way is always important.”
Interviewed by Aimee Hansen
Spotlight on Asia Update: Women in Leadership
Career Advice, Spotlight on Asia, This Month's FeatureChanges in Women Executives
According to Grant Thornton’s Women in Business Report, for the first time all regions of the world have surpassed 30% of women holding senior management positions while the global average comes to 32.4%. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had the largest jump in women leaders from 37% to 40% making it among the top 2 regions for women in senior roles. APAC has increased to 32% and has outpaced North America (31%) for the first time in 5 years. It was found that India played a large role in this increase thanks to the 2020 government mandate that companies over 1000 employees must have at least one independent female director as well as the mandate for a minimum of six months maternity leave.
The Global Board Diversity tracker found that 84% of companies in Asia have at least one woman as a board member which increased from 73% in 2020 but still lags behind the global average of 93.4%. When looking at companies with at least two women, the percentage drops to 45.4% (78.3% globally) and with at least three the number drops to 17.5% (59.8% globally). Overall, women hold 14.8% of board seats in Asia, up nearly 3 percentage points since 2020. Comparatively, however, Asia is still trailing the global percentage of 26.9%.
Even if the numbers are not on par with the global average, they are still headed in a positive direction. While the numbers of women in leadership are increasing in Asia, some industries are doing worse than others. The technology industry is found to have the weakest profile of gender diversity at all levels. In Singapore, only 6% of executives are women and only 15% of board directors in tech are women. And worse, in Hong Kong, only 5% of executives are female and only 10% of directors are women. But Singapore and Hong Kong are not the only countries with prominent disparities in technology. Indonesia has the lowest share of women at any level employed at technology companies with only 22% compared to the women in the workforce at 32%.
The Boston Consulting Group and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority found that there are three “moments of truth” playing a key role in women pursuing careers in technology. These moments are their choice of major at university, their first job selection, and their decision to stay in technology as their career advances. The research provides suggestions as ways to combat the moments of truth for young women which include introducing the idea of technology as a major to high school aged girls to increase familiarity, providing programs that link university students to companies, and creating learning and development opportunities for women already in technology.
Though there are low numbers of women executives in technology in Asia, there are still trailblazing women leading technology companies in Asia. We chose three of the top leaders who are at the forefront of the industry to highlight. These three were all named among the Top 25 Women in Financial Technology of Asia in 2020 by the Financial Technology Report.
Paroma Chatterjee
Paroma Chatterjee is currently the CEO of Revolut which is a digital banking service app that includes many services like transferring money in 29 currencies, a debit card that enables cash withdrawal, crypto currency, as well as overseas medical insurance. Chatterjee received a Bachelor’s in Science with honors in physics from St. Xavier’s college then went to the Indian Institution of Management, Lucknow for a Post Graduate Diploma in Management. She began her career as a management trainee at Procter & Gamble. She then held multiple leadership roles at various companies before becoming Chief Business Officer at Via.com and Lendingkart. Now, Chatterjee is the CEO of Revolut where she builds and leads the company’s subsidiary in India. She hopes to continue to develop the subsidiary and build a talented team of people.
Cerulean Hu
Cerulean Hu is the Senior Vice President of Blockchain Engineering at Crypto.com in Hong Kong. Hu received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Hong Kong before starting financial technology journey as developer in algorithmic trading at HBSC. From there she became a software engineer at ANX International where she was also a team lead in finance and trading systems. She moved on to work at Equichain and FINCOVA as a senior software engineer. Then, in 2018 she joined Cyrpto.com as a Lead Blockchain Engineer and worked her way up to Executive Vice President of Blockchain Engineering. Crypto.com is an alternative to traditional financial service with the belief that “it is your basic right to control your money, data, and identity.” The company has 80 million users in 90 countries and offers products like the Crypto.com app and Visa card. Hu has been in this position for over a year and uses her previous leadership experience to continue to grow her team and in doing so, the company.
Jessica Tan
Jessica Tan is the Co-CEO, Executive Director and Executive Vice President at Ping An Group, China’s largest non-State owned conglomerate by revenue with an expansive portfolio including healthcare, financial services and automobile services. Tan completed her university schooling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in both economics and electrical engineering as well as a Master’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering. She began her career at McKinsey & Company as a consultant before working hard and being promoted to partner. She later joined Ping An Group as the chief information officer and worked her way up to the position of Co-CEO she holds today. Ping An groups hopes to expand their technologies globally and Tan hopes to help globalize professional services, such as the ability for remote doctors as seen with remote teachers. Outside of Ping An, Tan also holds memberships with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Securities of Future Commissions. She was also ranked 2nd Fortune’s Most Powerful Women’s international section while also making Forbes Power Women list in 2020.
It May Take Time, But It’s Worth It
While these successful women show advancement of women in Asia to high management positions is not impossible, it remains very uncommon. However, global research has shown that there is a positive correlation between companies in the top quartile of gender diversity and outperforming the other quartiles, from a total-return-to-shareholder’s perspective. These companies are 25% more likely to outperform lower ranked companies and better financial returns. When women match men’s participation in the workforce there is the potential for a significant financial gain. It is estimated to be roughly $12 trillion, or about 11% of the global GDP, lost while gender disparity is still present. Katie MacQuivey quoted in the Grant Thornton study, “It’s crucial that companies build a pipeline of diverse leadership across all levels and invest in long term programs to ensure success isn’t only focused on one point in time.” Having more women in executive positions would not only be beneficial to women but to the companies’ bottom lines.
By Chloe Williams
Wanda Woo: Partner, Capital Markets, Shearman & Sterling LLC (Hong Kong)
People, Voices of ExperienceDefining Her Own Growth Curve
Woo entered capital markets as a paralegal in 2004 after attaining a double degree in English literature and economics from the University of British Columbia. She planned to go the U.S. for her JD, but her trajectory was redirected after her father’s heart attack compelled a return to Hong Kong. Working as a paralegal with Linklaters in Hong Kong while studying undergraduate law via the University of London was not easy but her mentor at that time taught her to never underestimate herself.
“I made it, and it was painful, but I feel very proud of that process in the end,” says Woo. “I saw early on what I was capable of.”
Woo went onto join Shearman & Sterling for eight years as an associate, during which she had three children, and then after leaving for four years, she decided to rejoin the firm.
“It was destiny to have the opportunity to rejoin Shearman & Sterling as a capital markets partner. The timing couldn’t be better. The firm has really been the only place that has truly been very important for me throughout my career path. It’s like coming back home.”
Being a Mom of Three And a Partner
Woo confesses that she thought of resigning from Big Law after her first child, worried she would not be able to meet the travel and work demands, but instead the partner she worked for at the time encouraged her to instead take flexible arrangements.
“I’ve always found Shearman & Sterling to be very gender-equal, where male partners are working well with female partners, and very supportive. I couldn’t imagine another place that would have supported me so much when I was working in such an intensive field with three children.”
“It can be challenging, but I wouldn’t personally be a better mom if I was around 24/7,” says Woo of the multiple roles she balances.
She adds the importance of loving what you do, especially if you are carving your own possibilities: “If you have the passion for the work, there’s always a way. Pick the right field, pick the right industry, pick the right job that you have passion for.”
Doing The Work that Fulfills
“I always have felt like I belong to this industry,” says Woo. “You are always meeting new people or working on new deals or learning different business models. I really like transaction work because it’s a people business at the same time. That ability to contribute is what keeps me going – the work of helping corporate entities get listed and then being able to continue that relationship onwards.”
Woo feels most fulfilled by the companies she has helped bring to IPO status, to become publicly traded companies, and the amazing colleagues and clients she’s had a chance to work with over the past 17 years.
“For better or worse, I always say I am a bit obsessive-compulsive. I’m very motivated to finish the work, be on top of it, and respond quickly to inquiries or client requests,” says Woo. “Partially, I want to be able to return home to my kids. So, this obsessive quality has also helped me be efficient as a partner while also being a mother.”
Woo is especially good at handling conflict between stakeholders while also advising her clients through transactions legally – a skill of calmness that she picked up from watching partners that inspired her.
With three kids growing up to inherit this world, making a positive impact through ESG is important to her. “How to make an impact, give back to the environment and contribute to society is something I’m learning more about and sharing more about, beyond the notions of making money or having year-on-year growth.”
“In transactional capital markets law, the issuers may not know that ESG is something that will help them in the long run. But when we bring the ESG frame, along with the regulators, to these companies, they start to realize the impact they can make to society through these measures and policies,” notes Woo. “This is something to start earlier rather than later, so it becomes a part of your corporate culture, and is inviting to other stakeholders.”
Networking, Authentically
Since becoming a partner, Woo has moved from being more execution-focused to developing and stewarding client relationships. Having once pushed herself out of her comfort zone to seek partnership has helped her to push herself yet again.
“As a partner, people will ask you questions 24/7 and you have to be responsive. But the bigger growth area is to compel people to come back to you for more work and to assure them that you have them in your mind and heart as a client so you build that long-term relationship.”
“Now that I’ve been a partner for several years, I’ve realized networking is not really about wining and dining,” observes Woo. “It’s really about being authentic, reliable and trustworthy. I’ve always had these qualities I feel, but I had to learn to show people.”
Being Inspired and Inspiring Yourself
Woo has been most inspired by the lawyers before her that demonstrated integrity: “Being a good lawyer is never enough. They showed me what it means to be truly respectable and professional in all acts. They were doing the marketing work and actively engaging in the real work. It was never just about getting deals. The common quality in the figures I’ve aspired to is that they are still immersed and involved.”
Woo urges junior lawyers to not get too caught up on monetary rewards for early career efforts but to frame it as an investment in yourself as a lawyer.
“You’re not just getting paid for the job that you are doing. You are also getting paid for the experience that you’re earning,” says Woo. “The more you earn the better. You’ll be prepared for the next step. When I was a paralegal, I treated myself as an associate. When I was working as an associate, I treated myself as a senior. I went the extra mile, put in two hundred percent, so the partners could see what I could really do, and then they would give me more opportunities. Not everything you’re doing can be measured in monetary value.”
Recently back from a 2.5 month trip to China to check in with the clients and teams in Shanghai and Beijing offices, Woo values time with her parents, her partner and her children, who are now 9, 7 and 6 years old.
Woo prides herself on taking challenging situations and turning them towards her favor – and ranks being both a mother of three and Shearman capital markets partner high among those accomplishments.