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3. Have a point of view and a solution Come to a meeting with a point of view. What’s more: be comfortable expressing your view even if it is the alternative viewpoint. Realize that it is okay if your idea challenges the status quo or is not in agreement with your colleagues or manager as long as you voice your opinion in a way that is respectful, solutions-oriented and in line with your company’s culture. Mary Ellen Brown, Director, Retail Credit Transformation at RBC says: “I have always felt comfortable expressing a different opinion and voicing myself.” Also, be sure to have a point of view and to propose a solution. Kristin Peck, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Development and Innovation at Pfizer believes: “One of the reasons why I have been valued is that I come with a point of view and a solution. It’s not enough to just say: ‘I disagree’ or ‘I don’t think that will work.’ Instead, say: ‘X is the challenge and one way we could address it is Y.’ Be solutionsoriented.” 4. Be concise Realize that getting your voice heard does not necessarily mean being the loudest person at a meeting or talking a lot. Earlier in their careers, several women noted that they had received the feedback, ‘she doesn’t say much but when she has a point to make, everybody listens.’ They view this as a positive attribute. Siri Quisman, Lead Drilling Engineer at A.P. Moller-Maersk explains: “Don’t talk to have your voice heard, but rather talk when you have something to say. Talk when you truly have something to contribute or when you have something to ask.” The advice Taking Charge OWN 22 is clear: articulate your point of view in a crisp and succinct manner and then listen to what others have to say. Mary Anne Wiley BlackRock 5. Say it with authority Tone matters. Have the courage of conviction, and voice your opinion with authority. Mary Anne Wiley, Managing Director, Head of iShares Canada at BlackRock uses a useful technique: “Early on I was given the advice that leaders consume time and space. The way leaders consume time is by speaking. In order to consume space, sit up at the table, or, if you are on the phone, stand. For example, BlackRock is a global organization so it can be difficult to be heard on the phone. When I am on conference calls, I use a headset and I stand. That way, I feel more physically engaged in the conversation and standing opens up my lungs so my voice is more powerful.” Also, understand that, in addition to your preparation, it is important to be able to go with your gut. This is particularly important in the complexity of today’s world: you can’t have all the answers or constantly look into the history books to know how to move forward. So, you will need to craft your opinion, and voice it with confidence. As Adele Gulfo, Regional President, Latin America, Emerging Markets Business Unit at Pfizer says: “You can’t say: ‘I said it and no one heard and then a guy said it and they all paid attention.’ Well, yeah. How come you let that happen? Did you say it as authoritatively? What did you say? Own it. If you want to be heard, make your point of view clear, articulate and say it with authority.” OWN: Your Network ANZ operates in 32 countries and provides a range of banking and financial products to eight million customers worldwide. In this organization, the opportunities to move around the globe with the company are rich and Therese McGrath, General Manager, Finance Strategic Development at ANZ has taken full advantage. She estimates that in her career, she has moved twenty times. This globetrotter has learned the importance of building her network each time she relocates: “At one point early on in my career, I relocated to Spain. The thing I did wrong there was that I worked seven days a week, all day. When I first got there, my new colleagues offered me the opportunity to go out with them but I was so focused on work that I consistently said no. But, the problem is that when you finally get your head out, people are less likely to present you with the opportunities to socialize. You can become quite isolated. So, what I took away from that was: always say yes when people offer you an opportunity. The informal networking connection happens very quickly because people are quite generous with you when you move into these roles. So, after going through this sort of situation in Spain,
I have adopted this approach ever since, and have found building networks to be easier as I move around.” The women we interviewed are focused and results driven but are always aware that it is naïve to take the view that politics don’t matter. It is important to leave some bandwidth around the edge for the softer stuff – such as a catch up over coffee or an informal chat. Why? In short, it is easier to do business effectively if you have solid, trusted networks. These women are quite deliberate and proactive in cultivating their networks. Here is some advice they give on how you can take charge of owning your network. Erin Chapple Microsoft 1. Form your own personal board of directors Once a quarter, Erin Chapple, Partner Group Program Manager in the Server and Cloud Division at Microsoft gets together with a group of four women that she refers to as her Board of Directors. The women are all from Microsoft and were originally introduced over eight years ago by a Vice President at the company. Long after the VP had left the division, the relationship these women have developed keeps growing. They have been meeting regularly ever since. Erin explains how this board works: “The four of us are in similar places in our Taking Charge OWN 23 careers and personal lives and we have the belief that there is no competition between us. Each quarter we spend a day together. Usually we include a social activity such as dinner or the spa and we share ideas and do peer mentoring.” Several women mentioned that they have a personal board of directors that typically consists of people from both inside and outside their firms. These personal advisory boards include such people as their moms, siblings, partners, college classmates, past professors, or colleagues from previous companies. These advisory groups serve as valuable sounding boards for the variety of challenges that women in senior roles face, including: balancing work and family, career switches, difficult projects and much, much more. 2. Plot your circles of influence Knowing all the stakeholders in your ecosystem at work is critical to success. The leaders at BlackRock advocate a concept called ‘circles of influence’. This is essentially a stakeholder mapping exercise, where you plot your current level of closeness to key stakeholders and proactively determine how you will get to know them better. Juliet Bullick from BlackRock explains: “Think about the people you work with. Where would you plot them on your circle of influence? Perhaps the person you sit next to at work and deal with every half hour is a ‘one’, maybe your boss is a ‘two’, etc. If you plot out several circles to a level ‘five’ or ‘six’, where would you plot the closeness of your relationships as they are today? Most importantly, where would you like those relationships to be? You need to be deliberate about how you are going to bring people closer to you in order to make you more effective in your role.” 3. Realize the power of your women’s network Given that there are few senior-level women at most global organizations, one might assume that they would know each other well. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case, as Anne Weisberg, Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion at BlackRock observes: “There is a tremendous sense of isolation for women. The senior-level women just do not know one another. In any organization that I have assessed, it has been a consistent theme that the senior women do not know each other. Why? Because there are so few of them, they are dispersed and do not know one another. We need to create opportunities for them to meet one another!” We often hear about how to break into the old boy’s network. Yet, the women we interviewed highlighted the importance of connecting with other women. It may be tempting to skip a women’s networking event at your organization – but don’t! Donna Coallier, a Partner at Pricewaterhouse- Coopers says: “Don’t underestimate the power of your women’s network. What I have found in the last few years is that having a women’s professional network is equally as valuable as the male network. I have powerful women that are clients, potential clients, or in academia – and, over the past five to seven years, my women’s network has proved to be quite valuable. My advice is that the more diverse your network, the more powerful it is.”
Page 1: ICEDR SPECIAL REPORT Taking Charge
Page 4 and 5: Taking Charge OVERVIEW 4 Overview A
Page 6 and 7: Taking Charge EXPLORE “The way to
Page 8 and 9: EXPLORE: Your Style As a woman lead
Page 10 and 11: Taking the time to reflect on what
Page 12 and 13: Surprisingly, these women leaders f
Page 14 and 15: Taking Charge “If I look back and
Page 16 and 17: Having Conversations with Your Kids
Page 18 and 19: The Rise of the House Husband “Th
Page 20 and 21: When it comes to priorities, recogn
Page 24 and 25: Apply! Many women observed a common
Page 26 and 27: Forum, she continues to facilitate
Page 28 and 29: Taking Charge “If you’re not on
Page 30 and 31: Taking Charge REPAY “I measure my
Page 32 and 33: the values I was built with and bor
Page 34 and 35: Taking Charge REPAY 34 a mom who ha
Page 36 and 37: Audit: Take Charge! Explore Own Rep
Page 38 and 39: Acknowledgements We would like to t
Page 40: About ICEDR ICEDR is the premier gl

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