The Gender Agenda

From Australia to Chad…on moments that take your breath away

Hello again.  This week I’ve asked a colleague based in Australia – Kathryn Wightman-Beaven – to guest blog.  I speak with Kathryn regularly as part of our efforts to both formally and informally connect PwC’s diversity and inclusion efforts with our corporate responsibility work.  I’ve never felt more proud to be an employee of PwC than the day I found out that via our 10-year anniversary celebration (The Power of 10 campaign) our firms and people had donated US$4 million to a collaborative project to educate the children of Darfur – the largest corporate cash donation in the history of the United Nations Refugee Agency.  Below is Kathryn’s moving description about her recent visit to Chad to view the progress of this project, including reflections about shifting gender roles in the camp and the moment that took her breath away. 

“The world of technology I often think has passed me by.  People talk about tweeting, blogging, widgets, facebook – I see the lips move but not sure if I hear what they are saying, so when I was asked to be a ‘guest blogger’ on the gender agenda blog, I had this strange sense that I would be opening my thoughts to the wider world that I could not see – yet they would be getting a glimpse of me.  And as I thought about this in more detail, I realized that this wasn’t so bad - the experiences I have had over the past month or two or indeed past few years should be shared.  After all, you never know what chain reactions may occur…..

In my role as Director for Global Corporate Responsibility and as the project lead for our flagship project Educating the Children of Darfur, I was fortunate to travel to Chad with Rick Millen, to visit the refugee camps and see first hand the difference the collective impact of PwC and the funds raised during the Power of 10 campaign.

I’ve been fortunate in my life and career to date.  I’ve worked with disadvantaged, disillusioned young people, alcoholics, constant re-offenders, people with long term drug addictions, young women with advanced stages of ovarian cancer.  All these interactions didn’t just give me a sense of perspective, but also grounding and in all my roles I try to use this to effect change inside out.  My path has crossed with many others; a special few have left a mark.  I might add that most have been women; women that have demonstrated an immense amount of courage, determination, humour and vision.

So I thought I was prepared to go to Chad.  I couldn’t have been more wrong!  I’m sure everyone has images of refugee camps in their minds. Nothing quite prepares you.  I had heard many stories from the UNHCR about the women in the camps, their roles, marriage, children and I was keen to explore this further.

I was struck by the stark and barren nature of the camps; on the border with Sudan and in the middle of the desert reside 20,000 refugees.  There are 12 camps along the border.  Each refugee starts their new life with a plastic shelter and the basic rations – from there they build their lives.  As most refugees have been in the camps since 2004, when you walk into the camps we were greeted not by a sea of blue UNHCR plastic sheets but mud houses – built bottom up from the ground.  On the whole of it, the women have built the houses. Each house is a home to a family that might comprise immediate children and the extended family.   The houses are immaculate.  It was interesting to see the stark contrast between the mud houses and the concrete built new schools with corrugated iron roofs.   The schools had been built by the men and the homes by the women.

On many occasions we heard that in Darfur the men would be the head of the household, so as they fled the conflict, they left behind their livelihood and their jobs and arriving in Chad the men felt disempowered. The women on the other hand took a more leading role – building the home (literally) looking after the children, maybe becoming a teacher, collecting firewood and water.  The social hierarchy started to change but with that brings unrest as the men struggled to come to terms with their reduced role and in some cases it might lead to domestic violence.  I compare that with my own circumstances where my husband runs his own business from home and looks after our 20 month old daughter and I work full time – this arrangement gives us flexibility and balances work and home without compromise.  We take a joint approach to the responsibilities we have.  This is not the case in the camps.  So it was interesting to learn that some of the girls are now starting to see life differently – they don’t all want to marry young and have many children.  In fact, one young lady told us that she may not marry until she is in her 20’s!  Can you imagine their horror when I told them that I was in my late (ish) 30’s when I had my daughter, Charity, and that she was at home with her dad whilst I was in Chad!  A role reversal that some found hard to comprehend!  For me it seemed quite normal – in fact a necessity.  For me to explain and talk to Charity about the roles we play in society, our global obligations, the importance of social change and the role that women play in taking change forward meant I have to do this with integrity and that meant being away from her for two and a half weeks to visit the camps and see the project PwC is supporting.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away”

Whilst in the camp, I spent a lot of the time talking (as much as I could in English and very poor French) to the women and the children.  Actually, the children just wanted to play with me, touch my hands and laugh!  The women were more reserved – often they would sit at the back of the room and say very little.  On one occasion, after a meeting with the community leaders had finished, I wandered down to the back of the classroom to chat with the women –as we sat and laughed at my awful French and non existent Arabic, one of the ladies asked me as she waved her hands towards me, to take her baby back to Australia to lead a better life.  This was a moment that took my breath away.  I have reflected on that moment many times since then – what must have gone through her mind to ask me that and how bleak she must have felt abut the future to consider such a sacrifice.  We often talk about the PwC Experience and I have many times tried to put myself in her shoes to understand why she asked me this question.  When I think about the role of women in our organisation, society at large and our communities – this experience and this woman in particular has given me a different perspective.  We talk many times about the business imperative of a diverse workforce, role models and the emotional intelligence diversity brings – this experience brings a different perspective to diversity and reminds me not to lose sight of some of the fundamental issues.

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

Feelings are facts and perceptions are reality…

Hello, bonjour, and goedemorgen!

I’ve just returned from Holland, where I had the pleasure of attending an International Women of Excellence event with professionals from IBM, American Express, Shell, TNT, BAE Systems, and Philips (some of the panellists are pictured below).  It was a day full of revelations for me, but before I get to that I must tell you that Amsterdam is one of my favourite European cities (and not just because I saw The Killers play a rousing set at the Heineken Music Hall in May).

There are few pleasures I enjoy more than strolling the city’s canals on a mild night and peering into the milk-bottle shaped houses that line the water.  Many inhabitants keep their curtains open (I’ve been told this is a remnant of Calvinist tradition – a gesture to show they’ve nothing to hide, literally or figuratively) and you can frequently see the gorgeous interiors of the canal houses – some modern, some traditional – often with quirky nooks and crannies including enormous floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves, heaving with books.  Incidentally, the same friend explained that Amsterdam has more books in more languages per capita than any other city in the world – it’s definitely my kind of town.

So – now that that’s out of the way, let me share with you the significant wisdom of Peter Korsten, Global Leader of the IBM Institute of Business Value (and, I’m pleased to say, a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ alumni!)  Peter began by distributing a recent article in de Volkskrant, one of The Netherlands’ leading newspapers.  The article summarized research done on “why the flow of women to the top falters.”  831 of the most influential business executives at top companies in The Netherlands were polled.  Here are a few quotes from these executives as printed in the article:

“Women are not ready [to be top executives].”

“Men choose men [for leadership positions].”

“Women cannot handle the pressure [of leadership coupled] with the private sphere.”

“The rise of ‘female-friendly behaviour’ [i.e., quotas] means concessions to quality.”

“In selecting the really senior executives, the rules are different.  And those [rules] are rarely public.”

“Female directors…have negative experiences with other women at the top.”

So.  What to do with this information, besides sigh forlornly and shake our heads?

Well, one of the researchers is quoted as saying: “The [leadership] summit has been designed by men for centuries.  They feel naturally at home there.  Women think they have to adapt themselves to that profile, which creates a self-reinforcing system.  And that is unfortunate, because by giving women the space [to be themselves], they can tap into their own unique power, which is what provides added value [to business].  The only way forward is thus, to achieve re-development of the summit.”

“Re-development of the summit” is a phrase that really resonated with me.  It’s consistent with what I’ve been hearing from other thought leaders lately – that we need to stop trying to change women and start rethinking entire business models – not just to accommodate women, but to accommodate all of our best talent and to tap into different skill sets.

Peter Korsten also gave us some hope.  He used the newspaper article to launch a discussion, pointing out that although some of the comments made by these top executives may not be palatable, “feelings are facts – perceptions are reality,” and women should therefore seek to know and understand how they are perceived by men in the workplace.  Peter also shared some of IBM’s history to demonstrate the critical role of company culture in creating an inclusive environment that capitalizes on the diverse strengths of its employees to achieve innovation.  Did you know that IBM hired its first female and black employees in 1899 and its first handicapped employees in 1914?  That their first FEMALE Vice President was appointed in 1943?  Did you know that in 1953 IBM instituted an equal opportunity policy for everyone regardless of background and/or sexual orientation?  I didn’t. 

In the context of the social and political milieu of the U.S. at that time, these figures are quite astonishing and go a long way towards explaining why IBM is a role model company for global diversity and inclusion today.  As Peter pointed out, the culture was set by top management at a very early stage; diversity is not, therefore, just about quotas or numbers, “but about asking ourselves whether we have included everyone in our way of working.” 

When asked by a participant how he practices inclusion on his own team, Peter gave an interesting example: he asks a female team member to review every communication he sends to the CEO or other senior level executives.  He explained that women “read with different eyes” and that they always have an opinion, a question, or suggestion that causes him to edit the message for higher impact and clarity.

Here are Peter’s tips for success that he shared with us:

1. Always say YES when asked to do something (then go back later to the person who asked in order to set parameters and contingencies – such as personnel and financial resources that you will need to deliver).
2. Position yourself with self-confidence and strength – BE WHO YOU ARE.
3. Network with a goal and then be the “spider” in the web – KNOW what you want to be famous for.
4. Use questions to gain perspective from the other and to help others think.
5. Know what needs to be done and do it with conviction and perfection.

I actually find that “perfectionism” is something I have to overcome – an inhibitor of progress that snags me from time to time, but I think I get Peter’s last point which speaks more to excellence and commitment.  In any case, I found his tips useful and will try to practice them in my daily work so they become habit.  When I can apply such principles with discipline, I do see a marked change in my work. 

For example, something we as employees are encouraged to do at PwC is to put ourselves in each others’ shoes.  I’ve been making a concerted effort to do that for some time now, and it has proven to be an amazing enabler of collaboration and relationships.  The pace of the modern world can make it difficult to stop and take a moment to consider where another person is coming from (both literally and figuratively), but when I’m able to do so (and I am – with increasing frequency), it changes the entire dynamic of my conversations.

In my first blog post, I promised postings on France, Foreigners and Four-letter words.  I’ve covered France with the fabulous 2009 Women’s Forum in Deauville, but will be coming to you soon on the latter two topics, as well as sharing some insight about PwC’s diversity & inclusion efforts in 2010.  Stay tuned…

à bientôt,

Dale

 

Who will we choose to be?

Greetings from an autumn-infused New York City! 

I managed to take a detour on my walk from a conference in Times Square to our PwC office on Madison Avenue the other day and can report that the trees in Central Park are awash in breathtaking hues of orange, yellow, and red, the air crisp and surprisingly fresh for the city that never sleeps.  What a fortunate time to be visiting my US Office of Diversity colleagues.  The PwC US Firm was honoured last week and this week with two different awards.  For the sixth year in a row, they clinched a spot on The Top 10 Best Company for Working Mothers list.  This was also the 15th year that PwC US has been listed in the Top 100, earning them a place on Working Mother’s “100 Best” Hall of fame list.

DiversityInc also recognized the US Firm as number 5 in their Top 50 Companies for Diversity list (DiversityInc has also recognized PricewaterhouseCoopers as the Number One Company for Global Diversity in both 2008 and 2009).

This week I watched our Global Chairman, Dennis Nally, accept the DiversityInc award for the Top Company for Working Families.  In his remarks to the audience, he noted that:

“retaining talented women is a business imperative that will outlast the financial crisis…bad times don’t last, but good people do.” 

Earlier in the evening, I spoke with Dennis about his personal vision for our global diversity agenda during his tenure as Chairman, and I look forward to sharing some outcomes of that conversation in future blog posts.  This latter award ceremony took place in tandem with DiversityInc’s How Leadership Expresses Diversity Commitment event, in which we had the privilege of hearing not only Dennis, but a number of leading CEOs, government officials and academics discuss the topic.  What amazed me about these speakers was how they shared their passion for diversity in such personal ways – the authenticity in their words was palpable.  One CEO talked about how he had to make a difficult decision for the company that detracted from his church’s views because “it was the right thing to do.”  Another described how, when facing a pivotal question about which Employee Resource Groups to create, he asked his children for their input (and encouraged his executive team to do the same) to ensure he was creating a company that would be not just acceptable, but inspiring to future generations of workers.  I found it encouraging that when put to the test these leaders made tough personal choices and demonstrated a willingness to be open to new ideas and ways of thinking to create a more inclusive workplace. 

On a personal note, I experienced three firsts at this conference: I heard speeches from Diego Sanchez, the first transgender person to work on Capitol Hill, and Judith E. Heumann, a polio survivor and disability-rights activist who is the director of the D.C. Department of Disability.  The stories of both individuals reminded me of how important it is to put ourselves in each others’ shoes, and in fact another speaker, Dr. Ella Bell of Dartmouth University, summed up the importance of this principle to business as she pointed out that only when we bring our WHOLE selves to our work can we “walk into our brilliance.”  She encouraged all of us to “think bigger and more creatively” about diversity and to connect our leadership styles with our personal stories, or what she called, “Myography” (I’d love to hear from you about how your personal stories inspire your own work.)  The final “first” for me was the realization that I myself was one of the “leaders” in the room.  Multiple speakers throughout the event reminded me that you don’t have to have a fancy title on your business card to be a leader.  After all, aren’t we all leaders of some sort?  Leaders of people, teams, projects, families, and other groups?  Aren’t we all, every day, behaving in ways that may be emulated by the people we’re interacting with, whether they be our colleagues, our friends, or our families?

Dr. Cornel West of Princeton University delivered one of the most stirring speeches I’ve heard in a long time (he’s one of those people who can employ words in a way that makes your hair stand up on end).  After making the case for the connection between diversity and quality in the corporate world (and indeed, in the world in general – “diversity is good for business,” he said, “and it’s good for the soul”), Dr. West posed a question to all of the leaders in the room: 

“In the middle of womb and tomb, who will we choose to be?”

He went on to remind us that so many people have become preoccupied by the Glass ceiling, that they forget about “people in the basement and on the seventh floor” – in other words he feels America is still not tapping into the incredible talent of its diverse population.  Dr. West warned against arrogance, urging leaders to be “unsettled, uncomfortable and unnerved” in order to grow (indeed, living in Europe for the past four years has taught me that the times when I feel most out of my comfort zone are the times that I stretch most as a human being and a business professional). 

“Diversity as a business imperative,” said Dr. West, “is not rhetoric; it’s indispensible for business flourishing here and around the world.”  He urged the audience to “lift your voices AND your ears” – a sentiment which underlined the theme of an earlier session on Emotional Intelligence in which we learned the importance of the art of listening when leading teams.  He encouraged us to have role models; not celebrities or people in the spotlight, but people that touch our lives regularly, people who we can actually see and hear – in person – on a regular basis (“Oprah is not a role model,” he explained – which did produce a sigh from me, as I’m a rather devoted reader of her magazine, which regularly features inspiring women entrepreneurs from around the globe).  The expression of diversity is about “being myself…in a respectful way,” he said.  He pointed out that if our goal is innovation, we can’t have one corporate model which everyone must imitate, but rather we must create an environment in which employees can “find their voices, not just their echoes.”  This, I think, is a concept that has become critical to businesses as it relates to products and services, but also to sustainability.  When asked about how he feels about the disillusionment of the young generation in light of the financial crisis and the obstacles that still remain, Dr. West replied:  “I am a prisoner of hope.”  That’s a sentiment that I’ll definitely embrace as we move forward with our own diversity agenda, and one that resonated with me after my conversation with Dennis and diversity practitioners I’ve met this week.

I’m leaving the US shortly to fly back to Belgium, but will return with many thought-provoking ideas and input for our global journey from diversity leaders at large companies and from my US colleagues.   Speaking of which, if you’re a fan of the television show Mad Men, I encourage you to check out Jennifer Allyn’s Forbes’ article called, “Why Gen Y Women Need to Tune In”.  I also highly recommend her recent piece, “Reclaiming Mommy Tracks” which addresses the question: What if all women returning from maternity leave were given several transition options instead of having to negotiate ad hoc arrangements?  Finally, if you have (literally) a few minutes, do check out the excellent “10 Minutes on Managing Diversity”, which is a very short, very powerful, and very practical read on diversity and competitive business advantage.

à bientôt,

Dale

“Men love war and women love warriors”…and other dead clichés

“Men love war and women love warriors,” quoted Gassan Salamé, Professor of International Relations at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in France at last week’s Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society.  Needless to say, this got QUITE a reaction from the audience; of course the reading of the quote was intentionally provocative – Salamé was illustrating how such clichés have lost their meaning.  In fact, much of this year’s Forum focused on the need to completely rethink our most basic societal institutions: government, healthcare, schools, and – of course – business in order not only to thrive, but to survive.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has been has been a corporate partner of the Forum since its inception in 2005.  This “Davos for Women” was astonishing for a first-timer like myself.  I found it fitting that the Forum takes place in Deauville, a seaside town in the Normandy region of France.  Apart from being my personal favourite place in Europe, Normandy is a rather poignant location for a women’s business conference.  In 1944, hundreds of thousands of men landed on its beaches, a feat that would eventually help end World War II.  An ancillary effect of this was that back in the allies’ homelands, MILLIONS of women went to work outside the home for the first time ever to support the war effort and fill vacant jobs.  In America alone, “Rosie the Riveter” increased the number of working women to about 20 million.

And here I was in Normandy, seeing the legacy of that string of events…six decades later.

To give you an idea of the scope of the conference, I have to share how it FELT.  Imagine being in the midst of one thousand (mostly) female leaders of every age and race, from 70 countries.  Imagine women dressed in suits, head scarves, and boldly coloured African robes.  Imagine hearing women’s voices – French and English (spoken in a melodic range of accents).  Imagine the pervasive sillage (an apt French word, roughly meaning “the scent trail left by perfume”).  Imagine being in the enormous Centre International de Deauville, where typical French elegance suffused every last detail, from the omnipresent purple logo, to the young women staffing the event, in matching black tailored dresses, pressed ribbons circling their waists.  Being surrounded by this many diverse women at a business event was inspiring…and comfortable.

Around the corner from the plenary room, participants could peruse the “Discovery Hall.”  Among the places to visit in this area: the Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards corner; the Capgemini Brainstorming Corner (containing a huge mural with key phrases and drawings summarizing each session as they happened); Elle magazine’s “Women for Education” wall; L’Oréal’s Writer’s Corner, featuring an exhibit on “The Origins of Beauty.”  My colleagues from PwC’s Paris office were hosting our own “Sustainability Club,” calculating and offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of participants’ travel to finance an electricity and heat biomass project in Karnataka, India.  As my colleagues described their daily work in PwC’s Sustainability practice, I was struck by how the competencies of business have changed so dramatically, even during my ten years in the work force. 

More than anything, the conference woke me up to new information and ideas that inspired me, and I’d like to share some of those with you.

THE JAPANESE BULLET TRAIN IS MODELLED ON THE “DESIGN” OF THE KINGFISHER BIRD

What does this have to do with business?  Well, a lot, it turns out. Janine Benyus, President of the Biomimicry Institute in the U.S. explained that scientists are now working with architects and businesses to construct environment-friendly products and office buildings.  Benyus stressed that we are living in a time when “all of our certainties have crumbled,” and spoke of the “quieting of human arrogance” (what a beautiful and resonant phrase for 2009).  She urged us to look outside our species for the solutions to our social, environmental and business problems, citing how organisms have used CO2 as a building block, rather than a poison; how ocean creatures transform salt-water into fresh water.  In other words, she urged us to look to the natural world for innovation.  Benyus countered the business-as-usual assumption that short-term profit is paramount, explaining that the definition of success in the natural world is about ensuring life 10,000 years from now.  She also exploded the myth that the natural world is a purely competitive place, describing two coral reefs that had been devastated by a tsunami – the one that regenerated itself was an ecosystem that thrived on cooperation, which led to its resilience (when I shared this with my husband, he told me that economists have also looked at ecosystems to understand financial markets and how they might work better.  Who knew?  Not me!)  Indeed, business can learn innovation from the natural world.

PwC Partner Sonja Barendregt-Roojers spoke at a roundtable panel on Business Innovation, expressing the need to reward innovation and create an environment where staff feels comfortable bringing creative ideas to the table.  Another panellist pointed out that certain companies allow 30% of their employees’ time to be dedicated purely to brainstorming activities – getting outside the office, away from daily monotonous tasks – to simply reflect.  I asked myself whether I bring that kind of creative energy to my own work; do you?

CASH ISN’T KING…ANYMORE.

The Millennial generation values their contribution to society as much as (often more than) their paychecks.  Anne Lauvergeon, Chair of AREVA, France pointed out that young employees and recruits want to see the “human project” at the centre of things…including business; they want to be useful in a broad sense.  To engage future leaders, businesses must adapt.  While recognizing the economic crisis as critical, she pointed out that it’s only one of many crises we’re facing today.  She asked us to consider the climate change crisis.  The demographic crisis.  The food and water crisis.  The energy crisis.  The healthcare crisis.  The poverty crisis.  The education crisis. 

You could’ve heard a pin drop as we all took a proverbial step back to reflect on the profundity of this statement.  After all, what will business be without educated people?  Without healthy people?  Without…people, full stop?

Lauvergeon noted that the world has changed dramatically, but that institutions have not.  I can’t help but mention that she cited life-expectancy as an example – raising her eyebrow as she noted that “the average marriage lasted ten years; now it lasts fifty years.”  Humour aside, I couldn’t help but think how accurately this describes the business world – an inflexible and in many ways arcane institution largely built by men, for men, assuming a wife at home to handle the domestic work.  We all know that this in no way reflects the reality of our lives today, with families often comprised of single parents or dual-earners.  Lauvergeon urged us to go back to the basics, revolutionizing our institutions and jettisoning the idea that short-term profits are paramount.  “Women are not better,” she said, “but they have a better sense for long-term things.” 

WHY DO SO MANY MEN STILL NOT GET IT?

If evidence shows that companies with diversity in top management are around 30% more profitable, why do we still only have a handful of women in management? 

According to one speaker, the reason is that even male leaders intellectually understand the business case, they haven’t internalized it (a friend of mine often says “it’s a long way from head to heart”).  The argument goes that because top male leaders continue to surround themselves with people that look, act, and think like them, they’ve never actually experienced the power of diversity in action, even while knowing that diverse teams outperform homogonous ones.  What's encouraging, according to the panellists, is that leaders (both men and women) often become staunch supporters of diversity when they see the "magic" of it on teams.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

The way forward is cooperation – collective movement fostered by personal action and sharing success stories.  Eleanor Roosevelt began holding press conferences where only female journalists were allowed, thus forcing newspapers to hire women reporters.  We may not all have the executive authority of Roosevelt, but as Karen Kornbluh, U.S. Ambassador to the OECD reminded us, we all have a personal responsibility to make ourselves into agents of change.  “When we turn on our laptop,” she said, “we’re as powerful as anybody.”  Personally, I do see my female friends and colleagues making use of new tools – such as social media and educational podcasts – to help themselves and others, to network and share information faster than ever before.  I try to do my part by telling anyone and everyone who will listen to me about the business case for diversity; I also share the REAL numbers regarding women leaders around the world in business, politics and other positions of power (I find that very few individuals know that although women make up half the world's workforce, we make up only a tiny percentage of leadership – people assume that’s a thing of the past; many also aren't aware of the significant business advantages that diversity brings to the table).  I ask my friends about their own experiences with diversity in their professions as doctors, lawyers, teachers, and journalists (and I’d love to hear from you about the big and little things you do, or are doing around empowering and educating women and men to use diversity as a change agent.)
 
“Leadership is not a position,” said Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder and Director of LEAP Africa, “leadership is an action.”  She also shared a beautiful and pertinent African proverb: “Go fast, go alone; go far, go with others.”

In her opening remarks, Forum founder Aude Zieseniss de Thuin stated that it is our personal responsibility to create change; that the financial crisis brings a new opportunity to build a “new deal” between generations and countries to create a “more balanced and respectful world.”  She said that women will be the “pillars” of such renewal. 

Over the course of the conference many speakers were asked what women (or said differently, a “feminine leadership style”) bring to the table.  The answers varied: Results.  A long-term view.  Diversity of thought.  Less selfishness.  A pragmatic approach to business.  More persistence.  More courage.  Better cooperation.  Long-term planning.

These seem to me the very attributes that will address the issues – financial and other – that were at the heart of this conference. 

My Dutch colleague turned to me after a one of the sessions and said, “Isn’t it great to get inspired once in a while?”

Yes.  Yes, it is indeed great to get inspired once in a while. 

à bientôt,

Dale

 

Bonjour from Brussels

Bonjour from Brussels!

I’m thrilled to be writing you my first blog entry, having been passed the proverbial torch from my friend and former colleague, Cleo Thompson.  Cleo’s passion for diversity took our global effort from its inception in 2006 to what it is today – a dynamic, prolific, and award winning initiative (take a stroll around the website to see what the Gender Advisory Council has accomplished with Cleo at the helm).  Thanks to Cleo’s commitment to my development (she was my coach!) I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to a number of GAC projects over the years (she’s also been instrumental in growing my reading list significantly – and YES, I have seen the bookcase in her home, and YES, it is Something to Behold.)

Having told people about my new role as Global Gender Advisory Council Programme Office Leader, their reactions can be summed up in the following ways:

“Wow!  Your title is almost as long as your company name!”

and

“Wow!  What an amazing role!  How did you get it?”

The truth is, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how I got here (for more on my background, you can check out my bio – to make a long story short, I was born in Scotland, raised mostly in the U.S., and live in Europe).  With hindsight, I think the single most important element in my career trajectory was the first PwC Partner I worked for in Washington, D.C.  At the time I wouldn’t have called Jim my “mentor” but in retrospect that’s exactly what he was.  From him I learned practical skills that I realized recently have become firmly embedded in the way I work.

From my day one with the firm, he taught me to run his office like a small business; I learned time management, efficiency, relationship-building, professionalism, and (most important!) resourcefulness.  He taught me that details not only matter, but are in fact what separate the Very Good from the Best.  In other words, he taught me what client service really means.  He also showed me the importance of courage and risk-taking; at a time when the internet was still relatively new (I can see Millennials fainting off their chairs left and right), we drove our business on-line via an innovative communication tool.  This exercise also taught me how to achieve credibility and consensus with stakeholders, as well as how to put together a strong fact-based business case (something that’s central to our diversity efforts).

I learned relationship-building skills through role modelling; Jim demonstrated trust by inviting me to sit on conference calls and meetings with Partners, client executives, and in some cases, Congressmen – at first as an observer and eventually, when I gained enough experience, as an active contributor.  I believe this trust grew my confidence as I gradually learned to interact and articulate myself in a professional environment.  Jim palpably demonstrated transparency in our projects and communications which is something that’s served me well in my own career.  He staffed me on high profile projects that gave me exposure to senior PwC Partners.  This visibility and the resulting networking were key factors in me clinching a secondment to Europe in 2005. 

Finally, Jim definitely taught me the Art of Not Taking Yourself Too Seriously – we laughed a lot on our team.  A lot.  I’ve always found that the times when I’m having the most fun at work coincide with my most productive and creative spells (and with my HR background, I know that this bears out in research – having fun is good for business).

I guess you could say I was lucky in working for a boss very early in my career who accelerated my growth as a professional; but in my experience, even if we’re not working on the “ideal” project or in the “ideal” environment, there are always little things we can be doing to get closer to where we want to be.  We can actively seek out mentors, aligning ourselves with experienced colleagues who have the specific skills and competencies that we admire and aspire to; we can volunteer for interesting or high-profile assignments.  As a famous football (the American kind) coach once said “inches make champions.”

And speaking of “champions,” I’m pleased to tell you that Dennis Nally will be personally championing diversity at PwC during his tenure as Chairman of our global network.  As a result of Dennis’s engagement, some compelling new things are coming down the pipeline – stay tuned as I’ll be sharing those developments with you here in future posts.  We also have a few exciting diversity events coming up this month and I’ve been in conversations with a series of businesswomen who’ve given me great ideas for topics (coming soon to the blog: France, Foreigners, and Four-letter words…)

à bientôt,
(that’s roughly French for ‘until next time’)

Dale

Oh and –

P.S. – thanks, Jim!