Speeches

Chicago, February 24, 2005
 

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Thank you Siobahn for that kind introduction. Thank you also for your invitation to speak to you tonight. I consider it an honour to talk to your group, the Financial Women's Association. And, I certainly admire your commitment to shaping leaders in business and finance.

As well, I'd like to thank many of my Harris bank colleagues for being here tonight.

While I am here to share some of my life experiences with you, I know full well that before I leave I will have learned valuable things too … from a conversation, a question, an observation ... or perhaps all three.

Winston Churchill once told a waiter to take away the pudding he had been served. By way of explanation, he said, "It has no theme." I must say he and I would have gotten along just fine, because I tend to begin everything with a theme!

My thoughts tonight, follow along three themes which I hope you will find of interest:

1. First, I want to talk about role models and mentors;

2. Second, I'll recount some choices I made along my career path and what those meant to me;

3. And third, I want to offer you some general commentary that I hope you might find helpful – whatever stage you have reached in your career and wherever it is that you want to go next.

Part 1

Role Models
Let me begin with the topic of role models. I always find it fascinating to hear people talk about the role models that they have had and the influence on their lives. Yet, often people try too hard to impress others with big names or famous people from public life.

Recently, I was asked to cite an inspirational role model or leader, and I must say my first thought was of a Director on BMO Financial Group's Board of Directors - not Abraham Lincoln nor Eleanor Roosevelt. In fact, I have to tell you that my list of role models consists of far more modest folks, whom I have watched close up - who are much lesser known on the national scene or international stage.

Role models are people I associate with
From early days, to the present day, my role models have come from among the people I associate with because, I find it easier to be inspired when I see people in action in a variety of ways over time. And I would imagine that for most of you, your first reaction would be something the same: a teacher who took a particular interest in your education, a neighbour who showed you the world through a stamp collection, or an associate whom you admire because of some specific accomplishments or values they represent.

Even though many of those kinds of people influenced us in our formative years, I think of role modelling and influencing as an essential part of life to look for, no matter what our age. I think we can always give something of ourselves that will inspire others and equally we can take something from others that we can improve by.

Example 1 – EVP
I was astonished more than once by learning the impact that we have in our day-to-day lives, especially when we are in positions of leadership, and whether we consider ourselves role models or not. One example was when I was appointed EVP at BMO. On the day or so after, I received 103 emails of congratulations.

This in itself was wonderful, but what astonished me most was the positive incidents and specific behaviours which so many referred to as why they felt I deserved this recognition. Many were people I had minimal contact with and so had observed me from a distance – but over time.

This and other similar situations taught me two things:
(1) how much impact we can have without knowing it, and
(2) how much responsibility we have for having the right impact.

I found myself thinking, oh dear, I had no idea I was doing those things or that anyone noticed – I'd better continue doing it! Now I am much more conscious of trying to do even more things that are helpful and positive for others, and ensuring I keep doing "what I am doing".

Feedback
I suppose, in many ways what I am talking about is the impact and importance of feedback. And so, another thing to take from this scenario of being a role model or a person of influence is the importance of giving and receiving feedback.

Giving feedback is the essence of being a role model or someone who influences others, and getting feedback is equally as important, in order to recognize and appreciate the impact you are having.

Mentoring
Speaking of feedback, leads us quite nicely to the role of mentoring. I always encourage people to hook-up with a mentor or mentors in all walks of life. I don't think we are ever too old or too accomplished to benefit from a mentoring type of relationship.

Mentors can give you a nudge forward or a hand-up, or sometimes they serve as a mirror by showing us what we are doing right or could do better. However, all too often though we think of finding a mentor as difficult because we believe it has to be so deliberate. We think it can be time-consuming or demanding of another individual, and therefore we hesitate to impose upon them.

Encouragement
Most of the time I find that, those to whom I act as a mentor, really need very little advice from me. They just need to be heard, they just need to be encouraged. With a little encouragement they can achieve more than they sometimes believed possible. I see encouragement as a way of developing courage and confidence and reinforcing their strengths or abilities.

Mentoring doesn't have to be onerous. If you think of mentoring as I do, and that is, an offer to be a sounding-board, or to listen and offer feedback or suggestions - it does not have to be such an onerous undertaking. This kind of mentoring can be done briefly, even infrequently. It can be done over the phone, in person or even through email.

Some of the people I consider to be my own mentors, probably haven't even realized they were mentors at all, because I take every opportunity I can from those I admire and respect, to ask an opinion or pose something that is puzzling me.

I have personally benefited from mentoring from professors, from colleagues and from friends and associates. To this day, I seek out this type of connection with people I admire.

Part 2

Let me move now to the second part of my remarks – some of my personal career choices which you might find interesting. The theme for those thoughts might best be described as – taking risks in uncharted waters.

Continental/Lloyds
One career choice relates to when I was with Continental Bank (the seventh largest bank in Canada) in the mid 80s. Continental was bought by Lloyds Bank and many people moved on in the first 6 months, but I was asked to stay on to help with the integration of the two companies – for at least a year. An interesting challenge because, Continental was larger in Canada, than Lloyds was but was nevertheless owned by the giant which was out of London England…like a reverse take-over in some ways. I knew that my role would be at the very centre of integrating the cultures, which is the most challenging part of any acquisition. In fact, two-thirds of all mergers fail to meet expectations due to poor integration and attention to cultures.

The easiest course for me would have been to leave. Jobs were plentiful at that time in the 80s. Staying, was a tough choice because I knew the London parent company would impose major changes which I would have to make, sometimes against the very things we had built, but I was persuaded by my loyalty and the notion of "not running out on things". It was about principles. It was a risk because it would be tough, but I am pleased to say it ended up having a great outcome.

This choice was a good one, it was like fate. The integration challenge gave me insight not only into corporate cultures, but global organizations as well. Lloyds was a British bank, so I was able to see that institution close up.

Once I finished the one year assignment at Lloyds, I began thinking about other roles where this experience would be useful … and where I could expand my knowledge internationally. Lloyd's offered a job in London, but I declined it. The learning for me here was to not just be "comfortable" but, try to pursue what you want. For me it was international experience. I found that I was energized by different cultures, different mindsets and more diverse practices.

I was lucky though, in that I had two job offers pretty quickly. One job involved a company with business only in Toronto, but offered opportunity for making significant money. The other meant taking a job with a more normal compensation package… but at a company with international operations which were expanding throughout Asia.

Manulife/Asia
As the poet Robert Frost has written, I took the road less traveled … and that has made a great difference in my career and my professional development. I joined Manulife (a major insurance company) and it turned out to be another good choice. In fact, I would attribute a lot of my success today to the broad development that came from working in many diverse cultures and honing my ability to adapt, strengthening my courage, and my tolerance for differences.

Manulife, then mainly a life insurance company, had significant business in Hong Kong for almost a century and had just decided to expand in that region. During my first three years at Manulife, although I was based in Toronto, I spent one-third of my time in the Far East, establishing operations in the Philippines, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

I had never had any experience with different cultures, even a different language. I grew up in St. John's Newfoundland. But here I was, thousands of miles from Toronto where I have spent the larger part of my life, across the international dateline, forced to build relationships, negotiate and make decisions in a foreign environment, on my own.

There were times when I must admit that I felt pretty small and lonely. But, I used one of my better strengths, that of being somewhat self-directed and a bit courageous. I worked very hard and relied a lot on other people around me – the local management, newly hired professionals, interpreters and guides.

Being in the right place/right time
There are those people … and I'm sure you've heard it said many times … who look back at their careers and say that serendipity often played a part, that they just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But I would say, being in the right place at the right time only works if you're willing to tackle the challenge of change and possibly fear, and plunge yourself into uncharted waters. It takes courage and risk – but it is worth it!

In addition to dealing with a range of national cultures and regional issues in the Far East, I also came to understand many different business models and the widest possible range of personal motivations. As I mentioned, I became more adaptable to new ways of working and more amenable to new ways of thinking.

That's why I would encourage you not to shy away from the tough jobs or the unusual, untraditional jobs…because they can offer the potential for unique personal and professional growth.

Volunteer Work
The other experiences I would highlight as being significant in my success and my development are on the volunteer side.

I have not had children, which I know places many demands on women and can make career progress more difficult through certain phases. However, I chose to do very significant volunteer work from an early age and this grew into a number of leadership assignments along the way. In fact, I would attribute as much learning and growth to these assignments as I would to my 'paid' jobs.

I deliberately placed emphasis on a broad range of involvement which introduced me to different segments of society. Some of those were included in my introduction, so I won't recount them here. However, I will say that if you can balance the commitments, seek out those volunteer opportunities. They can be very beneficial to development.

Strategically, this can work well at times when you feel undervalued and unrecognized in your current role. You can find appreciation in a volunteer capacity. It can increase your confidence, sense of self, and often make your talents and capabilities more visible to your employers.

Most of what I have been sharing is about personal views and personal experiences. And I know each of you would have interesting personal stories and great successes as well. But now let me make some comments more generally on some of the challenges I see still existing for women.

Part 3

Challenges Facing Women
To be sure, many of the challenges that we face as women continue to be systemic. While many professions have become more equally balanced, as between male and female, inequality at the very top still remains.

Many of you have read the widely circulated article in the Chicago Tribune last month which argues that women's progress in business – specifically in Chicago – has been 'glacial.'

Looking at Chicago-based companies, the Chicago network (the study's sponsors) found few women in top jobs. North of the border, the number of female CEOs in Canada's largest companies can still be counted on the fingers of one hand – a fact that has changed very little during the last twenty years.

Women on Boards
So, too, with boards. In 2003 (the last time Catalyst, a leading research firm, calculated it), women held 13.6 percent of board seats at Fortune 500 companies, a percentage that has not doubled in 8 years. Despite the slow pace of change, there have been some areas of noticeable progress. According to Catalyst, in 1995, 96 companies had no women on their boards, and today that number has decreased to 54. In addition, the number of companies with 25 percent or more women directors has increased from 11 companies in 1995 to 54 companies in 2003.

As we can lament the lack of women at the top, those of us who are in leadership positions need to be a positive influence, we need to do something about it – we need to make it a priority to increase the participation rate. As you know, at BMO Financial Group and Harris, we have made just such a commitment.

BMO's Progress
Since 1991, the proportion of women in senior management roles has more than tripled, from nine per cent to thirty-three per cent. Chief Executive Officer Tony Comper declared that the advancement of women was among his key priorities. He appointed a task force and adopted an action plan. I enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to steward this in my current role, and it has been my passion to reinforce the bank's activity to achieve those goals.

Staff Roles
Catalyst, claims that the reason more men than women land the top jobs is because so many women take on staff roles such as marketing or human resources, rather than line jobs. This is probably the case in general, however, we are seeing some slight shift in this paradigm and I believe we will see more.

Sacrifice for Company
Other theories have also been offered about the relative lack of women at the top. According to a study by Charles A. O'Reilly of Stanford Graduate School of Business, success for women is all about how hard a woman is prepared to work and compete. Says O'Reilly: "Individuals who are more loyal, work longer hours, and are willing to sacrifice for the organization are the ones who will be rewarded."

Working Day and Night
I have spoken with many young women who believe this is likely the case and worry about it. They, in the context of being a mother, are not able to work days and evenings, but also feel they are losing out because of it.

As a case in point, I was approached last year by the Managing Director of a major international law firm on this very topic — "how to create a culture where women don't experience this phenomenon", and "how can the firm be a leader in the advancement of women in senior partnership roles".

Some of the concepts or topics I focused on were:

• The current ability to do some things from their/your home
• The need to maintain great client relationships, but in a slightly different manner or different model
• being prepared to offer alternative ways of delivering excellent service to clients – without just being "at the beck and call …day and night"

Balance
Let me conclude with some general comments on the concept of balance.

I believe that total success in life is created from a richer palette than just what you do at the office. You are not defined only by the prestige of titles and assumed power. That could mean a balance involving spouse and children, being close to family and friends. It also means community service, and doing some form of mentoring yourself … being a sharer and bringing along the next generation of women.

Giving something back to others is often a powerful way to go forward yourself. I must say some of my greatest moments have come as I watched others succeed … knowing that I played some small role in their rightful achievement.

At the same time, I also believe that women have to become better at marketing themselves. In saying this I don't mean to suggest that you should spend all your time tooting your own horn.

At a minimum you need to be ready to translate your experience into talents and capabilities derived from them and be ready to talk about them. I've always been surprised by how little of this translation is done as organizations choose candidates.

On this, my parting thought would be to take as much initiative as you can to demonstrate your multiple talents.

Thank you.