Tag Archive for: mentors

Allison Yacker: Partner and Co-Chair, Investment Management and Funds, Katten

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Allison Yacker“From the moment I joined Katten, the attorneys most keen to invest in me — both personally and professionally — quickly became my mentors,” says Katten’s Allison Yacker.

“Reflecting on that moment, not only were those mentors some of the smartest and hardest working attorneys at Katten, but more importantly they were the ones who realized this was a two-way street.” Years later, Yacker now co-chairs the firm’s Investment Management and Funds practice and is based in New York.

Yacker offered insights on her journey to becoming a firm leader, and being recognized as a great mother and a go-to legal counsel for some of the largest global financial institutions.

Pivoting to Make Her Own Path, and Rising to Leadership at Katten

Throughout her 18 years at Katten, Yacker continues to rise through the firm ranks: from being selected as a summer associate, to becoming one of the youngest capital partners in the firm, to acting as a co-chair of the New York Financial Markets and Funds practice group and serving as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors.

“I knew Katten was a great place to work, and by the time I was a third-year associate I had solidified a terrific roster of mentors who happened to be all men,” Yacker said. “As I thrived in my career, I was determined to make capital partner by the time I was 40 and to serve in a leadership position at the firm because I wanted to prove to myself that it was possible and to help create a similar path for other women in the firm.”

And she did just that.

Yacker began her career at Katten in the corporate group, handling general securities work and mergers and acquisitions. She credits this experience with providing her the skillset that would serve as the foundation for her current practice. 

Soon Yacker was presented with the opportunity to be seconded to a major financial institution, where she gained practical legal experience in the derivatives and private funds market. Yacker relished the experience, and quickly found that the clients she enjoyed working with the most were traders and key decision-makers at hedge funds and private equity funds.

When she returned to the firm from her secondment, she quickly realized that she was one of only a few associates who could handle complex derivatives and structured products transactions for both the buy and sell sides. These types of transactions were regularly handled by the Financial Markets and Funds group, so when practice leaders invited her to join the group she knew it would provide her the platform needed to expand upon this niche. She jumped at the opportunity.

But in 2008, when the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted, she quickly realized that the complex derivatives transactions that she had spent a significant amount of time on were essentially regulated out of business. Good lawyers anticipate future risks; great lawyers identify it and pivot. It was at that moment Yacker decided to move away from derivatives and toward refocusing her practice on fund formation and investment management. There she found success faster than anticipated, and her clients quickly came and continue to rely on her to serve as their outsourced general counsel. Later on, she would pivot again – this time toward representing sophisticated investors looking to make investments in hedge funds, private equity funds, and other alternative financial products.  

Today Yacker represents hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools and managed account platforms that engage in a wide variety of strategies, including quantitative trading, private credit, distressed debt, futures, litigation finance, securitized products, affordable housing, renewable energy and carbon credits, to name a few. She also advises clients with regards to seed and early stage investment opportunities and global regulatory issues that arise in connection with investments in funds and managed accounts.

“You need to be able to work dynamically within your industry to find a practice that makes sense for you — one in which you respect and like the client base, and, most importantly, one that you enjoy,” Yacker said. “Do not be reactionary when it comes to your career, be proactive, take the reins and make the tough decisions.” 

Being Her Personal and Professional Self

In 2018, Yacker was named Katten’s Working Mother of the Year by Working Mother magazine. The article profiling her pointed out how integration of personal and professional self is only growing in importance. 

“Personal and professional—the lines become blurred when you’re predominantly working from home in New York City and raising two children who are remote learning,” she said. “It’s definitely a challenge to shift back and forth between the mom hat, the teacher hat, and the lawyer hat,” says Yacker. “When it comes to my kids, I make every effort to do so with love and respect, and of course a sense of humor, which I know resonates with my children.”

All joking aside, she remarked that her career often dictates that she be deliberate and efficient with her time, and that she create boundaries for herself and her children so that no aspect of the services she provides to her clients is impacted. To that end, she noted that she periodically goes to Katten’s mostly empty midtown Manhattan office when she has an intense work day planned, and joked that she never thought she would enjoy going to an office as much as she does now.

Positive Vibes and Being the Difference

Yacker is most energized about her work when her clients commend her skillset, style and work ethic when it comes to servicing their needs.  

“My clients often remark that they see me as a true counselor — a person that they know will give them not only insightful legal advice and the answer under the law, but also an answer that will work for their businesses,” she says. “My clients know that I am not a scrivener, and that I don’t stop at ‘no you can’t’ when they have a difficult issue — I’m here to solve their problems, to be creative, and to use the resources of my firm to find the best possible solution to any problem they have and to get the deal done.”

Yacker primarily attributes her professional integrity and intense work ethic to her grandfather, whose first job after arriving in America after surviving the Holocaust was that of a janitor who made 65 cents an hour. Through incredibly hard work, her grandfather eventually built a successful business. Both of her grandfathers were incredibly hard workers but family came first to them. To Yacker, every day that she puts in a hard day at work is a testament to her grandparents and an attempt to honor their memory.

Learning Along the Way

Yacker gained valuable insight while ascending to become one of the firm’s youngest capital partners.

She recommends that young lawyers work with and learn from as many different lawyers as possible. 

“You learn different ways of thinking, different ways of networking, different analytical abilities, and different techniques for maintaining relationships and running a practice,” she observes. “I think that’s been critical to my success.”

Yacker also says that she has always worked hardest for the people who were fully invested in her.

“Seek out mentors who are looking to invest in you personally and professionally,” says Yacker. “And take those relationships as seriously as possible. And then, give back to younger associates in the same regard.”

And most importantly, she encourages young lawyers to take ownership of their careers — not to wait for an opportunity to be handed to them, but rather to take the initiative in building a successful practice and to think proactively and deliberately about their goals. 

Networking and Outreach

Yacker stays connected with her clients and colleagues — even in pandemic times. Whether it be a virtual group wine tasting, hosting socially-distanced cocktails and meals on her terrace, or virtual tea with clients in London, Yacker tries her best to proactively stay in touch with her clients both professionally and personally.

She has found it particularly fulfilling to work on pro bono matters,  providing legal counsel through the Small Business Legal Relief Alliance to small businesses in New York that are struggling during the global pandemic. 

Yacker also sits on the steering committee and national mentoring panel of the Katten Women’s Leadership Forum, which supports the growth of Katten’s women attorneys with professional development events, networking and practical advice. 

She is also one of the founding members of Katten’s Women in Finance Initiative, which seeks to build a strong community of women within the firm with a view toward driving cross-selling opportunities and driving more business to this community.

She is an Angel Member of 100 Women in Finance, an organization dedicated to empowering women in the finance and alternative investment industries through meaningful connections, high-impact programming and initiatives that help build the pipeline of future leaders in the industry.

Also close to her heart is the new Parents Affinity Group at Katten—a virtual support group for attorneys and business professionals to connect with each other and discuss approaches to navigating work and family responsibilities. 

Crowing Achievement

As committed as she is to her professional success, she views her crowning achievement as the balance she has struck between being a successful lawyer and being a successful mother.

“My children know that mommy’s business means I have to be available to my clients almost all the time, so I work a lot. I think they respect me for how hard I work at my job, but they 100 percent know that they come first and they always will,” Yacker said. 

Yacker’s “work hard, play hard” attitude has always resonated with her sons Jackson and Ashton, ages 8 and 12 respectively. She revels daily in how resilient they are, how kind they are to each other, and how hard they work to do their best in school, even under these extraordinary circumstances. Yacker said she finds inspiration from her kids, who make her want to be the best at anything she is doing.

Her most cherished daily moment is the time when it’s just her and her boys — whether they are on the baseball field, cuddling in bed, or laughing together in hysterics on the couch. Those are the moments she is most grateful for.

By Aimee Hansen

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Jack Ginter, President, Abbot Downing, a boutique wealth business of Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management

Jack Ginter“Nobody does it alone. Strong relationships are critical. The biggest thing men can do, is engage in the topic, be a mentor and a mentor who becomes a sponsor is even better,” says Jack Ginter, President of Abbot Downing.

Ginter recognizes that mentors and sponsors including “two very strong women” were the people willing to speak up for him on his behalf throughout his career. He has been in wealth management for more than 25 years and risen through the ranks having client facing, portfolio experience as well as significant management experience. Ginter was part of the team that founded Abbot Downing in 2012 merging three businesses previously known as Calibre, Lowry Hill and Wells Fargo Family Wealth and now manages employees and serves clients across all 50 states.

Ginter is inspired to lead from the front on creating an inclusive workforce that runs on meritocratic principles. Personally, he is passionate to build opportunities for talented women, and is motivated to use his voice, power and position to drive change.

Ginter wants to ensure that everyone gets the chance to understand that diversity is a topic for everyone and encourages everyone to do the work that is needed to clear the deck for honest conversations.

“We have spent time here at Abbot Downing on unconscious bias and what microaggressions are. Men have to engage as allies and really dig deep into the topic to move the needle.”

He urges women to seek out men who get it.  Engaging with others who want to embrace the talent within the organization is essential to personal and professional growth.

“I have a daughter who is 19 and I have nieces that I want to have opportunities different than a decade ago. We have incredibly talented women on my current team who I want to see succeed and get to the next level. These women have had a significant impact on our business and the wealth industry.  I believe the success of our business depends on contributions from individuals who have different perspectives and innovative ideas.”

Jack participates in supporting women and creating change as an adviser to the Wells Fargo Women’s Team Member Network, a program that is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture at Wells Fargo for women through personal and professional development, mentoring, leadership engagement, networking and community outreach opportunities.

He is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council which spans all Wealth and Investment Management. He recounts how years ago, a female mentor of his team told him something that stuck with him.

“She told me that if I had a voice that has power, I have to use it. I have never forgotten that. Sometimes it is not easy to have uncomfortable conversations but men need to be engaged in the conversation. It is hard to own the fact you might have had privilege, but the overarching message here is that you have to engage and be direct in calling out behavior that needs to be called out.”

Holding People Accountable

Ginter is convinced that leaders can commit and engage in inclusive behaviors that attracts others who also believe to ensure a strong future with a complete understanding of what progress looks like. He believes in always having diverse slate of candidates when recruiting talent, a diverse hiring panel and understanding what a good culture looks like for real retention.

“We need a strong, healthy and diverse team. That is the future of our business.”

Ginter believes reverse mentoring, where a senior leader is mentored by a member of the broader team, has been a successful way for him and other leaders to really learn and listen. In this role, Ginter says he had to trust, be transparent and open with his mentor. Through difficult discussions he was able to work through communication and style issues and discuss common interests and goals.

When Ginter reflects on what advice would he give his younger self, regarding diversity and the narratives and needs of other people’s lives, he offers,

“I think looking back, I would tell myself to be more curious, listen more to other people and most importantly to never take away the other person’s decision making power.”

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Women, Get Promoted in 2020

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Get PromotedIf your goal is to get promoted in 2020, then you might consider doing an inventory of your relationships. Figuring out who your advocates or sponsors are is a good start. Then think about how you deploy them as true sponsors, so that you can secure and be rewarded for some high profile assignments. This, if you can get a great sponsor and are willing to make them look good is still a very effective career strategy.

My favorite academic Hermina Ibarra discusses the spectrum of mentor to sponsor or advocate in HBR in a way that really demonstrates that it is ok to have a mentor but to not be surprised when they are just an advice giver as opposed to an opportunity giver or “cash their chips on your behalf” person for you.

Sponsorship, almost ten years old as a named concept

We first started writing about sponsorship when the term was coined by Sylvia Ann Hewlett in 2011 when she wrote with Amex about the benefits of the relationship for female executives looking to succeed at work. We continued to write about through the early teens of this past decade as people struggled with the differentiation of mentors versus sponsors. The conclusion that Ibarra makes and I agree with as an organizational coach, is that most formal sponsorship programs haven’t delivered and in some cases have been scrapped altogether. As she states in her article,

“Typically, they abandon sponsorship because experience has shown them that while you can ask senior executives to provide advice and support to high-potential women, you cannot mandate that they spend their personal capital advocating for people they don’t know well or may not be bullish about.”

So, what can you do? Figure out who is who in your network using Ibarra’s sliding scale of mentor, strategizer, connector, opportunity giver and advocate. Once you know where you stand, you can start to know what your ask is!

Know the talent processes

Secondly, I am often surprised when as a coach, someone tells me they want to be promoted but yet have not investigated the formal talent processes at their firm. It is important to know what you have to do to be in the running as sometimes there is formal nomination and that can form the very basis for the plan that will take you to the next level. You can tell HR or your boss that you are interested in a long-term future there at your firm and therefore would like to know what you need to do to be considered for promotion. You can even request a specific timeline as the worst that can happen is that you tell you nothing, which is information in itself. Observe what behaviors and who gets rewarded at work as these are cultural norms that play a part in subjective talent processes in firms that are looser on their formal processes.

You can then focus your networking, and your work projects. When you are doing stretch assignments that matter, find ways to make sure others know as that is better than working yourself to the bone and expecting the reward on sheer volume of work alone.  Start having the right conversations with the right people, and if this sounds political then know that is how life implicitly works as men have meetings outside meetings all the time in the bathroom, bar, ballgame and the hallway. I sit in cafes a lot with my laptop and I hear men gossip about work even more than women do and they never say that other men are not competent, yet I hear women colleagues being undermined over coffee by women and men, sadly most days. The double bind of how you are darned if you do and darned if you don’t!

Other things to do in 2020 to get promoted

Thirdly in 2020, read the book by long-time collaborator and friend of theglasshammer Sara Canaday called “You, according to Them” that will help you understand that how you are perceived is just as important as who you actually are.

Lastly, to get promoted one of the best strategies is to get a coach. The FT just reported it’s the biggest thing so far in 2020 for career success and empirical evidence suggests randomized control tests showed that 85 per cent of coachees were better off than those in the control group,  not just in their own view, but also in the opinion of their line managers.

Hermina Ibarra’s latest work espouses coaching style for managers as the future. I believe her.

We walk the talk so call us for a complimentary chat about whether a coach can help you get what you want in 2020. Email nicki@theglasshammer.com as we have real life success stories for the past seven years of coaching VP, SVP, Managing Director and C-level women in the financial, professional and technology industries. Put coaching in the email subject line.

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11 Ways Mentors Can Help You Succeed – And How To Get Their Help

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11 Ways MentorsMost successful women will tell you that mentors made a big difference in their careers. Their mentorship may not always translate into breaking through the glass ceiling, but mentors can help your work performance, help you achieve success in a company and also help you be more fulfilled in your work.

Here are 11 ways a mentor can help you during 4 general stages of your career:

Stage 1: Newbie: Your Mentors Help You Acclimate to a New Job or Work Environment:

1. Find Your Way and Learn the Rules: Bonnie Marcus, author of The Politics of Promotion, says, “The mentor can offer advice on how to best navigate in the new work environment and give information about the people and politics.” A mentor within your company can help you understand corporate expectations—both spoken and unspoken rules. They can point out mistakes if they see you in action. Your mentor can help you feel comfortable operating within that environment.

2. Identify your skill set and anything missing that you need to work on. In my second job out of business school, a mentor suggested I attend trainings in time management and organization, which helped me be more effective in my job.

3. Model what works: Ask your mentors to share their stories of what’s worked in their careers and what hasn’t. Learn from your mentors’ experience. Beth B. Kennedy, a Leadership Coach who has taught many Leaders how to begin a successful mentoring relationship, shares the success of a client whose mentor taught her “excellent delegation and time management strategies” that led to the client’s success and promotion.

Stage 2: Strategic: Your Mentors Help You Plan Where you are Going for a More Successful and Fulfilling Career:

4. Create a Vision: A mentor can help you think about where you want to go in the long run and what can help you get there. This type of mentor can be someone in your workplace, someone in your field, or more of a general business coach, perhaps even someone you hire.

5. Look for Resonance: A mentor or coach can help you assess how well your current environment fits your values, skills and interests. You will be happier with a job and environment that resonates.

6. Help you define success: Long term success is not only about what a company or environment defines as success. Says Amy Beilharz, former corporate executive turned serial entrepreneur and business coach shares that as women, group goals, our relationships and contribution to a larger cause are all important to feeling fulfilled in our careers.

Stage 3: Mobile: Your Mentors Help You At Key Decision Points

7. Solve Problems: You can turn to your mentors for feedback on any challenges you are experiencing, offering possible solutions to problems, as well as general strategies that have worked for them in similar situations.

8. Evaluate Job Offers: You may be offered a job within your own department, another part of your company or even your own company. Sometimes it’s hard to see all the ramifications of taking a particular job—both for short-term fit and also for its long term strategic value. A mentor can help you see all angles and evaluate the fit.

Stage 4: Successful: Your Mentors Help You Get Where You Want to Go:

9. Help You Network: Marcus says mentors can introduce mentees “to potential allies and champions.”

10. Get You Noticed: Beth B. Kennedy, a Leadership Coach who has taught many Leaders how to begin a successful mentoring relationship notes, “A current client of mine learned strategies from her mentor that led to her promotion. Her mentor taught her ways to raise her visibility in an authentic way.

11. Your Mentors Can Serve as Sponsors: Marcus points out that at the upper echelons, it’s not just about mentoring. To get promoted, women need sponsors who are willing to introduce their mentees to the right people and suggest them for promotion.

12. Look Outside Your Company: External mentors in your field can help you look beyond your company for opportunities. They may help you decide what you are looking for, introduce you to contacts of theirs, or even help you get into their own organizations.

Where to Find a Mentor? Cultivate mentors within your company and outside of it. Kennedy offers the possibility of someone “from a different department to add a more systemic and strategic perspective.” Your boss can also be a good mentor, depending on the person.

How to get mentored? Kennedy says that, “The best mentoring relationships take place when they’re not forced mentoring programs. A proactive way to get a mentor is to begin the process in a more unofficial way.”

How?

a) Identify someone who has been successful in your organization or field in a way that resonates with you or that has certain skills and relationships you’d like to emulate.

b) Get to know them. Kennedy suggests you ask for a brief meeting or coffee, nothing fancy.

c) Kennedy says, “Asses the synergy.” What does your gut tell you about the mentor? “Does the possible mentor have the time and energy to mentor?”

d) After a few casual meetings, Kennedy says you can then ask the person if they would be your mentor. “Share your expectations. Some of the best mentoring relationships my clients have shared with me are the relationships that meet once a month and the mentee brings questions and an agenda. The mentee needs to be proactive and discuss their needs.” It’s also a good idea to share articles on mentoring and “other best practices with your mentor.”

e) At some point you want to evaluate the effectiveness. Kennedy suggests an assessment six months or a year down the road. If it’s not working, you can thank your mentor and move on to someone new.

Don’t wait for someone to offer to mentor you. Start to think now about specific ways you want a mentor to help you and list people who might be of help. You can have more than one mentor at a time, too. Ask other women about their mentoring experiences, as well. And if your company has a mentoring program, find out how one gets chosen to participate. No one goes it along in the corporate world. The support of your mentors can be one of the most important determinants in your success.

Guest contribution by Lisa Tener

Lisa Tener is an author, trainer and four-time Stevie Award winner, including the Silver Stevie Award for Mentor/Coach of the Year 2014. Lisa serves on faculty at Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course  and blogs on topics like how to choose a literary agent. You can also find her posts on the Huffington Post. Follow Lisa on twitter @LisaTener and Facebook.

Guest advice and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Mentor me: The Value of Male and Female Mentors

Business meeting.By Nneka Orji (London)

Mentoring, mentoring, mentoring. We are all constantly told about the positive impact a mentor can have on one’s career; from formal support and guidance, to very active yet informal promotion of a mentee’s achievements in the presence of senior colleagues. I, too, wrote about this very topic in a previous article, highlighting the benefits of mentoring in rebuilding the image of women at the workplace.

Based on the findings of numerous reports and studies, it is safe to say that mentors are invaluable, and we could all benefit from having someone in our corner. Yet according to a recent LinkedIn survey, 19 percent of professional women in the US stated they have never had a mentor. If the advantages of having a mentor are so clear, why are so many women missing out on the numerous opportunities that mentoring relationships offer?

Finding the Right Mentor

Over half of the LinkedIn survey respondents claim to have never found an appropriate mentor. This begs two questions:

1. Are the available mentors more “appropriate” for male mentees only?
2. Should women be more proactive or strategic in the way they seek mentors?

Read more

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Mentoring the Millennial Generation: Advice for Senior Female Executives

girlpowerBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

What is the best way to find out what makes NextGen employees tick? Ask them. This is exactly what PwC, along with the University of Southern California and The London Business School did in their groundbreaking study, PwC’s NextGen: a global generational study [PDF]. With over 40,000 responses collected and 18 global territories represented, this study identifies the attitudes, perceptions, mentality and overall work preferences of the next generation of the world’s workforce – Millennials.

Although Millennials and non-Millennials hold many similar viewpoints about flexible schedules, the ability to work occasionally from home, and the importance of healthy work/life balance, it seems as though PwC’s NextGen study reveals one important difference between Millennials and the generations before them. Millennials are not as inclined to make big sacrifices in their personal lives in order to climb the corporate rungs at work.

In fact, according to the study, 15% of all male employees and 21% of all female employees would accept less pay and extend the pace of their personal career advancement to work fewer hours. The study also suggests, however, that Millennials value different contributing factors to their personal advancement. What is the impact of these findings?

“Millennials are not afraid of working hard,” says Terri McClements, US Human Capital Leader for PwC, “it’s that the experience is equally important to them as putting in the hours it takes to achieve a certain title or role.”

While the results of the NextGen study have the potential to significantly affect workplace culture as corporate leaders adapt to accommodate the needs of this emerging workforce majority in an effort to improve employee retention and create effective talent development programs, the real impact just might be felt in the mentor/mentee relationships between non-Millennial senior level executives and Millennials.

This is especially true in the case of senior level female executives who choose to act as mentors to Gen Y rising stars within their company. With Millennial attitudes differing from non-Millennials in some key areas, how can these two generations of female workers connect in a way that is meaningful and beneficial for everyone involved, including the company?

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Why Role Models are Critical for Developing Women Leaders in Tech

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iStock_000009318986XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Recently, The Glass Hammer revealed our new research on women in technology – we wanted to find out what companies can do to better retain women at the junior and mid-career levels. Many companies are making a robust effort to recruit a high percentage of women at the entry-level, but few are building the organizational structure that will ultimately keep them there.

In our study, we identified a few motivators that stoke the career ambition of junior and mid-level women in technology – things like “walking the talk” (see our earlier article on the topic) and participating in a leadership development course.

Another key indicator of C-suite ambition was having a role model. In fact, the vast majority of our respondents (79.9 percent) said they had a role model. Meanwhile, respondents who didn’t have a role model were significantly more likely to say they had no C-suite aspirations than those who did have one.

That’s why, we believe, it’s important for companies to recognize the importance of nurturing connections between junior and mid-level technologists and the people at the top who support them through sponsorship initiatives, women’s networking groups, and mentoring programs.

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