Release:
October 2, 2019

Women of NATE Today Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3

As my husband and I sent our daughter off to her Freshman year of college a few weeks ago, I was reminded of how it feels to start a new chapter of life. To reach for dreams, to find a new tribe, to learn about the world outside of yourself. I have had the privilege of working with this tribe, the Women of NATE, brilliant, passionate and committed women, for almost 4 years. All coming from different walks of this industry, and yet, collectively, coming together to give women a voice and work to improve our corner of the world with opportunities for women in the industry. It is truly amazing what happens when a group of individuals team up to make something happen.

We have been hard at work planning and finalizing details for NATE UNITE 2020 Women of NATE Events in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Women of NATE Leadership Summit, in Chicago, Illinois. Save the dates in your calendar. We will open up registration soon for the WON Leadership Summit, so look for the complete schedule, sponsorship and registration information in the upcoming press release, and on the Women of NATE web page. We look forward to seeing you in Raleigh and Chicago in 2020!

We have been hearing from you about your involvement in industry events, so keep forwarding stories about women in your companies, women who are making a difference, and women you would like to see profiled in a future issue of our newsletter.  

Andy Page Lee is the Women of NATE (WON) Committee Chairwoman and the Vice President of Operations for Lee Antenna & Line Service, Inc. in Springtown, Pennsylvania.

We know that diversity is good for business, and yet we still have only 6.4% of CEOs who are women at Fortune 500 companies. (In related news, a new study found that publicly-traded companies may have closed the wage gap at the CEO level). At a time when equality and inclusivity in the workplace are big topics of conversation, we need to understand what’s holding women back from the C-suite in order to be able to overcome those hurdles.

There are many factors creating challenges. The Female Leadership Crisis Report, which focused on the retail and consumer goods industries, found that many reasons may stem from biases, and cultural and systemic barriers, such as:

• a lack of role models, which may contribute to feelings of loneliness at the top;
• favoritism because people tend to promote people who think and act like them, and there are more men in top leadership positions;
• not enough sponsorship and support for women once they’re promoted to further them along the path to leadership; and,
• more flexible schedules needed that would enable women to better meet demands of work and home life.

So, how do we fix these issues? Arianna Huffington once told me that she doesn’t understand why we do exit interviews. It’s obviously too late to fix the problem—they’ve already left. I started thinking about this idea. What if we do life-stage interviews? People require different things at different life stages in order to thrive. For example, we need different things when we have small children versus when we’re caring for aging parents.

For me, it was a caregiving issue: I thought I was going to have to leave once I had children. What typically happens for women in middle management is one of three things: 1. They rise to the top but have work-life balance issues. 2. They leave the workforce completely to raise their families. 3. They leave to start their own company, which is what I did.

I wanted to write my own rules and make the exception the new norm. So I created the uncorporate rules. I undid everything I hated about the corporate world. For example, I created a no regret policy, because I never wanted anyone to say shoulda, woulda, coulda. I encouraged my employees to never miss the important stuff, such as their kid's soccer game, parents’ anniversary or going on a date. It required every employee in my company to create a relationship with their co-workers so they could cover for each other and be interchangeable, allowing each person to live their life with a support system at the office.

Here is more advice from women in the Girls’ Lounge community who have been there, done that.

Ask for what you want. We’re in business, so lay out the business plan for what you want, whether it’s more responsibility, money or a flexible schedule. This is what Laura Molen, Executive Vice President, NBCU Lifestyle and Hispanic Ad Sales at NBCUniversal Media, LLC, did at a previous VP position in order to be able to work from home one day a week when her two daughters were younger. “My boss at the time was more of a traditional thinker in terms of face time in the office, but I laid out a business proposal for what I would do on my work-from-home day, what he could hold me accountable for and why it was good for the company,” says Molen. “He gave me what I asked for, and no one could believe it because no VP had ever been able to work from home before.”

Share your stories and speak up about your challenges. Sharing our stories is so important for creating empathy in the workplace. It can be scary to share your vulnerabilities, but Joanna Barsh, author of Grow Wherever You Work, believes the cost is too high not to do so. “My research finds that it’s hard to get from middle management to next level because managers may be hesitant to talk about personal things, and women, in turn, don’t want to talk about the challenges they may be experiencing at home,” she says. “There is this awful silence, and both sides are silent for different reasons. As a result, women often leave or just put their heads down and don’t advance.”

Listen to role models who you admire.  We can all be role models. Practice mentorship in the moment. Molen says Linda Yaccarino, Chairman of Advertising & Client Partnerships at NBCUniversal, has been a mentor who helped her unlock secrets for success. “Awhile back Linda gave me advice about who I was in the board room: It was to just be myself,” says Molen. “I found myself constantly studying and preparing for meetings, and Linda’s advice helped me to grow from study prepper into my true self. Rather than relying only on facts and figures to illustrate my points, I started to share personal, day-to-day anecdotes that came from being an expert in the business. Once I started being more fully myself, I was able to step up to that next level.”

Raise your hand. No woman ever got into a leadership position without taking some risks along the way. “It’s important for women not to self-select themselves out of leadership positions, and for us to build a culture that encourages them to raise their hand,” says Deanna Strable, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Group. “Talk to managers about new opportunities. Raise your hand to be on projects—even if it’s out of your comfort zone—to expose yourself to different people and insights.”

Surround yourself with people who will stretch you. The path to leadership is about learning, growing and evolving. “Constantly surround yourself with people who see you for more than you currently are,” says Catherine Blackmore, Global Vice President, SaaS Customer Success, Oracle. “Unfortunately, many women may hang out with people who see them for less than they are, or spend time with people who see them at their current level, because it feels comfortable. But if you surround yourself with those people who push you beyond your current capabilities, you’ll be more likely to stretch yourself. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s how we can truly grow and rise up into top leadership positions.”

Believe that you can. Yes, there are a variety of external factors that make it harder for women to navigate the C-suite. However, if you don’t first believe in yourself, it will be tough for others to believe in you. “My advice for women who want to rise up into leadership is to stop asking yourself if you can. Doubt is killer for action and promotion,” says Catherine Perez, Corporate Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Partnerships and Business Development, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. “If it is in your mind, it will enter others’ minds. Don’t question yourself. Start walking and the path will create itself under your feet.”

You don’t get to write your own rules in middle management, but if you can push through to rise to a top leadership position, there is a rainbow on the other side: As a leader, you can write your own rules and give back with generosity what you wish you had rising the ranks.

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Author: Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient
Article originally appeared in Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleyzalis/2018/04/28/how-to-rise-the-ranks-advice-from-female-leaders-on-making-it-to-the-top/#2f22836230b1

When Amy is not on the job, you can find her exploring the outdoors, cooking, or relaxing with a glass of wine in hand!