Tag Archive for: pwc

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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Thought Leaders: Moira Elms, Global Head of Brand and Communications, PwC

thought-leadershipA strong interest in gender diversity has not always been an inherent piece of my make-up. But throughout my career trajectory this interest evolved. I got to a stage in my career where there were not many working women around me. Lots of talented women were falling by the wayside. That was when I became passionate about gender diversity.

I felt I had to do something about it.

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Voice of Experience: Carol Sawdye, Chief Financial Officer, PwC

carol sawdyeAccording to Carol Sawdye, Chief Financial Officer at PwC, it’s important to maintain a “sense of urgency” about your career. It took Sawdye 17 years to figure this out, she said with a laugh.

After climbing through the ranks to partnership at PwC, she set out for a new chapter as CFO and COO at the M&A firm Skadden Arps, which led her to a more recent, challenging role as CFO at the NBA. Now, she is back at PwC, working as part of the US Leadership Team to transform the nature of how the firm does business in a rapidly changing, 24/7, global marketplace.

Sawdye explained, “You don’t necessarily need to move to new employers. There are typically a lot of opportunities in the place where you are currently employed to get new experiences and advance your skills. The way to get from point A to point B is not necessarily a straight line.”

“After moving up the ranks at PwC for 17 years, I made the move to Skadden – it was a big leap. But I had the desire to become part of a management team so I just decided to do it. You really need to be willing to see opportunities and take calculated risks.”

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Voice of Experience: Maria Castañón Moats, Chief Diversity Officer, PwC

Maria MoatsAccording to Maria Castañón Moats, Chief Diversity Officer at PwC, simply acknowledging diversity isn’t enough to unlock its benefits – companies must engage with diversity to really experience its value. “I’m getting out there and talking to different people in practice about why it’s important for us to engage with each other when it comes to diversity,” she said.

“Think about behaviors – like inclusion. We need to understand not only how we are similar, but we need to understand how we are different.”

“Taking an interest in that difference and leveraging that makes us better as a team,” she explained. “If we could all behave as advocates for one another, think of how powerful that would be.”

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Voice of Experience: Yolanda Seals-Coffield, Principal, Office of the General Counsel, PwC

Yolanda SealsHaving begun her career as an employment litigator and then moving in-house to work for Diageo, and now PwC, Yolanda Seals-Coffield, Principal in the Office of the General Counsel, has used her considerable skills in nurturing authentic relationships to build the career she’s envisioned for herself.

“Women should understand that your potential is limitless,” she said. “How far ones goes should be defined by what one wants to do, not by what people tell them they can do.”

“There are many things I have learned over the course of my career – but I wish I had known from the beginning that I had more input and accountability in driving my career If I knew then what I know now, I would have had the confidence in the early years to be more proactive and seek out the opportunities that interested me rather than waiting to be tapped on the shoulder” she explained.

“It would have been advantageous to know that I had a lot more flexibility around who I wanted to be, where I wanted to go, and the impact I wanted to make,” she said. Seals-Coffield, who now supports the human capital function at PwC, is doing her best to open doors and clear a pathway for the women climbing the ladder behind her – and blazing her own trail as well.

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