Tag Archive for: Leadership

resilienceBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Anyone’s who’s ever had to struggle or overcome extreme hardships knows the power of being resilient; the importance of being able to bounce back and keep trudging onwards. According to a new study by Accenture, resilience – or the ability to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities – also happens to be a much-needed characteristic in the business world; one that is key to keeping your job in a harsh economy.

The global research study entitled Women Leaders and Resilience: Perspectives from the C-Suite was conducted in support of International Women’s Day and the study marks Accenture’s sixth consecutive celebration of this global celebration, which honors the economic, political, and social achievements of women past. It is the company’s hope that their female-focused research helps fuel the dialogue on key issues affecting women in the workplace.

The Findings

Accenture surveyed more than 500 senior executives – including CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s, and CHRO’s – of mid- to large-size companies in 20 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America. According to the research, these execs believe that women are slightly more resilient than men. Results showed that companies are providing female professionals with a variety of programs aimed at developing resilience.

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Celebrating International Women's DayToday we are pleased to be celebrating International Women’s Day with all of the amazing women in our community.

An encouraging start to this week was Kathryn Bigelow’s historic double Oscar win for best picture and best director.

We believe this is a step in the right direction, not just for the entertainment industry, but for all industries. We need to achieve a critical mass of female leaders to change perceptions around what a leader looks like.

We also believe that there is immense value in building a strong network based on educational content. This week we are hosting our second networking breakfast for senior women in investment management. If you wish to join us to discuss Risk and Transparency in this field, please contact me – we may have couple of spots left. You can also read glasshammer2.wpengine.com on Thursday for full coverage, or sign up for our newsletter to receive this and other top stories in your inbox each week.

Every day is International Women’s Day on glasshammer2.wpengine.com. We want to see you succeed.

Sincerely,

Nicki Gilmour
CEO
Theglasshammer.com

catalystawardsBy Elisabeth Grant (Washington, D.C.)

Each year the Catalyst Award recognizes businesses that support women’s advancement in the workplace. For 2010, Catalyst Awards were given to the Campbell Soup Company, Deloitte LLP, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and Telstra Corporation Limited. See a list of the 69 companies that have won Catalyst Awards since 1974 on the Catalyst web site.

Companies apply for the award by submitting initiatives to Catalyst that promote “recruitment, development, and advancement of all women.” The Catalyst Awards Committee then evaluates each initiative through on-site visits and “interviews and focus groups with executive management, high-level women, human resources professionals, and other employees at various levels.” Through the evaluation process initiatives are judged on six factors (from the Catalyst web site):
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wecny leadership censusBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last week, the Women’s Executive Circle of New York presented the results of its “2009 New York Census – The state of Women Business Leaders in New York State.” The study was created in partnership with Columbia Business School.

Yessinia Scheker-Isquierdo and Candace L. Quinn, co-presidents of WECNY opened the event with mixed results. On one hand, said Quinn, “In New York we have actually increased the number of seats held by women.” But on the other, “the percentage of companies that have no women [in top positions] has increased” as well.

Companies should encourage women in their top ranks, especially in challenging times, she explained. Women are skilled at keeping the important issues at the forefront of a discussion. The diversity of background, thought, and decision making that women bring to the table allows for dynamic solutions to problems, rather than allowing hard conversations to drift into group-think territory.

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iStock_000006262297XSmallBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

This year the iconic publication Black Enterprise (BE) celebrates its 40th anniversary. Since 1974 the magazine has featured prominent African American business women in a way that other publications have failed to. In 1991, the magazine published its groundbreaking list of the “21 Women of Power and Influence in Corporate America.” In 2006, it was a list of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.”

BE rang in 2010 with their most comprehensive list to date, profiling the “75 Most Powerful Women in Business,” as written by BE’s careers and lifestyle editorial director Sonia Alleyne. Alleyne’s rundown of the most prominent African American business women made its way into the hands of the publication’s nearly 3.7 million loyal readers and it is her hope that seeing successful, strong, black women will influence some of the publication’s struggling female readers to continue their fight.

“[We honor these women] to show that it is possible. The benefit men have in business, particularly in the corporate environment, is that they have so many role models; successful men who recognize potential in other young men and offer the necessary support and guidance to make sure they succeed as well. Women have historically operated outside of that network, but when we highlight women who have made it to the senior ranks of an organization or in their own business, it serves as a powerful source of inspiration to others who might be silently struggling in their companies wondering if it’s possible – or if it’s even worth the effort,” Alleyne said.

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increase_employabilityBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

While things are looking better for job seekers, the financial sector has not yet returned to its pre-recession state. There are still fewer jobs around. And even if you aren’t looking for a new job, the risk of more redundancies hangs heavy in the City. Nobody wants to be out of work at the moment, and although it’s a bit late for New Year’s Resolutions, you still have time to commit to improving your employability this year. Here are The Glass Hammer’s top five tips for improving your CV or resumé.

  1. Speak in public

    Enough already with the excuses. You will not die if you stand up and speak in front of a crowd. Cutbacks means fewer industry events this year but there are still plenty of conferences and seminars looking for speakers. You are an expert in something, and you only have to know a small amount more than the rest of the room to look like that expert. Speak at an industry conference about a project or initiative you have worked on – no one will know more about it than you and case studies are a perennial favourite on the conference circuit.

    How do you get to be a speaker? It’s really easy – just ask. Look at the fliers that fall out of your industry publications or look on the internet for forthcoming events. By the time the schedule is published it will be too late for you to attend that session, but ask for your details to be put on the call for papers list and next time they are looking for speakers you’ll get a notification. You’ll be asked to prepare a short abstract about your presentation. The organisers take all the abstracts and choose those that would make a coherent conference schedule.

    If that still sounds too scary then start small with a talk at your local professional institute branch. Or offer your services to a women’s network – they would love to hear about your career journey. If you are just starting out, talk to university groups about how you landed your finance job.

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Image courtesy Bank of America

Image courtesy Bank of America

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last night, the Financial Women’s Association hosted a discussion with Sallie Krawcheck, President of Global Wealth & Investment Management for Bank of America, as part of the organization’s Distinguished Speakers Series.

The candid (and often humorous) discussion touched upon career development, the state of the financial services industry, trust, and what it means to be in transition. The point Krawcheck kept returning to, though, was the importance of keeping a long term view – both in terms of the markets and in professional growth.

Regarding the state of the financial industry’s efforts to advance women in leadership positions, she said, “The industry has been working on it for a while. Progress in some years is good, and in other years it is limited.”

Many companies in the financial services industry operate in a state of crisis, she explained, working to beat quarterly results, rather than looking out for the long term good of the firm. And this behavior transfers to the firms’ hiring processes as well. Because these banks are constantly in crisis mode, managers choose to promote the so-called safe choices – people who look and behave similarly to the ones already in charge. “This goes against giving people who not just look different, but think differently” opportunities for promotion, Krawcheck said.

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lawyerBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

DirectWomen, a three-year-old organization based in New York City, believes it has discovered an untapped resource capable of greatly benefiting the boards of U.S. companies: accomplished female attorneys. After all, for the first time in the country’s history more women are graduating from law school than men, and not only that, but 2008 findings from Catalyst found that companies with the highest representation of women board directors and women corporate officers actually experience more financial success than boards with little to no female representation. Obviously, DirectWomen and organizations like it are on to something.

According to the 2009 Catalyst Census, the percentage of women board directors has hovered at around 15 percent for the past five years. Getting women into these positions has proven to be difficult, but Dominique Schulte, Executive Director of DirectWomen, believes that female lawyers are more than capable of not only serving in these positions, but succeeding in them. “Despite all the awareness of the positive attributes of diversity, there has still not been a major breakthrough in the number of women directors,” Schulte said. “We feel that women lawyers are uniquely qualified and an experienced source of board diversity that has gone unnoticed.” Until now…

In early 2006 a group of women who met through their participation in Bar activities began to discuss their concern over the small number of women serving on boards, even though the first generation of women to attend law school in meaningful numbers was reaching the age where they might consider board service. In response to this problem, these women decided to form DirectWomen in order to promote women lawyers with business experience for board service.

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women watchBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

It’s been ten years since Cranfield School of Management first produced a report benchmarking the number of female executive directors on the corporate boards of the UK’s top 100 companies. This time the authors of the Female FTSE report has gone a step further – perhaps to celebrate a decade of highlighting the paucity of women at the top – and put together a list of women to watch.

There are 2,281 women (which is 404 more than last year) on the corporate boards, executive committees and senior teams in the FTSE 250. The ‘Women to Watch’ report identifies 100 women in that group, chosen from the largest organisations, whom the authors believe should be seriously considered for the most senior positions.

The Glass Hammer has picked out the financial services high fliers – women you should be watching out for in 2010. Is anyone at your company on the list?

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What a year 2009 has been! The markets hit a deep low in March and then incredulously the Dow Jones index has bounced back to over 10,000 points to end the year on a better note for investing confidence here in the U.S., and the U.K. is fighting hard to see similar gains on the FTSE.

2009 has been an important year for The Glass Hammer in furthering our mission to inform, inspire and empower professional women. One of the highlights for me personally was putting together an invitation-only breakfast networking club for senior women from the fund management industry to come together around specific relevant topics in panel discussion. The debate on the new business model for the Buy-Side can be seen here. Around the discussion we conducted a survey which resulted in a whitepaper produced in conjunction with Stone House Consulting on the future of the fund management industry. Interesting reading for both genders and a powerful guide to what 2010 may bring for players in that industry.

The mission of theglasshammer.com is to create opportunities for professional women to advance to the corner office, to stay in the game and win it. We will be continuing our breakfast networking club for senior executives in NY and plan to extend that to London in Quarter 2.

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