Tag Archive for: career advice

Luvleen Sidhu, Co-Founder and CEO, BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank

Luvleen SidhuAs a successful entrepreneur, Luvleen Sidhu, co-founder and CEO of BankMobile, has learned firsthand the many challenges and satisfactions CEOs experience.

“While I am incredibly proud of my work leading this company, I’ve developed a new appreciation for the challenges leaders face. It takes a lot of patience and dedication, mixed with the understanding that you are probably going to have to change course along the way as you learn more.”

Finding the Creativity in Finance

Changing course comes naturally to Sidhu; although her dad was in finance, she initially pursued a premed path at Harvard. When she realized she preferred to follow in his footsteps, her parents gave her their blessing, and she began working at Lehman Brothers while still in school and joined full-time after graduation. She soon learned how fast things can change as her first day coincided with the bankruptcy. Fortunately, her role was on the hedge fund side so she was protected and stayed there for two years after it became Neuberger Berman. “It was a pivotal moment for me as I realized the fragility of the financial industry and also saw people who lost everything, a realization that has impacted me and helped influence what we do today.”

She then went to work at Customers Bank for a year, exploring digital bank models, then earned her MBA at Wharton. That’s where she got the entrepreneurial bug, which was reinforced by a project during a summer position in the financial services practice at Booz & Company, where she was helping a client strategize how to launch its own digital bank.

She got a full time offer to join Booz, which became part of PwC, and that’s when the concept of BankMobile came up, as a culmination of everything she had explored throughout her career to date. “As my classes showed, you have to find a need and see where you can do it better.”

Indeed, she saw an opportunity in banking where customers were lacking the experience they wanted, and she felt there could be a more affordable, transparent banking model that would be digital first—and also profitable.

Innovation Leads to Success

With that idea in mind, Sidhu partnered with Customers Bank to complement its strength as a small business bank and incubate BankMobile as a consumer digital bank. Since then she has overseen its monumental growth and was named “Fintech Woman of the Year” by LendIt in 2019, when the bank was also honored as “Most Innovative Bank.”

Currently she is excited about a strategy they are pursuing of white label banking for companies that want a unique way to attract, retain and delight customers. Since BankMobile has already identified the pain points, they can provide the end-to-end experiences that allows companies to offer their own branded banking services while avoiding the regulatory challenges inherent in becoming a bank. Already they are working with nearly 800 colleges, as well as T-Mobile.

That decision came from the realization that sometimes you have to pivot, and while you might not end up how you started, it can be just as meaningful. This business shift came after a year-and-a-half when they realized that while they wanted to create a brand that would resonate with their customers, the direct to consumer model was not going to be as profitable. “The choice was to stick with this consumer brand or pivot, which would allow us to still be true to the mission to create more affordable, transparent banking. We recognized that we can embrace a different way to accomplish our goals and mission, which brought about the change from B2C to B2B.”

Seeking Advice from Like-Minded People

Throughout her life, Sidhu has recognized the importance of mentors, starting with the superintendent of her high school and middle school who was a mentor to her then and has since started his own executive coaching company. In that role, he has provided her leadership team with coaching to help develop their thinking around core values and mission.

“He’s an eternal learner and having someone I’ve known throughout my life whom I trust and respect has been an important relationship,” Sidhu says.

She also counts her father as both mentor and role model. Currently he is CEO of Customers Bancorp, the parent bank, but previously he had helped grow Sovereign Bank, now Santander Bank, into a top national bank. “I love his patience and excitement. Even when things get tough, he is lighthearted and gets excited and energized by challenges. He rolls with the punches,” she says, adding that of course she also appreciates that he had given her a head start in learning about banking at a young age.

Today she also finds inspiration among her fellow CEOs as an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, which meets weekly to discuss current topics and share best practices. Throughout the COVID-19 situation, she has found it invaluable to hear how others are navigating similar situations in varied areas, such as communicating with customers and employees, cutting costs, negotiating leases, working with a remote team and most of all, protecting their health and that of their business.

Spirituality is very important to Sidhu, who starts every morning with 45 minutes of chanting. “It energizes me and helps me reflect and find clarity toward my intentions for that day and my life as a whole.”

by Cathie Ericson

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Geetha Neelakantiah, Senior Vice President of Business Development and General Manager, Semcasting

Geetha Neelakantiah featuredBuilding your ideal career can take a lifetime, but Semcasting’s Geetha Neelakantiah says she wishes there were more resources and guidance out there for younger people to get them started on the right path early on.

“Even in college, I wish I would have done more investigation into what else was out there—all the industries that are available,” she says.

While she fell into the perfect role for herself at Semcasting, which works across vertical industries, she thinks everyone should have the chance to get exposure to all aspects of business so they can decide what they’re most attuned to.

“Working for a large company is great, but it’s also important to understand how a business runs,” she says.

Exploring Her Own Destiny

That belief comes from her own process in finding the right type of job. While she is now drawn to the startup environment given its entrepreneurial mindset and out-of-the-box thought process, Neelakantiah initially graduated with an engineering degree. However, she decided to switch into accounting and finance and earned her master’s degree in those fields before eventually pursuing her MBA.

Through a robust focus on networking, she found startups in the dot.com days that needed her help—from consulting to part-time engagements—and would move to various companies as new, exciting opportunities became available. She was one of the early employees at her current company, which has been around for more than a decade, finding she could easily switch roles and use her skills in diverse disciplines—from finance and accounting to product development and sales and marketing.

“It has given me satisfaction to watch Semcasting grow and to imagine our potential continued growth as the industry changes. We are constantly at the forefront,” Neelakantiah says.

She believes that her background and perseverance in staying one step ahead and finding different opportunities will allow her to continue to help change the market and industry. Recently, she has been an integral part of building and designing a new product that they intend to launch in the coming months, and she looks forward to introducing it to her partners when the time is right.

“The marketing world is constantly changing, and I always work to stay on top of evolving marketing trends and privacy laws, ensuring we stay abreast of and even in front of changing laws. They are woven into our products as we introduce them,” Neelakantiah says.

Mentoring Others

Given her own uncertainty about the right type of path to pursue, Neelakantiah makes a commitment to talk to new hires and give them exposure to not only what they’re doing in their day-to-day roles, but also the bigger picture, so they can see the impact they are having for the brand and company’s success.

She appreciates the chance to help others since she didn’t initially have a lot of female role models. “You have to remember how you got to where you are and help women take ownership and figure out how to get where they should,” Neelakantiah says.

That’s why she believes it’s important for more seasoned employees to help younger ones who are just coming in; who might have held a few positions yet don’t fully understand the industry. “Often, they need guidance, encouragement and mentoring by someone who’s not their boss,” she points out.

“I work a lot but have a great private life at the same time,” Neelakantiah says, which is part of her mantra that it’s important to find the balance between your work and private life. “You can work the normal hours, but you need to ask yourself where you can optimize and make a bigger impact; in other words: working smarter, not harder.”

Knowing that she is “not a winter person,” Neelakantiah understands that spring, summer and fall are her times to enjoy, and she will alter her schedule as needed to ensure she can spend more time on herself during those months, doing what she loves.

She and her fiancé enjoy golfing, and she even plays with the LPGA Amateur Association, which allows her to have social time with friends while maintaining an element of competition.

But ultimately, she says, family and friends are what matter. “We are realizing that more than ever,” she says. “The work will be there, and we have to figure out how to create the balance.”

by Cathie Ericson

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The Value of Being Out as a Leader

LGBT flag_PixabayBy Aimee Hansen

With Monday’s ruling, this moment could offer a new permission slip for coming out at work for many.

In a victory landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that existing U.S. Federal Law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) protects LGTBQ workers from discrimination.

The statutory interpretation declared that the current prohibition of “sex” discrimination is inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Yet, for nearly half of us in the USA, being in the closet at work is a painful reality.

According to 2018 research by the HRC, 46% of LGBTQ+ workers in the U.S. remain closeted at work, only 4% less than the 50% figure ten years earlier.

Major factors for staying in the closet are fear of being stereotyped, fear of making others uncomfortable, fear of losing connections and fear of having attraction to others projected onto them just for being LGBTQ+.

Over 60% of all employees agree that spouses, relationship or dating conversations come up casually at least once a week, which can mean a lot of emotional energy on covering up. Yet, 50% of LGBTQ+ say that they know no openly out employees at their workplace. 28% admit that they lie during these conversations.

Fear of being unaccepted contributes to social avoidance at work (25%), feelings of unhappiness or depression (31%), distraction (25%) and emotional exhaustion (17%), among other negative impacts.

Not only does coming out require a sense of receptivity and support in the workplace, but also bravery, vulnerability and discernment.

It is only an individual choice, but it’s one that has positively surprised some major leaders who took the step.

Top executives speak to coming out of the closet

Top executives who are out offer personal insight on their coming out journey in Bloomberg, many reflecting retrospectively that the cost of not bringing their whole selves to work was too much… and they paid it for too long, perhaps unnecessarily.

Across stories, they express that while everyone’s experience is different, they wish they had known how much acceptance would show up for them once they decided to show up for themselves as LGBTQ+, unapologetically.

“I wish I had known earlier how well I would be accepted by my colleagues at Dow. I would have come out earlier, and my decision would have been far easier. I feared a lot of negativity that never came to fruition,” says Jim Fitterling, CEO of Dow, Inc, who came out only when already senior in the organization. “I would never tell anyone to come out when they don’t feel comfortable, but I know from experience there is a toll you pay when you try to hide part of yourself, and that the perceived pain of coming out is often worse than the reality.”

“I would say be yourself; bring your whole self to work. Please don’t go back into the closet—because you will be the one who fundamentally suffers for it,” says Inga Beale, ex-CEO of Lloyds of London. “And if you’re out at work, you and your business will benefit…I definitely, definitely regret not coming out earlier.”

Owning your LGBTQ+ belonging as an asset to the workplace

“I personally feel an enormous sense of responsibility to take that empathy and the fight I got from growing up different from the majority of the population in the world and draw on that to make sure that every space I’m in,” says Kim Culmone, Senior vice president, Mattel Inc in Bloomberg. “ I’m bringing the voice of perhaps the marginalized or forgotten community into that room of influence and power.”

Dr. Steve Yacovelli, author of Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle, identifies six traits that out LGBTQ+ leaders can leverage to magnify effectiveness as leaders, not only amidst your reports but overall in your greater leadership influence.

These include: being authentic, leading with courage, having empathy, effective communication, building relationships and influencing organizational culture – all of which are competencies that LGBTQ+ leaders more often have in spades.

“You see the concept of authenticity in generic leadership everywhere,” says Dr. Yacovelli, in OutFront Magazine, “and if I look at folks in our community living authentically as themselves, we’re already exercising that muscle just naturally by being who we are.”

Yacovelli notes,“…I’m seeing more folks saying leadership isn’t just your direct report or organizational structure, it’s about who you influence.”

LGBTQ+ leadership is good for business

The benefit to business of having LGBTQ+ in leadership is no secret.

Research across data for 132 countries has demonstrated that more human rights protection for LGBTQ+ people is good for economic development. Despite this, 70 UN member states still criminalize being gay, let alone being transgender or gender non-binary.

Coming out is foremost a personal decision, and one to be made by each of us.

But it’s also a true leadership choice that has the potential to expand beyond your personal experience to create a ripple rainbow effect within any organization and all who you interact with.

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You Know What You Want, But What Are You Committing To?

Aimee Hansenby Aimee Hansen

What desire or longing do you have?

Is there something you want to be, or do, or feel or have?

Is there something within that seeks to be expressed or experienced, or that calls for a change?

Okay, but what are you committing to? 

You may know what you want, but are you affirming your desire and moving towards it?

Often, we habitually commit to undermining our desires.

Until we bring this harsh truth into awareness, we might be working against ourselves. If you have a desire that you are not nurturing, asking yourself this question:

Instead of your desire, what are you actually committing to?

Ask in a day-in, day-out kind of way. Ask when it comes to your habits, actions, thoughts and beliefs.

Often, we are not aware or radically self-honest about what we are actually committing to instead of our true desires.

We think of committing to something as being intentional and deliberate investment towards a goal or agreement. But intention is not necessary.  In practice, repetitive habit alone creates commitment.

On a daily basis, we might “commit” to bottling up anger, people-pleasing, holding back our “no”, scrolling on our phone, over-working and perpetuating 24/7 availability.

Notice how the language “commit” usually refers to a mistake or a crime, whereas commitment refers to a focused dedication.

Take this example of how habit becomes commitment: activate screen time monitoring on your smartphone. How many hours a week are you committing to social media?

Without even realizing it, we do “commit” away from our desires much of the time. If you are dissatisfied in a persistent situation, you can step back and ask yourself what you have been committing to.

This question will often reveal some accountability at play, even if it’s as simple as continued acquiescence to and participation in a situation or circumstance you are not aligned with.

We often commit to a repetition of thoughts and actions that are tethered to our conditioning or our comfort zone or our fear.

What is happening now? 

Check in by asking what is actually happening now. Often, you are more committed to what is happening than what you say you desire.

Here are three examples:

Desire: to write a book
Reality: not writing it
Committing to: working overtime, spending time with your kids, scrolling on Facebook, Netflix before bed, going to the gym, reiterating beliefs about not being qualified, etc

Desire: to be promoted
Reality: stagnant in your position
Committing to: doing office housework, focusing only on skills that you feel comfortable and competent in, being productive rather than demonstrating leadership and delegation, waiting for recognition rather than active self-promoting, etc

Desire: a loving, supportive relationship
Reality: a confusing, uncommitted relationship
Committing to: chasing unavailable people, subjugating your own needs, sticking with what doesn’t work, rationalizing someone else’s behavior, fantasizing what could be rather than seeing reality, etc

As you can see, what you are committed to is not always a negative thing. However, sometimes it is self-sabotaging or shows a lack of faith that you could have what you want.

What can you do? 

Seeing what you are currently committing helps to reveal how you actually feel and what the braver action might be.
Perhaps it’s not the time to write that book based on what you value right now, so you can stop beating yourself over the head with “should”.

Perhaps you have not realized that you are hiding in your comfort zone,and you realize it’s time to start playing at the level you wish to reach.

Perhaps commitment to what you want you requires walking away from what is not good enough, with faith what you want will come.

In each case, it’s enlightening to see what you are actually committing to and whether that aligns with your true desires for yourself.

What are you believing? 

Also, consider whether your mind and heart are in coherence with your desire. There’s a reason why we commit to what we’re actually doing now, even if unconscious.

Our current behavior may match our sense of self-worth, or self-love or our conditioning around what is possible for us or what is normal. It may be rewarding at the egoic fear-based level.

We often want something and also hold limiting beliefs about why it is not desirable or possible, for us. We might hold beliefs that would make the realization itself hollow.

You want to write a book. But your idea about who a published author is doesn’t match your own sense of yourself.

You want a promotion. But you are also terrified the new role would just mean more anxiety.

You want a supportive, loving relationship. But you fear that relationship means compromise and you are too much for anyone.

Despite knowing what we want, some parts of our internal selves might run contradictory to realizing it, or even letting ourselves fully want it.

As Anne Lamott writes, “If you’re not enough before the gold medal, you won’t be enough with it.”

By asking yourself what you long for, observing what you are actually committed to (instead), and investigating the beliefs underpinning what you are habitually doing, you can gift yourself a wake up call.

And then, you can choose to re-orient your energies towards alignment with what you really want.

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You’re Not Forgotten – How to Stay Relevant When Working from a Distance

Laleh HancockBy Laleh Alemzadeh Hancock

Change is a natural part of living and business.

However, with the sudden and widespread changes catalyzed by the current global pandemic, and people required to work in isolation, it is impossible to continue business as usual without risk of quickly becoming redundant.

To stay relevant and thrive requires approach, starting with the willingness to step up to a new level of leadership – one that isn’t based on your or job title, but on your personal choice and demand to have a greater future, no matter what.

Sudden change of this degree is not necessarily comfortable, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or unpleasant. It can be a time of great growth and innovation.

Here are 4 key steps to lead from the front in unpredictable times, and from wherever you are currently working:

1. Be Present with What is Required Now

Fear in times of uncertainty can have a domino effect. With so many countries being impacted right now, perpetuating panic and doubt is counterproductive and even destructive. What was relevant in business yesterday no longer applies, so it is important to stay present and put your and your colleagues’ attention on what is possible now.

Ask questions to stay generative:

• What does my job and organization require of me, my colleagues and staff today?
• What are our clients looking for now?
• How do I position my skills, staff, projects and the organization so that we are relevant now and in the future?

Don’t assume that business will eventually “go back to normal” or function as before. It may, and it may not. Ask different questions, seek different perspectives, engage with new innovations and ideas. There are always more possibilities available than you think.

2. Engage, Engage, & Keep on Engaging

The world of telecommuting can put a wall between you and others, but it doesn’t have to. Multiple-participant videoconferencing platforms are available for connecting with ease, and the “old fashioned” way of picking up the telephone is more relevant than ever now! Look outside the box. Who can you engage with and what questions can you ask that will create more for you, your teams, projects, and wider business?

Also, recognize that messaging and email are ways of delivering information, they are not communication. Don’t misidentify or mistake them as a substitute for actual interaction.

Taken for granted patterns of relating to people and business at the office won’t work anymore, either. If there are places in your life and business where you have been sitting back, hiding, unwilling to be in front or have your voice, now really is the time to change it. Your awareness, creativity, ideas, and ability to look at new opportunities with and for your organization are going to be needed more than ever before, no matter your title.

Each day, ask, “How can I allow my difference to shine through and contribute in ways I’ve not considered before?”

3. Prioritize Your Body

The new demands of mixed work and homelife and the mental and physical stresses of adapting to them mean that finding outlets for nurturing you and your body are more paramount than ever. To better be present, engaged and empowered from a distance, you’ll require a degree of self-care that you cannot put on the backburner.

Step away from your work and life demands at regular intervals to relax and breathe for 5 minutes: Close your eyes, feel your feet on the ground, place your hands on your stomach, and breathe in. For 3 breaths, imagine pulling your breath up from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, through your body and deep into the earth. For the next 3 breaths, pull your breath up through the earth, your body and out the top of your head.

Move every day and connect with nature. From inside your house or go outdoors and let the sun, trees, and fresh air rejuvenate you. Check in with your body every day and take action early when you perceive tension or signs of fatigue.

4. Be the Leader of Your Future

To be essential and relevant, you must stop looking externally for answers or for others to choose for you. You have to be the leader of your life every single day. Don’t wait. Create!

Each day has new requirements and new possibilities. Mentally clear the slate every morning and don’t reference the past to create your future. Ask, “What is possible today that was not yesterday?”

For better or worse, the old world no longer exists. You can choose to hide, fade and become irrelevant, or step up, take the lead, and create greater.

Your willingness to be a different voice and a leader for a greater future is what is needed now more than ever. Ask questions, be present, engage, nurture your body and your future. With these choices, you’ll create more than you currently think is possible in business and life, no matter where you are or what is occurring.

Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock is a leadership and entrepreneurial coach, professional services consultant, personal wellness mentor, and founder and CEO of global professional services company, Belapemo. Laleh boasts 30 years’ experience in operational excellence, change management and business consulting, and has inspired and empowered millions of individuals including Fortune 500 executives, government agencies, non-profit organizations, athletes and veterans. A highly respected executive and leadership coach, Laleh has a particular interest in supporting and encouraging the leadership capabilities of women – in business, in the workplace, at home and in the wider community. She is featured alongside luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Melinda Gates, and Ginni Rometty in the 2019 publication, America’s Leading Ladies: Stories of courage, challenge and triumph. Follow Laleh.

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Op-Ed: From the Cold War to COVID-19: What I’ve Learned from My Front Row Seat

Lisa GableBy Lisa Gable

I’ve been fortunate to have had a front row seat at major inflection points in history, beginning with my time at the Reagan Defense Department during the final days of the Cold War.

I had actually transferred to the White House just a few months prior to Gorbachev’s 1987 visit. Later, I joined Intel Corporation and had a chance to work on a part of the Intel Inside® program, which changed consumer tech purchasing habits forever, leading to Intel’s dominant semiconductor market share in the 90s. My husband and I enjoyed the dot-com boom and thankfully survived the bust.

In 2004-2005, working closely with the auto industry, I hosted a hallmark Nagoya meeting between Toyota patriarch Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda and General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner. Our building was surrounded by hundreds of Japanese paparazzi as the companies battled it out for top global sales position with the Japanese automaker maintaining the edge. And in 2009, as obesity was emerging as a global health risk, I worked with 16 food and beverage company CEOs to help reduce 6.4T calories from 35% of the food sold in the United States.

As an observer, a participant and a leader during times of historic change, I learned to plan for multiple scenarios when redesigning and building high-impact, sustainable operations. Here’s what I know about managing through an inflection point:

• Always plan for disaster. Anticipate that at some stage, something will fail and determine whether or not the systems you have built will survive significant fallout from political or economic events, regulation or new competition. The question I ask daily is, “If we have the worst market crash tomorrow will we be able to sustain our core research infrastructure?”

• Hire smart people and help them move quickly by moving boulders out of their way.

• Look for opportunities to partner with other organizations to decrease costs by supplementing existing activities, creating new channels or outsourcing lower-yielding but well-loved legacy initiatives.

• Run as fast as you can. Do not slow down. You only have a short window of time in which to build and you need to move quickly.

• Preserve cash. Organizations who maintain lean operating systems and build reserves have the highest probability of riding out the worst market.

In 2018, when I joined FARE [Food Allergy Research and Education] as its CEO, rather than experience an inflection point, for the first time I may have created one for the organization. With a remit to restructure the organization and facilitate high-net-worth donor and industry investment to drive therapies and diagnostics into the marketplace to meet the needs of an underserved patient community, in 12 months we received $75M in commitments and put into place a cash conservation plan.

Now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and even as some states and businesses prepare to open, at another inflection point. You simply never know when the inflection points will arise, yet here we are again as organizations try to pause to help others, while doing their best to stay relevant and generate revenue to support the needs of populations they serve.

Today, my staff knows that all ideas are on the table as we meet 2020 objectives in unanticipated ways. We are culling through my archives of the most innovative concepts executed by former teams during opportunity and crisis as we look for that kernel of a concept that can be reimagined and extended. Interestingly, we are finding that ideas gleaned from science fiction, spy novels and murder mysteries sometimes lead to the next new idea. We take thoughts and play them out in a 100 percent digital engagement or a combination concept like 10 and under in-person salons connected via Zoom across the country. And we find our humor and celebrate wins daily.

As Andy Grove says: “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” While we are in the midst of a pandemic, and closures and work stoppages may seem disastrous, keep running and do your best to enjoy your front row seat. It will help for next time.

Lisa Gable is CEO of FARE, Food Allergy Research Education, the largest private funder of food allergy research advocating on behalf of the 32 million Americans living with potentially life-threatening food allergies. Lisa’s passion, expertise, and fearless workstyle have propelled her to achieve the titles of CEO, US Ambassador, UN Delegate, Chairman of the Board, and advisor to Presidents, Governors, and CEOs of Fortune 500 and CPG Companies worldwide.

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Vicki Brakl; Senior Vice President, Marketing, Training & Development; Meredith Corporation, MNI Targeted Media

Vicki Brakl Opportunity is often dependent on timing, says Vicki Brakl.

“If you have a good idea, speak up! Good ideas come from everywhere. What’s most important is for leaders to foster an open-minded environment where all ideas are considered.”

This is something Brakl has experienced throughout her career. She knows firsthand that people (including herself) frequently defer to those in senior positions as a sign of respect. What’s important to distinguish is that respect doesn’t indicate silence. This allows for the strongest ideas to be built upon for all to benefit.

Looking for New Challenges to Stretch her Talents

Status quo is definitely not something Brakl ever sought. In fact, she has always said yes to opportunities where she felt she could learn something new. She describes her career path as “winding”—always moving forward, based on curiosity and a desire to stretch herself along the way.

Brakl says she’s been lucky to never have had to “search for a job,” so to speak, and she attributes that to the fact that she has always done what she’s said she’s going to do; while it sounds simple, this work ethic can be in short supply.

“I want to work with smart, motivated, curious people, but also precise communicators and problem solvers who bring solutions and new ideas. I like to think that I’ve been that person to others,” Brakl says.

She found her ideal career through trial and error, including stints in the legal profession and investment banking. While the culture wasn’t for her, Brakl didn’t want to give up on business overall so she went to business school. After a full-time internship, she received a great job offer and cut her teeth on the client-side at one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies, giving her nine-years of experience. She then went to the agency side where she could work with different types of clients, from retail to pharmaceutical, and then on to a private equity group. All of these opportunities allowed her to learn and hone diverse skillsets.

Brakl’s current job came courtesy of a family friend who needed someone experienced in integrated marketing. Although she’d bought media and created strategic media plans, she’d never been on the sales side, but again, she relished the chance to try something new.

Helping Others Grow Their Careers

Throughout her career, Brakl points to several business successes—from pitching for huge budgets to unwinding companies and making clients whole. But what she’s most proud of is the  personal outreach of appreciation from those whose careers she’s touched. “It could be a note that they enjoyed working with me, or that a piece of advice I gave them sent them on a new course, or that they’ve found me to be an inspiring leader. These types of acknowledgments touch me most deeply because the personal relationships are what it’s all about.”

Providing that career upskilling is now an official part of her job, as she was recently promoted and added training to her purview. “For an organization of our size, training oversight is exciting because of the ability it gives me to touch people,” she says, adding that maintaining a strong culture is particularly important given their dispersed and diverse workplace.

“I’m excited about what a formalized training process can do to make a difference in uniting a company where people sit in home offices across 43 markets.” And in her new role, she intends to focus on providing ways for all employees to expand their knowledge base beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.

Brakl sees that the work world is moving more toward valuing productivity and results versus hours and thinks that will be a benefit to all, but especially to women. “You have to find the right place where you can work on your own terms in your own way. It’s not just about balance per se, but managing your life and career over the long haul in a way that’s sustainable.”

She encourages young professionals to ask for challenges in order to bolster their career. “When you are offered an opportunity, take it and run. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because that’s where the learning happens,” she says.

And while asking questions is important, so is speaking up in general. She cautions other women not to allow others to appropriate their ideas. She’s seen it all too often: you will offer an idea only for someone else to tweak it and play it off as their own. “Say it again and don’t let them get away with it. Gracefully bring it back to you with a calm remark such as, ‘As I said,’” she suggests.

Currently, two-thirds of the workforce at her company are women, with 60% at director level, and Brakl is one of four on the executive team. While the numbers continue to grow, she knows there can always be improvement and looks forward to making a difference in her new role.

Outside of work, Brakl is busy with her 5-year-old, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t learn something new by seeing the world through her eyes. “I try to harness her viewpoint and be as non-judgmental as a child. It has really  affected my perspective.”Yoga keeps her mind and body flexible; it’s just a matter of finding the time. Brakl notes that along with family, friends and keeping yourself healthy, that’s a full plate. “It all helps you be a better professional and mom,” she says.

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Happy Presidents Day: 10 “How to” Career Articles

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Nicki GilmourHappy President’s Day 2020. We are taking a publishing break this week to work on our new site behind the scenes that should be launching at the end of March. Look out for that. Also, as it is the school holidays for many, we urge you to smell the roses and spend time with those who matter and want to talk our own advice there too.

In the meantime, here is a selection of our favorite “how to” career articles. Career articles regarding “how to” never get old! Here are 5 picks that our readers liked most and have some of the highest readership figures over our thirteen years of bringing you the information that matters regarding how to navigate to the next level, beat the office blues and break your own glass ceiling:

Some were written a while ago but remain solid in their advice and relevancy. Enjoy and see you next week!

1.How to Survive a Re-Org and keep your career on track

2. Negotiation Tactics to close the gender wage gap

3. What to do when you feel undervalued at work?

4. Are you an “insecure overachiever?” stop the imposter syndrome

5. Who is on your Board of Directors?

6. Get Promoted in 2020!

7. Negotiate More Vacation Days!

8. Avoid Burnout with this article and this one too.

9. How and When to find a new job.

10. Use the Lattice not the ladder in your career.

Coaching is the ultimate career secret weapon and is where the rubber meets the road since advice is generic but coaching is specific to who you are and where you are.

If you want to be coached as a soon to be or a new leader or even just want to be even more excellent than you are today, then get in touch with Nicki  (nicki@theglasshammer.com) for a free exploratory chat to see if leadership or executive or career coaching is for you. Write coaching in the title of the email so you dont get lost in the pile.

We have a number of excellent associate coaches ( all Columbia University qualified) who can be matched with you, including Nicki who is also an organizational psychologist, looking at the systemic as well as the individual career enablers and de-railers.

Enjoy the week!

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5 Negotiation Tactics Women Can Use to Fight the Gender Wage Gap

Negotiation tacticsNegotiation seems to be the best way to fight the gender pay gap. In general, it has been shrinking in recent years, according to a glassdoor study, the current status of the wage gap in the US is still at about 21%, which figures into women making an astonishingly unfair .79 cents for every dollar a man makes in aggregrate. We understand that each company and each industry differs in efforts to remedy this historical issue, but one thing is clear at the current rate it will take about 40 years to reach an equitable pay scale, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.  Negotiation tactics can be an important tool for women in the fight for equal pay.

Negotiation Tips for Women

Potentially the number one weapon in the arsenal against the gender pay gap is improved negotiation tactics for women. According to a recent Harvard Law article, studies surrounding the negotiation of salary demonstrate that male candidates tend to use tactics that achieve better results than women. Deeply ingrained societal biases surrounding gender roles prevent traditional male-centric negotiation strategies from being as effective for women as they might otherwise be. However, there are ways that women can significantly affect the gap by educating themselves in tactics that work well, combating gender biases and stereotypes.

University of Münster’s Jens Mazei and colleagues studied the strengths women had when compared to men in negotiation in a paper called “A Meta-Analysis on Gender Differences in Negotiation Outcomes and Their Moderators” published in the Psychological Bulletin. They discovered some intriguing ideas that indicated how women could leverage strategies that would narrow the gender pay gap significantly. Here are five findings to use in your negotiation approach:

1. Reframe the conversation: Mazei’s research indicates that due to a societal understanding of women as nurturing, women in negotiation are more effective when they consider the idea that they are working on behalf of someone other than themselves. When women come into a negotiation with a supportive notion that they are fielding a larger purpose, such as getting more for their team or even fighting gender inequality so that the next generation will get a fair shake, they tend to be more effective in negotiation.

2. Get used to the bargaining table: Like anything else, negotiation takes practice. Because, perhaps, gender bias perpetuates the attitude that it is unseemly for women to engage in negotiations, men generally have put a great deal more time into it. This lack of experience, however, is a large factor in the imbalance between men and women in this area. Getting as much negotiation experience as possible will help even the odds significantly. Practicing bargaining with others in simulation on a regular basis can have a very positive effect on the real process.

3. Informational gathering including salary transparency: Having all of the facts surrounding a position may be even more crucial for women in negotiation than it would be for a male candidate. According to Glassdoor, when women know the specific salaries, for example, of those that work in comparable positions, they have an improved ability to negotiate more equitable compensation. Indeed, companies that practice more transparency in salary have been shown to more actively lessen the wage gap in their workplaces. In addition, Mazei mentions, not only do women feel more confident in negotiation when they have this kind of information, because it is not subjective, it is easier for women to reference a concrete number without facing adverse reactions from men who might otherwise feel their authority challenged.

4. Control your visual cues: Understanding how you are presenting yourself when in an interview is obviously very useful. Some tactics that have been suggested when it comes to body language that helps women in negotiation is to make regular eye contact. Also, make low broad gestures that originate from the shoulders instead of at the elbow; this is something that expands your body allowing you to take up space more effectively. Making sure you are presenting yourself in a position of strength is something that male negotiators do regularly and should be a common practice for women as well.

5. Think about your word choices: According to executive speech coach Darlene Price, aspects of vocal inflection like upspeak can undermine the idea that you have confidence in your statement. So can putting qualifying words on the ends of otherwise concrete statements; it creates the impression of hedging. If you find you are adding phrases like, “Do you agree?” or “Right?” unconsciously to the end of statements, it is not supporting your cause and promotes the idea that you require validation for your thoughts.

It’s unfortunate that women need to work harder than men in the current system to achieve something as basic as salary equity, but many do. Employing negotiation tactics like these can help women to reach this desired reality more quickly.

Guest Contributed by Sierra Skelly

About the Author

Sierra Skelly is a creative writer and marketer from San Diego. She loves red wine, black coffee, and chilling murder mystery novels with a strong female lead.

The opinions and views expressed by guest contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of theglasshammer.com

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The “Big Rock, Pebble, Sand” Analogy – and Other Tips for Success

Holly Batchelor-Anisha George-Meyanna Jiang

Meyanna Jiang, Anisha George, and Holly Batchelor

Three colleagues on growing as a leader, connecting with mentors and “managing up.”

In the December edition of The Glass Hammer, three colleagues at Goldman Sachs delve deep, sharing their best practices for success – ranging from thinking strategically and helping to further their teams’ goals to balancing competing priorities and “managing up.” Meet the interviewees and hear their take:

· Holly Batchelor is a vice president in Securities, based in Hong Kong

· Anisha George is an associate in Compliance, based in Bengaluru

· Meyanna Jiang is a vice president in Controllers, based in New York

Reflecting on your career at Goldman Sachs to date, what advice would you share with individuals just starting out?

· Meyanna: Be curious in your work, and look for ways to keep yourself challenged. I try to do one thing that scares me each week, whether it be public speaking, or volunteering for a project that I might not know much about.

· Holly: The ability to grow and nurture your network is invaluable – you might not realize it now, but the people you work with and get to know at the beginning of your career can be hugely influential and helpful later on.

· Anisha: I have found that projects others were not interested in working on ultimately had the biggest impact on my career. In addition, I would remind others that each individual has a unique journey – everyone’s path to success is different. I have learned to find joy and meaning in my own journey by setting personal goals and working to achieve them.

What actions do you take throughout your day to ensure you’re best helping your team and furthering its mission and strategy?

· Holly: I try to share as much information as possible with my team and keep everyone in the loop. Work is more enjoyable and fulfilling when you know why you’re working on a task, and are aware of the strategy you’re helping to implement.

· Meyanna: When I introduce a new project or task for my team, I aim to provide sufficient context by explaining how this deliverable supports our firmwide or divisional strategy.

How do you allocate time for both strategic thinking and execution in your role?

· Holly: Knowledge is power. Having a sense of what the market looks like and what our competitors are doing allows me to develop a strategy for my team and our plan for execution.

· Meyanna: I like to think of this as “zooming in” and “zooming out.” If the CEO stopped by your desk while you were in the middle of analyzing millions of rows of data and asked, “What are you working on?” how would you respond in a sentence or two? This exercise helps me think strategically.

What recommendations do you have for balancing competing priorities?

· Holly: To-do lists! It’s important to stay on top of priority projects, even as things pop up that require immediate attention. I often use the “big rock, pebble, sand” analogy when thinking about what I need to set aside time for: the big rocks are my major tasks and strategic initiatives, the pebbles are shorter-term tasks of lesser importance, and the sand is minor tasks that aren’t essential to my success.

· Meyanna: Stay organized, whether it’s adding calendar reminders, writing to-do lists, or color-coding emails to help you stay on track. I also remind my team that it’s okay to push back on requests or to say “no” when needed. Unless you speak up, no one will know that you need help.

· Anisha: It’s important to remember that having a fulfilling life outside of work helps your career and your work product. It might seem unrelated, but I think you can bring a more positive energy to the office when you have personal interests that also motivate you.

Any lessons learned on the importance of delegating?

· Meyanna: I’ve learned that the worst thing you can do as a manager is to delegate a task and then take it back, because this demotivates the team and makes them feel like their work is not valued. I’ve also learned that I need to provide “air cover” and give enough space for my team members to fail safely.

· Anisha: I used to dislike delegating because it required me to put in extra time and effort, but over time I realized that I would not be half as successful as I am today if every leader who invested in me had felt the same way about delegating. You can’t lead if no one is following.

· Holly: Delegation gives you the capacity to stretch further to build your business, and it allows you to effectively train and coach the colleagues whom you are delegating work to. Delegating work to others also allows for greater diversity of thought and experience, which often leads to better solutions.

How do you “manage up” with senior stakeholders?

· Anisha: Before meeting senior stakeholders I make sure to always prepare – people want to feel that their time is being valued, and adequate preparation helps shape and inform your conversation. When you have a strong agenda and follow-up plan when connecting with stakeholders, “managing up” just happens.

· Holly: First, you need to identify who your stakeholders are and what is important for them. Then, determine how they like to be kept up to date – do they prefer face-to-face catch ups, e-mail summaries, a full business plan? Adapting your style to match theirs will have much more of an impact.

Do you have a mentor or sponsor? If so, how do you make the most of your conversations with them?

· Holly: I have mentors within and outside of the firm that I often reach out to for advice. I put notes in my calendar to schedule catch-ups with them in order to nurture the relationship, just as you would with a client or stakeholder in your business.

· Meyanna: I have relationships with both mentors and sponsors, and many of these connections have formed organically. Managers can be a great resource, too – they have introduced me to contacts in their networks. Prior to each conversation with them, I write down a few topics for discussion, such as challenges in my day job or planning for the next step in my career.

· Anisha: I have more than one mentor because I value receiving guidance from different stakeholders. My mentors have diverse perspectives and push me to evaluate situations in different ways.

Have you participated in mobility? Do you have any advice for colleagues interested in either switching roles or offices?

· Meyanna: If you are exploring a role switch, raise your hand. Mention to your manager or mentor that you are interested in learning more about a certain business or working in a different location. It is easier for them to help you if they know your interests. In the meantime, continue being a rock star in your current role and look for ways to give yourself exposure to areas you are interested in.

· Anisha: I recently accepted a new role in Goldman Sachs Asset Management and will be relocating from Bengaluru to Dublin in January. The best advice I received when I was considering mobility was to focus on “What?” and “Why?” – meaning, “What do you want to do long-term?” and “Why do you want to move?” Once you have answered these questions, your options will become more clear.

Do you have a personal development plan to keep yourself accountable?

· Meyanna: I recommend writing down your goals. My last set of short- and long-term goals were written on a post-it note stuck to a bar of chocolate. (My team knows I always keep chocolate at my desk.) As I slowly finished the chocolate bar, I found that I was able to complete my goals over time. In addition, I find that it is helpful to share your goals with a buddy, who can help hold you accountable.

· Holly: In the early stages of my career I didn’t have any plan other to absorb as much information as possible. That hasn’t changed, but I now also set career goals with deadlines based on discussions I have with my mentors and stakeholders – incorporating their input is important in order to set realistic goals.

· Anisha: I think about where I want to be in one year and in 10 years, and develop my short- and long-term plans to achieve those goals. It’s necessary to also be nimble and update your goals as your world evolves.

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