Experts in the Financial Industry Offer Advice for Working Women

Smash the archaic belief that women can’t have it all. These industry leaders prove that finding a work-life balance is possible on your path to the top.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced during your career and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging time in my career was when I was raising three small children, and my husband and I were juggling demanding jobs. At the time, my husband Billy was practicing law, and I was beginning my career at Fidelity. We were trying to balance advancing our careers while still making time for our family, our relationship, and ourselves — there were never enough hours!

At times, it felt a bit like a house of cards and if one of those cards collapsed the whole thing could come tumbling down. I learned however, to give myself some grace, accept that life requires some give and take at times, and recognize that I was doing a pretty great job at being a working mother. I learned to carve out time for things that were truly important, such as date night with my husband or attending my boys’ games and school events, and worry less about the house being in perfect order every day.

What is effective leadership in the realm of finance?

I think effective leadership — regardless of the industry — is taking the time to really get to know and relate to people on a personal level. You need to learn what makes them tick, what motivates them, what they value and what their life is like outside of the office. The more you connect and understand the people you work with, the better you’ll be able to communicate, collaborate and motivate them to drive towards your goals.

This translates directly into my work at Fidelity as I truly believe that money and life are inextricably linked. My team and I have a singular focus of making the topics of money, financial planning and investing more accessible and relatable. We are working together every day on creative approaches to connect with people and help them improve their financial futures.

If you had one piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance, what would it be?

Bring your whole self to work, including your empathy and compassion. In my role, I’ve found that when we take the time to think about what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, we’re able to have a greater impact on behalf of our clients and our colleagues. Women are a critical part of the future of financial services and I would love if more women would consider our industry, and Fidelity, for their careers. At Fidelity, we are committed to providing benefits and programs to enhance our culture that will help us to develop and retain our women leaders.

Talking about sexism and equality in the workplace is difficult, but it’s important. Has being a woman impacted your experience in your career? 

I have had a tremendous career at Fidelity and along the way have had great friends, mentors, leaders and bosses — both women and men. Today, I lead our efforts to get women more actively involved in their finances. It has been so rewarding and inspiring to see Fidelity as a company step up and encourage women investors. Similarly, Fidelity has been stepping up as a leading employer in the financial services space by focusing on increasing diversity in our workforce. We are reformulating talent mobility and career pathing at our company to overcome barriers for women to move into leadership roles.

Do you feel that your company, or alternatively the financial industry as a whole, is supportive of women and helps them grow and advance?

Yes. At Fidelity, we believe that it will be the diverse, inclusive businesses that will survive and thrive in this changing landscape. As a result, the organization has created a range of programs and policies to attract more women to careers in our industry, including more relevant benefits programs, enhanced training and skills development, leadership development programs, more flexible work hours, and more meaningful diversity and inclusion programs — efforts that can help all employees.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced during your career and how did you overcome it?

I returned from my third (and final) maternity leave in September 2008 and had to reignite my career in an imploding financial services sector. I kept calm, surveyed the landscape and drew on longstanding relationships. As a result, I had my busiest year ever, helping to build restructuring teams. 

What is effective leadership in the realm of finance?

Effective leaders in finance must be innovative. Inclusion is a key aspect of innovation. This means valuing all talent and perspectives, emphasizing inclusion as part of business strategy, and recognizing and rewarding other inclusive leaders in the organization.

If you had one piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance, what would it be?

Seek out sponsors at senior levels both within and outside your organization whom you can count on for support — even, or especially, when you’re not in the room — and for honest feedback. Take positive feedback as seriously as the “constructive” kind.

Talking about sexism and equality in the workplace is difficult, but it’s important. Has being a woman impacted your experience in your career? 

Being a woman impacts my experience overall, including in my career, in ways that may be difficult to quantify. But gender is just one of the fluid aspects of the “self” we bring to work.

Do you feel that your company, or alternatively the financial industry as a whole, is supportive of women and helps them grow and advance?

Financial services companies have no shortage of processes, practices and metrics to support female talent, which is great. However, many firms’ mindsets and behaviors still need to change. I am optimistic this will evolve as inclusive leadership continues to drive results through better engagement, retention and creativity.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced during your career and how did you overcome it?

The biggest obstacle I faced during my career was myself. I’m driven, strategic, strong and caring, to a fault. I’d take every client, even those who don’t value working with an advisor. I thought working hard and putting in longer hours than anyone else was how to take care of my clients, myself and my family. I was wrong. Working smarter, taking time to enjoy the journey and helping other people learn from my mistakes was really the reward that I found fulfilling. Trying to be all things to all people was exhausting and humiliating at times. I feel many women are like me. They try to do everything and it doesn’t work. But we won’t admit it. We just keep trudging along and saying: “It’s OK. I’ve got this!” It’s not OK. Finally, after 20 years of being a financial advisor, I met a wonderful mentor who encouraged me to look at myself and truly admit what I was doing to myself, my clients, my career and my family. It was a tough month, but I changed.

I’m a new person who has overcome the “I’ll do this alone” mentality. So today: I am an empowering, balanced woman who listens and plays win-win with clear communication. That is my daily mantra. I believe it, I live it and it works. My family is happier, my clients are happier, and I am much more calm, cool and purpose driven. I’m working with the right people in the right way and creating balance in my life that allows me to serve everyone better.

What is effective leadership in the realm of finance?

Effective leadership in the realm of finance to me is this: teaching vision, teaching planning, showing how to execute and teaching feedback by creating extreme levels of buy-in and commitment. It’s a mindset that I learned from leadership guru John Foley and a process I’ use in my leadership roles. It’s a framework that empowers others to improve and get the results with full buy-in.

Our clients are the central focus, so we ask each person in the branch: “What did you do well with clients this week?” We then talk about what we could do better or what we noticed. It builds accountability. It allows people to give their own feedback to themselves and when they hear themselves say it, they want to correct it themselves. I support that by caring about them and having their back, either way. People want to grow and course correct during their careers without judgment. There’s no such thing as perfect. It’s about continuous progress and learning from mistakes in a supportive environment.

If you had one piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance, what would it be?

One piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance would be: just do it.
If you want to make an impact that will provide a foundation of success for everyone you serve — your family and your community — this career is for you. As a woman, you are naturally suited to understand the needs of those you care about and that’s one of the most important aspects of truly helping someone. Why not you? You run a home, you raise your children, you support your spouse or significant other. This is the skill set needed to deeply serve your clients in the financial world. They need empathy, they need strategic planning skills, they need someone with the ability to communicate the pros and the cons of any plan.

Talking about sexism and equality in the workplace is difficult, but it’s important. Has being a woman impacted your experience in your career? 

I would say “no.” I’ve not felt compromised or that I’m not equal in any capacity. Thankfully, I work for a company that respects the person. It puts people before profits, has a history of doing what’s right for the client and those who partner with us. Our culture produces a corporate structure that benefits from being a partnership. We are not employees, we are owners. Owners act differently than employees. We respect the differences we all have and we have a culture of caring for one another. That culture is transferable to any branch team, department or C-suite. It’s a great place to work in part because of this commitment to partnership and equality and a singular focus on serving our clients.

Do you feel that your company, or alternatively the financial industry as a whole, is supportive of women and helps them grow and advance?

I do feel my company is supportive of women and helps us grow and advance. I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been given throughout my career at Edward Jones. I led a two-state region as a regional leader for 12 years, then went on to coach new regional leaders for two years. After that, I worked as a field-based leader, and now I coach high-level teams throughout the firm in a program we call Advanced Branch Team Performance. I did all of this while running my existing business in my home town. This has accelerated my growth as a leader, a financial advisor, a wife, a mother and a community leader. It’s taught me time management skills and how to focus, collaborate, get results through and with others, lead through change and crisis, and of course, how to have an effective team. I’m proud to work for this firm and bring awareness to our culture which is committed to being the first choice of the individual investor.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced during your career and how did you overcome it?

Maintaining a work-life balance while being an executive, a financial advisor and a mother. I spent most days feeling guilty that I wasn’t succeeding at any of my three roles as there wasn’t enough time in the day. I had to really build a team that I could rely on, whose strengths were my weaknesses, who could help me succeed in ways I never could alone. What blossomed from that was the opportunity to be a mentor, and help so many individuals reach their own goals so that we were successful together.

What is effective leadership in the realm of finance?

Relationship building. Whether it is with a client or with your staff, it’s vital to build a foundation that shows trust, open communication and the willing to celebrate successes as well as handle missteps. Most people will go through just about anything for another person if they have a strong relationship that makes them feel valued.

If you had one piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance, what would it be?

Learn to say “no” so your “yes” has more oomph. When I started out my mentor told me to say “yes” to everything which opened a lot of doors for me but also made it hard for me to stay focused and goal centered. I found that I would drop what was important to me and jump into something else. I sacrificed a lot of my own personal growth to be a jack of all trades.

Talking about sexism and equality in the workplace is difficult, but it’s important. Has being a woman impacted your experience in your career? 

I have been told I am emotional, but I like to say I am passionate. I think having emotion is something that can be used against us, but emotion is what drives me. How I feel, how I make others feel…that is how I define myself. I have never heard someone tell a man that they are being emotional but I have heard it told to a woman too many times to count. This industry is about emotion, passion and relationships, and everyone should strive to improve those qualities.

Do you feel that your company, or alternatively the financial industry as a whole, is supportive of women and helps them grow and advance?

With being a female executive I drive this on a daily basis and look to always be at the top of our industry in this regard. We are needed, wanted and in some ways destined to fill the role of being an investment advisor. Our nurturing qualities have changed this industry for the better.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced during your career and how did you overcome it?

Although this may surprise people who know me today, I am an introvert and speaking in public was something that made me very uncomfortable early in my career. I tackled this challenge the way I’ve approached many obstacles in life: with a willingness to take risks and step outside of my comfort zone. As a leader, I spend a lot of time speaking in front of large groups. I knew that I had to make overcoming my fear of public speaking a priority, and I have worked hard at it. I have had many coaches over the years, and I remember telling one that my goal was to someday transform my fear into a love of speaking in front of large groups. While I’ll admit I had to work my way through a lot of cringe-worthy videos of myself, I truly do enjoy speaking in public now.

What is effective leadership in the realm of finance?

First, in all areas of business, I think being authentic is really important. Employees today expect honesty and integrity. They also want to be able to connect to their leaders as fellow human beings. 

As a leader, I think it is important to set a clear vision and get your organization on board so everyone is rowing in the same direction. But, it is also important to continue to ask questions, listen to your employees and pivot as necessary. The business environment is changing so quickly that as a leader you must have strong two-way communication with your team, because it is impossible to have all of the answers or see all that is going on. 

Finally, most parts of finance are a team sport. It takes a village to deliver results. And, I am a big believer that a leader sets the tone for creating a culture where employees are engaged, supportive of one another and enable mutual success. If your employees are thriving, they will deliver extraordinary results.

If you had one piece of advice for women looking to find success in finance, what would it be?

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. In other words, be willing to step out of your comfort zone. Women have the tendency to want to feel 100 percent qualified for what they do and sometimes are nervous to raise their hand for a new opportunity if they don’t think they have mastered all of the skills required for the job or project. It is so important to spread your wings and embrace the challenge of developing new skills. And sometimes, you may not realize that you are really good at something unless you try it. Some of the biggest moves I have made in my career resulted from taking on a challenging assignment or new role where I had to stretch myself beyond what I knew I was good at or had already mastered. The more comfortable I became with being uncomfortable, the more I was able to broaden my skill set and advance my career.

Talking about sexism and equality in the workplace is difficult, but it’s important. Has being a woman impacted your experience in your career? 

I started my career in the 1980s working on a Wall Street trading floor when the phrase “politically correct” was not yet in the dictionary. I knew I needed to define who I was, on my own terms, and earn the respect of my colleagues — the majority of whom were male. When something didn’t go my way, I didn’t let it get me down. (Or if it did, I gave myself one hour to reflect privately and then moved on.) I was willing to take on more challenging assignments and jobs that were difficult. I persisted — and my success in these jobs helped me move onto bigger roles. Because I focused on doing a great job, I was recognized for my contributions and I progressed up the ladder. At the end of the day, finance is a field where contributions get noticed. Delivering tangible, great results will ultimately speak volumes — regardless of whether you are a man or woman. 

Do you feel that your company, or alternatively the financial industry as a whole, is supportive of women and helps them grow and advance?

I am a firm believer that “you need to see it to be it” — that female role models are crucial for attracting more women the field of finance. I am thrilled to see more women in executive roles at Schwab and across the industry. And, I am even more pleased to see more women entering the industry. That being said, the industry still has a long way to go.

Charles Schwab has numerous programs to support, and advance women. There are five women on the executive committee who serve as role models for employees, and both our Chief Fixed Income Strategist and our Chief Investment Strategist are women. Within my organization, Charles Schwab Investment Management, we have established a Women’s Leadership initiative with programs to help develop women, and we partner with universities and nonprofits such as Girls Who Invest to help build the pipeline of women who are interested in pursuing careers in asset management.