Tag Archive for: career development

More Than One Way Forward: Career Lessons from Latina Leaders

,

Career Lessons from Latina leadersLast year during Hispanic Heritage Month, The Glass Hammer looked at the steep ascent Latina women continue to face in corporate leadership, including the systemic and cultural barriers that can make advancement more difficult. This year, we are asking a different question: What can we learn from Latina leaders who have navigated that terrain?

Across our profiles, these women have taken very different paths. Some moved laterally before moving forward. Others created opportunities that did not yet have a name. Many learned to speak up before they felt completely ready. And several discovered that the career they built looked nothing like the one they initially imagined.

Taken together, their stories suggest a different way to think about career advancement: not simply climbing the next rung, but creating more options for where you can go next.

In a last week’s Glass Hammer profile, Karelis Barrios, Global Head of Wholesale Lending Operations at Citi, put a name to that idea:

“The truest measure of success is how much optionality you have.”

Create, Don’t Wait

Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Multi-Asset Solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, puts career ownership plainly:

“Build things, do not wait for people to assign things to you. Continue to constantly learn about what you’re interested in; being an expert is always a good thing, and it will help your career.”

Monica Marquez, workforce reinvention strategist and co-founder of Flipwork, takes that idea a step further, arguing that waiting until you feel completely prepared can itself become a career constraint.

“Women have a tendency to be very certainty driven, and they end up not taking as many risks and opportunities. Women need to be much more open to taking the opportunity and embracing just-in-time learning, so they don’t rob themselves before they try.”

Cassandra Cuellar, now a Partner at DLA Piper, similarly describes taking ownership as central to her career.

“I have a willingness to take ownership over things without necessarily having to be so dependent on a hierarchical structure.”

And when she encounters something unfamiliar?

“Whatever you can throw at me, I’m going to figure it out.”

For both women, taking ownership is less about knowing exactly where a decision will lead than about being willing to act. Each new experience adds another skill, relationship or piece of knowledge to draw on later.

Let the Path Change

If creating options is the goal, a career cannot be treated as a fixed route.

Yasmine Coupal, a Partner at Goldman Sachs, expected a very different career trajectory before an unexpected opportunity led her into finance.

“Careers are not linear, and there isn’t a one size fits all approach.”

Vanessa Rodriguez, Head of Community Lending & Investment, Commercial Real Estate at Wells Fargo, offers an equally useful reminder that moving forward does not always mean moving up.

“Sometimes, you must take a step back, or move laterally, to go forward.”

Angela Cruz, Sales Effectiveness Leader for Sales Excellence at Accenture, has reinvented herself several times, moving from electrical engineering and technical roles into marketing and sales leadership. Looking back, she identifies one quality that helped her make those transitions:

“Continuous learning has been a key driver. I have reinvented myself quite a few times because I’ve always been open, flexible, and curious to learn.”

Lola Ninonuevo, International Chief Operating Officer at Wells Fargo, takes the long view:

“Your career is over decades. It’s not the be-all and end-all. There are periods where you can really lean in and put 100% into it, and there are periods where you can’t, and that’s okay as long as you stay connected.”

A lateral move can build a skill. An unexpected role can reveal an interest you did not know you had. A pause can create room for something else.

Build What Gives You Options

Being open to change is one part of creating options, but again and again, the women we have profiled point to relationships as an important part of the infrastructure of a career.

Ninonuevo describes relationships as central to her leadership approach:

“I really focus on building relationships. I’m honest and candid in my approach.”

Indhira Arrington, Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Ares Management, has a more specific observation about what it takes to turn strong performance into sponsorship:

“There are thousands of people that are good at their job and that want to ascend the corporate ladder, but doing it alone likely won’t get you there. You also need to have strong executive presence and act like a leader, and then hopefully that combination gains you the sponsors who have the power to open those doors, propel you and pull you up.”

Graciella Dominguez, VP of Investment Operations, Operations and Innovations at PGIM, began her career with a different expectation of what her work would require:

“When I started as an accountant, I didn’t realize that interacting with people and building relationships was going to be more central to my experience. I have been able to grow my relationships, and they are so important – and rewarding – in accomplishing greater things.”

Know Your Value

For some of the women we have profiled, creating options has also meant recognizing the value in the different perspectives and identities they bring to the workplace.

Claudia Vázquez, Founder of Elevnik, describes how her perspective changed over time:

“What I saw as a disadvantage at the beginning, I turned it around to make my secret weapon, because I realized this is what makes me unique and able to see things from a different perspective.”

Alma Rosa Montañez, Chief Corporate Counsel at S&P Global, describes reaching a point where she stopped feeling she had to choose between parts of her identity:

“I learned to become comfortable with the fact that I’m really not either Mexican or American – I’m both.”

For Vanessa Nazario, now Chief Impact Officer at Episcopal Health Services, the shift has implications beyond how you see yourself:

“Once you claim your value, it opens a lot of opportunities.”

The message is not to ignore the barriers that can shape a career. It is to recognize that the perspective, experience and identity you bring with you can also be part of what creates opportunities.

Think Beyond the Next Promotion

Karelis Barrios’ idea of optionality brings these lessons together. Career advancement is not only about moving up. It can also mean building enough experience, relationships and confidence that you have choices when circumstances change.

As Barrios puts it:

“A step back in leadership does not have to be the end of the story. Sometimes it creates the space to grow, and strong leaders recognize when someone is ready to be given another opportunity.”

And ultimately:

“The truest measure of success is how much optionality you have. You work hard for the options that success provides you.”

Taken together, the advice from these Latina leaders suggests that career advancement is not only about reaching the next level. It is about steadily increasing what you are capable of doing, who knows your work, where you can contribute and what opportunities you are prepared to pursue.

You may not know exactly where those choices will lead.

But you can make sure that, when the next opportunity appears, you have more than one way to move forward.

/by

Why Hard Work Isn’t Enough: How to Make Your Work More Visible

,

hard work not enough how to make work more visible“I used to have the mindset that if I kept my head down and worked hard, I’d be recognized for that and promoted in time.”

That is how Heather Garland, Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer at PGIM Investments, describes an assumption a lot of high performers carry, one she eventually learned is not enough. It wasn’t until she became more intentional and vocal about her career goals that those opportunities began to materialize.

Melanie Priddy, now Chief People Officer at Covington & Burling, reached a similar conclusion. “As women, often there’s a tendency to downplay your success, your role or leadership skills, whether with a boss or with a group,” she says. “But someone else can’t speak up for you on your behalf, if you don’t do it for yourself first.”

Their experiences aren’t outliers. Research helps explain why this assumption so often falls short.

The Confidence Myth

For years, the common explanation for why women under-promote their own work was framed as a confidence problem: just speak up more, ask for more, claim your wins more loudly. Looking at the research, however, a different story emerges.

Studies on what’s known as the backlash avoidance model found that when women self-promote, they’re generally seen as more competent, but they also risk being seen as less likable, a social penalty that men engaging in identical behavior don’t face to the same degree. The fear of that backlash doesn’t just make women choose to self-promote less, it can also interfere with their ability to do it well when they try. This is not a confidence gap, but rather a rational response to a real social cost, one that then makes self-promotion itself more difficult.

Another finding comes from economists studying self-promotion in blind settings, where women’s gender was never revealed to anyone judging their performance. Even then, women under-reported their own work relative to men. Again, this suggests the issue isn’t simply confidence in the moment, but a learned pattern that requires a more thoughtful solution than “just speak up.”

The Goal Isn’t to Brag More

If the standard advice to “be more confident” or “toot your own horn” has never felt like the right fit, that doesn’t mean you need to change your personality to advance your career. The goal isn’t to become someone who brags or is pushy. It’s to close the well-documented gap between doing great work and ensuring that work is seen and understood. Ultimately, it’s about strategic visibility and communication.

The Dual-Promotion Approach

One of the more useful findings in this space is an approach known as dual-promotion: pairing a statement about your own contribution with genuine credit to the people you worked with. Something like: “The team and I landed the renewal, and I led the negotiation strategy that got us there.”

Research suggests this approach reduces the likability penalty associated with self-promotion for both men and women. For women in particular, it can be especially effective because it communicates both competence and collaboration in the same sentence, rather than forcing a choice between the two.

What makes this approach work is that it doesn’t come across as performative or self-congratulatory. Instead, it’s clear, specific, and complete. It explains what was accomplished, who contributed, and what your particular role was. Rather than taking credit away from others, it helps ensure your own contribution is visible alongside theirs.

Four More Practical Ways to Make Your Work More Visible

 

1. Document impact as it happens, not months later.

Reconstructing your wins at review time means relying on memory, which can favor whoever was most recently visible, not whoever made the biggest impact. Keeping a running record of key achievements, updated as projects wrap up, makes it much easier to communicate your contributions throughout the year instead of scrambling during performance review season.

2. Let your work be visible at many levels.

When talking about making her work visible, Charlotte Weir, Head of Corporate Coverage, EMEA at Wells Fargo, described intentionally building relationships with senior leaders one or two levels above her direct manager so they understood the work she was driving. The takeaway isn’t to bypass your manager; it’s to look for natural opportunities to share your work with a broader group of stakeholders, whether that’s through project updates, cross-functional meetings, leadership presentations, or informal conversations.

3. Use outcomes language.

Describe your impact in terms of what happened and what changed as a result: “this increased sales by 30%,” or “this strengthened a client relationship that had been at risk.” Framing your contributions around measurable outcomes reads as straightforward reporting rather than self-congratulation, even though it accomplishes the same goal of making your impact visible.

4. Be clear about your career goals.

Strong performance alone doesn’t tell your manager or senior leaders what you want next. If you’re interested in leading people, taking on larger projects, or moving into a different area of the business, say so. Anar Patel, Director, Portfolio Construction at PGIM Investments, credits much of her career progression to pairing strong performance with clear communication about her aspirations. “In every role, I continued to stay focused, do great work, think about what my next move was and communicate the career trajectory that I wanted. You have to advocate for yourself.” As Patel puts it, “You’re the marketing team behind your own personal brand, and sometimes, that means creating opportunities for yourself that didn’t exist before.”

Make Your Work Visible in Way that is Authentic to You

This visibility gap exists because of a real, well-researched social dynamic, not because you are not good at talking about yourself or simply need to try harder. Understanding that distinction matters because it changes where you put your energy: not into becoming louder, but into becoming more intentional, more consistent, and more strategic about ensuring your work is recognized by the people who need to see it.

That also doesn’t mean talking about yourself constantly, claiming credit that isn’t yours, or acting in a way that feels in inauthentic. It’s about making sure the value you’re already creating is visible, understood, and accurately recognized.

Finding your own approach to visibility, one that highlights your impact without requiring you to become someone you’re not, is exactly the kind of work coaching is designed to support. Evolved People Coaching, the executive coaching arm of theglasshammer.com helps leaders build the confidence, communication skills, and strategies to make their contributions visible in an authentic way. Book an exploratory coaching conversation HERE.

/by

Stop Letting Your Career Happen to You

,

Stop Letting Your Career Happen to YouBy Jessica Darmoni

“Make sure to manage your career,” says Patricia Lunkes. “And that your career is not managing you.”

After more than four decades in human resources and as founder of Parkway Consulting Group, Lunkes has spent her career watching people at pivotal moments, whether being hired, promoted or laid off. From that vantage point she notices patterns, the biggest one being that people wait too long to take control.

“It’s very easy to have a career manage you,” she says. “You have to be conscious that it’s going in the right direction.”

While that sounds obvious, it isn’t. In reality, careers drift, promotions come with tradeoffs no one fully evaluates and roles evolve faster than people adapt. Dissatisfaction builds gradually, then suddenly feels overwhelming. By the time many professionals stop to ask whether they’re in the right place, they’re already far from it.

Watching for the Warning Signs

Lunkes offers a simple but powerful framework which she calls “the 80/20 rule” of job satisfaction. If roughly 80% of your work aligns with what you enjoy and do well, you’re in a sustainable place.

“If that ratio slips toward 60/40, it’s not just a bad week, it’s a warning sign,” she says. “And most people ignore the warning sign by rationalizing.”

It is common for employees to look toward that next project, the next boss, or the next year as a solution. Sometimes it gets better, but often it doesn’t, and the cost of waiting compounds not just professionally, but psychologically.

Lunkes knows this firsthand. Twice in her career, she stepped into roles that looked right on paper but were not good cultural fits. In both cases, she says she believed she could change the environment.

“The common denominator was me,” she admits. “That realization is uncomfortable but necessary. We tend to blame circumstances, leadership, or culture. Those factors matter but they don’t replace self-awareness. If you don’t understand what actually fits you, you will keep choosing environments that don’t.”

Reflection Creates Better Decisions

What Lunkes did next is what separates intentional careers from accidental ones: she paused. She stepped back, reassessed, and rebuilt her work around what she genuinely enjoyed, which was meeting people, solving problems, and helping others move forward. Instead of forcing herself into a predefined role, she designed one. That decision became Parkway Consulting Group.

Her path underscores a broader shift that many professionals still resist: careers are no longer linear.

“The most resilient professionals aren’t the ones who follow a plan perfectly,” she notes. “They’re the ones who adjust quickly when the plan stops making sense.”

That requires two things people often undervalue: reflection and honesty.

Lunkes encourages something simple, a “career buddy.” Someone who can listen, challenge your assumptions, and help you distinguish between temporary frustration and a deeper mismatch. In fast-moving industries especially, where roles evolve constantly, that outside perspective can be the difference between a smart pivot and a costly mistake.

The Skills that Matter Most

While reflection is important, it must be coupled with thoughtful execution. Here, Lunkes is blunt about the skills that actually move careers forward today.

Communication sits at the top of the list, meaning not just speaking, but listening, reading a room, and knowing when to stop talking. In hybrid and remote environments, where nuance is easily lost, this skill has become a differentiator.

Adaptability is also important. The professionals who thrive aren’t necessarily the most experienced; they’re the ones most willing to evolve.

Finally, there’s the piece many still struggle with which is boundaries.

Learning to say no sounds simple but it requires confidence, clarity, and practice. For many, especially women, Lunkes notes, it’s a skill developed late, if at all. She emphasizes that without it, careers become shaped by external demands rather than internal priorities.

The same applies to negotiation. Too many professionals treat it as optional or adversarial but, if done well, it signals that you understand value, including your own.

Your Career is Something You Build

Underlying all of this is a mindset shift: your career is not something you endure or inherit. It’s something you actively construct. That doesn’t mean every move will be perfect. Lunkes’ career certainly wasn’t. However, it does mean paying attention regularly, honestly, and without waiting for a crisis to force “the 80/20 rule” question.

The reality is that the market will keep changing. Industries will speed up. Roles will blur. Stability, as previous generations understood it, is not coming back. What remains constant is the need for self-awareness. The professionals who succeed in this environment won’t be the ones with the most predictable paths. They’ll be the ones willing to ask, again and again: Is this still right for me?

And if the answer is no, they’ll do something about it.

/by

Five Actions to Take to Manage Your Career Better in 2023

, ,

Nicki GilmourSo far, this decade has been a rollercoaster for professional women. Everyone has been inundated with large amounts of work to get through, while all sorts of moving targets and complex constraints to deal with just keep coming. A potential hit to the economy looms as the usual cyclical market downbeat slides to recession with layoffs already starting. Dovetail this with almost everyone having a really long, hard think about their values over the past couple of years, and the unanimous request from all workers in every survey ever done to have more flexibility, we should be set up for the most interesting years to come on the topic of work, career and what is professionalism.

Normally we write a year-end review piece, which we have written for the past fifteen years, detailing progress for professional women and examining trends that matter, and it was implicitly assumed that progress on parity had to be linear. Now we know the real issue is overwork and outdated ways of working for all. Perhaps this is what changed the game for us here at theglasshammer as we realized that battling an old system, and defining ourselves and our success by the standards of that system, is not the only way to look at it with the latest UN women report stating unsurprisingly that the goal of gender equality is not on track to happen by 2030.

The glass ceiling is still there for all the legacy and structural reasons we know about, but overwhelmingly people have been open about multiple realities and having multidimensional lives. Assimilation, sacrifice and silence is not trending right now and in a study conducted on work identity by Kathryn Boyle at the Glasgow Caledonian University (UK), Gen Y are not feeling like their narrative arc in their career has to be as cohesive as others did in Gen X and Boomer generations. This means the career ladder which we have written about extensively is somewhat less powerful a construct than it has ever been, and the ceiling, or rather the structures and rules that held the game together, are being replaced with people choosing to leave to play other games or ignoring the rules entirely. The lattice is where most of us find ourselves.

What Do Future Leaders Want?

What Gen Z want from their managers most of all is a positive attitude and a clear delineation of goals while millennials want open communication and feedback, followed by goal clarity according to a recent study at Berkeley Haas School of Business, University of California. Jarringly, the same study suggests Gen X managers are not really prepared to play ball in this way with only 33% ready and willing to give feedback with a positive attitude. There is a disconnect that should be addressed by savvy managers who want to liberate and empower so people can innovate. And this disconnect will only be accentuated by companies not setting managers up for success operationally in the hybrid environment.

Regardless of ambition levels, ability and willingness to work long hours, professional women and men want work to work for them – they want flexibility and a lattice approach to work, or even for work to not be all-consuming as professional careers in banking, law and executive life has previously been known for. The physical and psychological boundaries we once knew such as going to the office on a train five days per week is less desirable than ever as seen in the endless studies citing hybrid as the preferred format for the future. It doesn’t mean productivity is down or that people aren’t passionate about their work or career, it just means that we have arrived at a time where smart bosses know that trust is the social currency and that removing organizational grind and tasks that don’t belong to the team is the key to a happy and high functioning workforce.

Here are Five Things for You to Do for the Best Career Results in 2023
  1. Leave the anxiety and worry at the door. While there are serious swirls inside companies and in the external marketplace, it is ok to just control what you can. Start by understanding what exactly your responsibilities are in your role and then try to align your ability to execute on them as closely as you can – resources, authority, budgets, for example. Avoid perfectionism and over-responsibility tendencies where you think you are responsible for all outcomes or other people’s happiness or success. Thirdly, examine your relationship with uncertainty and figure out how to get comfortable with ambiguity as this year coming promises plenty of that.
  2. Get an executive coach. Advice on its own means nothing as its abstract and subjective. A good coach will help you understand yourself and your behaviors in context of what is going on around you. Think growth, think development. Coaching is one of those industries where there is a low bar to entry so pick your coach wisely as you should be able to have a chemistry meeting with your coach to make sure you can vet them for the value that they will add to your present goals and challenges. There are career coaches and there are executive coaches. Mentors, sponsors and consultants are different from a coach as a mentor will share their advice from their perspective and a sponsor will advocate for you. A coach will evoke your highest thinking and help you build muscle around goal achievement, strategic insight and co create behaviorial toolkits to deploy live time in meetings and work situations. It helps if your coach has a background in organizational development or industrial psychology as context does matter. A coach that gives you advice only is a bad coach.
  3. Read these three books in 2023 that will help you in your career- no matter where you are at. Herminia Ibarra’s Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader which will help you refresh you do your job with new insights, consider what your next job could look like and generally challenge everything you thought you knew about being competent and how that is enough. My second favorite book to recommend is Kegan and Lahey’s Immunity to Change which is academic to read but really is powerful for anyone wrestling with fear, shame or imposter syndrome – it is a user friendly book to clear the debris to really achieve your career goals behaviorally. And finally, I reccommend Kolb and Williams’ Everyday Negotiation as a must-read for anyone who thinks how did that person get the upper hand in that conversation? This book explores how to operate in everyday conversations at work. If you cannot read the whole book, start with the HBR article as it is a great way to understand how to navigate the power dynamics that exist in any work relationship. There has been an updated article discussing negotiating as a women of color to read on HBR this year.
  4. Network and mean it. Find people who can help you and you can help in return. Be sincere in your offer for help. Make it personal. No one likes an endless taker, and no one has time to do the work for you. Know your value in the exchange!
  5. Be authentic, and at the same time, seek advice that inspires you to be the best version of you. Use the sites like this one, and others like landit.com, fairygodboss.com and the muse as well as elevate to garner specific career advice for women in the workplace. Look for other sincere people as there are many false prophets and dead poets in this gender space taking your money for something that you already have.

Here at theglasshammer.com we have spent 15 years deeply covering the topic of advancing, empowering, informing and inspiring professional women and with 8000 articles in our archives, we encourage you to delve in and read any that might be useful to you. We have profiled over 1000 amazing women. We have coached rising stars as well as the best in the business to be even better leaders.

In 2023, we will continue to have our digital campfire for women who are change leaders to tell their story around. We want to profile creators and leaders who understand that the future is a vision that can be reached with the right focus. Our main offering is leadership coaching so if you wish to go from mid-level to senior level, or even are very close to the top and need an extra piece of work to polish and refine your behaviors, then book an exploratory chemistry session here with Nicki Gilmour – our founder, and executive and organizational coach.

By Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com

/by

Not to Be Missed Articles

Did you miss these popular articles? Take a look at the articles below previously published on theglasshammer.com

breakup

Why it’s a Bigger Issue than Work-Family Conflict

By Aimee Hansen

The culture of chronic overwork isn’t working in many ways, but there’s one way it works too well: upholding gender inequality.

Professor Robin Ely of Harvard Business School, co-author of a recent study released by the Gender Initative, tells us “It is the culture of overwork—not women’s work-family conflict—that locks gender inequality in place.”

According to Ely and her co-authors, the focus on work-family conflict is a gendered diversion from the bigger 24/7 work week problem that deflects long hours as a women’s issue.

We spoke to Ely about the dilemma, what needs to change and what women can do.

Career Progression – Moving Sideways and Diagonally to Move Forward

By Nneka Orji

Most of us will be familiar with the typical career path within big corporates; the graduate entry role, the progression to middle management, and for a few who meet what are deemed to be the prerequisites, the senior management and leadership positions are within grasp. Career progression – in the traditional sense – has been valued by the pace at which individuals make it the top of the organisational hierarchy, and any move off the ladder or taking a non-traditional route has until very recently been viewed as detrimental to achieving the end goal. However things are changing; with technological advancement, evolving needs of the workforce, and a more diverse talent pool, the perception of a successful career is being challenged and new forms of career paths are being introduced. Could an unconventional career path lead to a more fulfilling and sustainable career?

 

/by

Why You Need to Continue Learning – and How to Do It

, ,
Guest Contributed by Sarah Landrum
 
The brain is one of the many muscles in your body that needs regular exercise, and fitting consistent exercise into a busy schedule is a challenge for most working adults. While it may be difficult to find time for physical or mental fitness, it’s well worth the effort. shutterstock_287191085
 
Benefits of Continual Learning
 
Continued learning offers many benefits, for both your cognitive abilities and your chances of advancing in your career.
 
1. Maintain High Performance
 
Just as well-made luxury vehicles need proper fuel to operate at their peak, you need to fuel the intellectual part of yourself with information and unique challenges. 
 
When you’re a part of a high-performing organization or team, it’s not enough to be smart or a hard worker. Everyone around you is bright and dedicated to their job. Those are basic requirements for being a part of the team. In order to differentiate yourself, you must bring value on an ongoing basis.
 
By staying current with trends, skills and research in your area of expertise, you will be better positioned to offer insights and come up with innovations that can advance your company.
 
People with great ideas and a track record for success get noticed as well as rewarded. What you learn from a course or workshop could be the impetus for your next contribution that will get you noticed as a key contributor to the organization. Positive recognition is one way to help you get a raise or promotion. 
 
2. Keep Your Brain Healthy
 
Research has found that brain cells form new connections every time you learn new information. Strengthening those connections by practicing new skills can do positive things for your cognitive ability. 
 
In fact, the brain keeps changing through learning, even when a skill is mastered. The capacity of the brain to change with learning is called brain plasticity. Complex thinking promotes plasticity.
 
How to Make Learning Happen
 
Even though you’re busy, there are ways to fit learning opportunities into your day. The payoff will be well worth the effort.
 
1. Set Your Own Pace
 
Develop a list of learning goals based on what skills you’d like to develop or interests you have and focus on them during nonworking hours. One of the advantages of technology is that you can learn when and where it’s convenient for you, which is the beauty of online courses. A research study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that in the United States, 92 million adults are enrolled in an educational program. 
 
Having flexibility in your learning path is important for professionals who are already balancing demanding work schedules and personal commitments.
 
If you’re planning to use learning as a way to advance your career, online learning is a great place to start. Think about what skills you need to gain or grow to move to the next level, then set a target for when you’d like to gain knowledge in that area.
 
2. Take Advantage of Corporate Programs
 
Many companies reserve a portion of their budget to support the ongoing development of their employees. This can take the form of tuition reimbursement, sponsorship for nondegree programs, conferences and/or memberships to professional organizations. Companies spent $130 billion worldwide on corporate training in 2014.
 
Identify the area you want to develop and present it to your manager. You should determine how it will help you in your current position, help you contribute to the success of the company or help prepare you to take on additional responsibilities. 
 
It’s easy for a manager to agree to an investment when they have a clear understanding of the return.
 
Also, look into what resources are available in-house. Does your company have a learning catalog where you can choose online or in-person courses? Is there a learning and organizational development team that creates content for employees to get in-depth understanding on a topic? Is there a person who is in the position you aspire to who could mentor you?
 
Explore all possibilities for learning channels so you can find a good fit to help you achieve your goals.
 
The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com
/by

Promoting CEO-Ready Women

,

By Melissa J. Anderson

Image via Shutterstock

Image via Shutterstock

Companies must work harder to nurture the pipeline of diverse CEO-ready leaders, experts say. As the number of women CEOs dwindles, it seems that there are few female leaders ready to take their place, or, rather, that there are too few companies ready and willing to give them a shot.

Indeed, the percentage of female CEOs in the S&P 500 dropped to a miniscule 4.4% in 2016, down from a slightly less miniscule 4.6% last year, according to data from Catalyst.

Additionally, high-profile female CEOs have stepped down from their roles in the past year. For example, Xerox’s Ursula Burns announced this summer that she will leave the company after its planned split is completed later this year. DuPont’s Ellen Kullman retired after the company’s bruising proxy battle last fall. And it’s not clear where Marissa Mayer will land after Verizon takes over Yahoo’s core businesses. Because there are already so few women in the CEO position, the loss of one or two makes a big difference. And the bright spots — like Shira Goodman being named interim CEO of Staples in June — are few and far between.

It’s not clear that companies are doing enough to bring diversity into the C-suite, says Brande Stellings, Vice President of Corporate Board Services at Catalyst. Moreover, the work is hard and constant — if companies lose focus on diversity, they could wind up dashing any positive work they’d achieved.

“Ensuring both diversity and inclusion at leadership levels requires constant attention and intention – as does any behavior until it becomes a habit,” says Stellings. “Change is not happening quickly enough and leadership at the board level and in the C-suite does not reflect the world we live in today, where women represent half of the workforce.”

Companies must be intentional in their efforts, says Stellings.

“Set a target for representation of women in the C-Suite and reverse engineer from that target,” she says. Stellings suggests companies focus on a couple key areas to reach that target: “hot jobs” and sponsorship.

“Review the ‘hot jobs’ in the company that provide a fast track for executive development: are women getting their fair share of those opportunities?” she says.

For example, the gender diversity of PwC’s Global Leadership Team increased significantly this year, moving from 20% female to 42% female with the appointments of the company’s new global chairman Bob Moritz.

“Getting there was part of a long journey which we are still on,” says Dale Meikle, Global Diversity and Inclusion Program Office Leader at PwC.

“This has been the result of many years of our top leadership personally sponsoring diversity as a business imperative, of ensuring that along with male talent, female talent has been identified and developed to create a more gender diverse slate of leaders when vacancies come up; it’s also been challenging ourselves to not make assumptions about what the barriers to diversity are, but rather letting the data lead us,” Meikle says.

According to Meikle, PwC’s creation of data-driven diversity programs that are tied to leadership accountability have produced a “sea change” at PwC.

As for sponsorship, Stellings tells of one S&P 500 CEO who asked his senior leadership team to make a list of people whose careers they had championed, and then to ask whether any of the people they had supported looked different from themselves. If not, he challenged the team to do something about it.

Stellings says women executives can play a key part of corporate efforts to bring more women and people of color into the CEO-pipeline. Not only are women executives necessary to mentor and sponsor the next generation of diverse leaders, but they are integral in driving the cultural infrastructure needed to help them thrive at work.

“On an organizational level, [senior executive women] can ensure that the business case for advancing women’s leadership is well understood, both in terms of winning in the marketplace for talent and in the marketplace for customers,” says Stellings.

For female executives who already have their eyes on the CEO job, Stellings says, an outside board seat can raise their profile and offer experience that CEO-search committees view as valuable. They should know what their CEO would say about them, and ask him or her to make introductions to search firms or other directors on their behalf.

“They should also take advantage of opportunities to present to, work with and socialize with their own company’s board,” she adds.

What’s more, when women move into board roles to enhance their own profile and meet their own career goals, they start a diversity feedback loop, according to Stellings.

“Catalyst research indicates that having more women board directors is correlated with subsequently having more women in the C-suite,” five years later, she says.

These women officers were also more likely to be in line positions. “Profit-and-loss responsibility at the executive level is a key experience for CEO succession planning, as well as board succession planning,” Stellings adds.

/by

Do you really need an Executive Coach?

,
Do you really need an Executive Coach?

Image via Shutterstock

Are you getting the right amount of feedback? Do you have a career navigation plan? Do you know your levels of emotional intelligence? Do your values and how you want to live your life match up with your job demands? Are you stuck in the same old job? If you answer any of these questions with a no, then you should consider a coach.

There are many types of coaches and fit is everything so make sure you have an exploratory chat first. I would also say that there is a wide range of competency out there and many people just become coaches as they think they have “been there”, so perhaps review robustly what credentials and experience your potential coach has.

I used to be really cynical about Executive coaches until five years ago. I thought coaching was for “issue” employees or for resolving personality clashes between high performers and bosses. What I have come to realize ( and have become a coach myself with increased commitment to the highest levels of practice, learning and certification) is that coaching is life changing for many reasons and in my opinion the fastest way to empower women and all people on their professional advancement journey. Simply put, the right coach can do the following- help you understand yourself better ( personality) and what you want and then can help you understand all of this in the context of helping you to understand your behaviors. Does what you say you want, match what you are actually doing?

Organizational Psychology has taught me that those very behaviors that make or break any of us are interestingly caused in part by the environment we work in. The team and company “norms” and culture have a bigger role to play than perhaps any of us gives credit for. Understanding how to spot implicit norms with your coach and naming your triggers to some of your habits on a tough day at work is life enhancing.

Believe me, it is not just about the Myers Briggs or any other tool that tells you about yourself. You have to look at the big picture and the personalities in the game. Who gets to be in charge, who gets rewarded and what gets rewarded at your workplace? What gets tolerated? How do we do work around here?

So, if you are looking to go further and be happier, then consider an executive coach. It is hard to recognize you need one until you have one. I was the same way and I had an executive coach very early in my career and I still did not believe in the power of them – why? I had the wrong coach and the reasons that the company gave me the coach was conflict resolution based without involving the person who was in the conflict. Any good piece of psychology reading with tell you, or as your grandma would say, “ It takes two to tango” so no wonder coaching has a mixed reputation out there in the world.

For me, having a coach, helps me refine my thoughts and speak out loud about the realities of my strategies, and the truths about my hopes and dreams. For others, I provide an academic approach to sort out the next steps in their professional life and help with linear progression if that is what they want and if they don’t then we figure that out too. Good coaching keep you honest. Try it, and like everything in life, if you don’t find it useful then that is ok too!

If you are interested in hiring an executive coach then please email nicki@theglasshammer.com and she will be happy to discuss your needs further.

/by

Is it time to change jobs, change firms or leave the industry?

By NIcki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organisational Psychologist

Is it time to change jobs, change firms or leave the industry? (F)

Image provided by Shutterstock.

If you have been feeling like you need a change of scene for a while or even if that feeling has just begun then you have to firstly listen to it and then secondly distill what is really going on.

This series of three posts over the next three weeks discusses the triggers that can make us want to leave and they are worth understanding for each of you if they are just triggers or actually accurate instincts that you should follow. Often when I am coaching there are three scenarios that are happening when someone comes to me with a “ I want to leave my job” instinct.

Scenario 1: You do not see a path for promotion at your current job

Scenario 2: There is a lack of trust in the people in your team/your boss to do the right thing or be competent.

Scenario 3: The company and /or industry is in flux. Let’s discuss this scenario this week.

The thought of yet another reshuffle or round of layoffs have my coachee anxious and they want to pre-empt being on the receiving end of an HR conversation by finding a new job first. The politics involved in surviving can be exhausting and some people have the right personality to ride it out without it eating them. The reality is that most people do not have quite the capacity for not getting sucked into the politics at play when the heat is on. In fact sensitive people can be worn out to a point of burnout so it is absolutely necessary to know oneself and your endurance levels. All my long term coaching clients do a personality test called the Hogan which does give us an indication for their natural ability to ride out these messy company restructures and mergers.

However, I think that sometimes it is perfectly valid to leave when you want to leave and get a head start on your vision for your next career job before the market is flooded with laid off employees. To this end, it is fairly important to understand the external environment and your specific industry niche or job niche so that you do not end up wondering what happened to the segment. Keep thinking about the transferability of your skills and update them regularly as well as keeping your network strategic and up-to-date.

Finally, if you do decide to go, know that proactivity and first mover advantage is always rewarded and with the element of choice on your hands you can choose your next job wisely since you have a job and therefore in a position of strength in the talent pool.

If you are looking for an executive coach to help you navigate your career contact nicki@theglasshammer.com for a no obligation conversation to discuss how we may help

Save

/by

Stoking Your Intrapreneurial Spirit

,

thought-leadershipHow can you make a sideways step within your job yet still move your career ahead? The opportunity, even demand, is intrapreneurship.

Intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship, but within the context of a larger organization. An intrapreneur is “an employee of an established organization with an entrepreneurial mindset,” who thinks more like a start-up owner.

Alyson Krueger writes in Fast Company, “Obviously there have always been go-getters in companies who try to move the needle forward and push the status quo. But never before has there been such a push for employees to take ownership of their own corner of a company.”

Asserted in Entrepreneur, “intrapreneurship is the new entrepreneurship.”

Satisfaction and Engagement Meets Innovation and Leadership

A survey from University of Phoenix School of Business found people who are satisfied in their job are nearly twice as likely to report having the opportunity for intrapreneurship (61%) compared to those who are not satisfied (33%). It’s logical that organizations are being advised to foster entrepreneurial cultures as a way of attracting talent as well as increasing employee engagement.

Murray Newlands writes in Inc., “Intrapreneurs will become the building blocks of a company’s executive teams and leaders. They are the driving force that moves a company forward and they will inevitably rise to the top of the company as they understand the company from all levels. Starting from the bottom, they will see the company as a set of processes in which every process must evolve.”

Intrapreneurs shake up the ladder, which is one way to change the gender status quo. They do not obey traditional career paths, but creates new ones, while changing how things work from the inside-out. There are many articles that advise on the skills to be effective as an intrapreneur. But the first word that comes to mind when we hear entrepreneurial is spirit.

Here are five qualities that seem across the board inherent to stoking your intrapreneurial spirit.

Quality 1: Relentless Curiosity.

Intrapreneurs see the opportunity for something that is not yet there, which takes curiosity, perceptiveness, intuition, and being attuned to seeing trends before others. They also have to be able to question and “challenge current business practices,” not simply fall in line or put their heads-down and get on with it. Intrapreneurs don’t stay in the box. They question the box. Coming up with ideas is a mindset, and it’s value does not hinge on the success or failure of one idea.

According to Claudia Chan, founder of S.H.E. Globl Media, in Fast Company, intrepreneurial employees are asking questions such as,“What do I want to create that is going to fill a white space? What doesn’t exist that needs to exist? There is a hole and they want to fill it. There is a problem, and they want to solve it.”

Quality 2: Risk-Taking Creativity.

Chan writes, “If you’re not uncomfortable or scared, you’re not driving innovation.”

Intrapreneurs bring creativity where it did not exist before, in the form of ideas, processes, and solutions, and they embrace a spirit of uncertainty. As a visionary, you cannot know exactly what you’re doing, because what you’re doing has not been done before. It’s very important to be knowledgeable and leverage your strengths, but also find the right point to make the leap.

Susan Folley of Corporate Entrepreneurs, LLC writes, “This is the great divide between traditional leaders and intrapreneurs – the known and unknown. It is the difference between playing it safe or taking a risk, relying on past experience or experimentation, needing detailed information to decide or leveraging what you know, minimizing risks or maximizing value, asking for what you need or leveraging what you’ve got. They see what is possible. It’s a mindset, a way of operating that is foreign to many of us.”

Quality 3: Daring and Vocal Courage.

Intrapreneurship takes a willingness to step up with your ideas and be vocal, even finding a way to visualize them so they become more accessible to others.

As shared in her book Daring Greatly, researcher Brené Brown asked Kevin Surace what the biggest obstacle to creativity and innovation was, and he replied that it is the fear of even putting your ideas out there due to worries about ridicule or being belittled, yet “innovative ideas often sound crazy and failure and learning are a part of revolution.”

So it’s necessary to stoke your courage, but according to Brown the culture matters. Ask if the culture you’re in is also rewarding the value of creative courage. If you’re a woman of intrapreneurial spirit full of ideas, be in an environment in which you and your ideas will flourish.

Quality 4: Passionate & Adaptable Resilience.

Once you’ve put yourself out there, it’s important not to let your ideas die upon rejection of one articulation, but foster resilience and passion towards getting to the best work, just as a writer may have to find the real story one hundred pages into her first draft.

Rich Maloof writes in Forbes, “find a granular element of the concept that is undeniably of value.” You can always find the new simplified starting point and with iterative progress, your Plan D may be ten times better than Plan A started out.

Quality 5: Contagious Collaboration.

A large part of intrapreneurship is being able to “assemble” the right team around an idea and foster an enthusiastic start-up mentality – all hands-in, less silos and more shared accountability. If intraprenership requires a learn-by-doing approach, you’re going to need a passionate team willing to learn and relearn with you. You must be able to make a personal vision a team vision.

Intrapreneurial women will not be the first up the ladder. Instead, they’ll invent a new platform to stand on, from which the view looks different for everyone.

By Aimee Hansen

/by