Photo by Amanda Honigfort
Women from across the spectrum of employment and career statuses packed the theater at Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School on March 8 to begin International Women’s Day by hearing from several women in the C-Suites of their companies.
Linda Haberstroh, the president of Phoenix Textile Corporation, told a story about her mother, who had to return again and again to the textile mills in New York to convince them to work with her.
“No, no, no, every week she’d go back, and every time they told her no she’d tell herself: ‘Don’t cry until you get to the elevator, don’t cry until you get to the elevator.' And finally the first one opened to her, and we were able to get that crack and find our place in the market,” said Haberstroh.
Habastroh eventually took over her mother's position at Phoenix Textile Corporation, a nationwide provider of textiles to the healthcare industry. The privately owned company is women owned and primarily run by women.
Each of the women on the panel spoke to the significant progress they’ve seen at their companies for women in leadership and the efforts their companies are making to further the careers of promising women on their staff.
“If you really want something—sure, you need to work on some of your fears—but if you really want it, you need to go for it. Do not let anyone say you cannot achieve and cannot be a leader. Anyone can be a leader.”
“The tone needs to be set from the top down,” said Joyce Trimuel, chief diversity officer and COO at CNA Insurance. “There’s so much data out there that substantiates that if companies are very intentional about diversity and inclusion, they will outperform companies that take a more passive approach... This is going to help with your bottom line, it’s going to help with retention, it’s going to help with attracting new talent.”
“Being a woman, you’ll be labeled as too nice sometimes. I am also an introvert, so a lot of times in my career I’ve heard introverts cannot be leaders,” said Andrea Faccio, CMO of Nestle Purina North America. Even assessments in the EMBA program told her she wasn’t suited to a leadership role.
“Don’t believe it,” she encouraged the women gathered. “If you really want something—sure, you need to work on some of your fears—but if you really want it, you need to go for it. Do not let anyone say you cannot achieve and cannot be a leader. Anyone can be a leader.”
Faccio also encouraged the audience not to be afraid of getting outside their comfort zone—advice echoed by nearly every woman on the panel.
It’s going to feel awful for awhile, acknowledged Deborah Slagle, senior vice president of Biologics Technology Cluster for MilliporeSigma.
“You’re not going to be the expert in the room, you’re going to have to learn new tasks and get comfortable with it, and the more you do it, the more the next assignment will be better, and the more outside your zone becomes your area of expertise, so I feel that was a key part to getting where I am today,” said Slagle.
Trust the people that are offering jobs in areas you don’t believe you are qualified for, said Faccio. “Trust that they know what they are doing. Somebody has asked you to do something because they see potential in you.”
Rebecca Boyer, CFO of KellyMitchell Group, Inc., spoke to how sometimes the best choice for someone's career isn’t always the most obvious one. She left a company she’d been with for several years, because she saw no advancement opportunities. She took a lower-level position at a bigger firm because there was a larger potential for growth—and the move paid off.
Many women on the panel encouraged the audience to not be afraid to ask for help. “There are a vast number of resources, experiences, and great people out there that you can tap into for help,” said Mary Heger, senior vice president and CIO at Ameren Services Company.
Trimuel also encouraged the women to respectfully discuss concerns with people you would have expected better from.
“If I see some behavior that probably wasn’t appropriate or where the person could have stepped up, I don’t do it in that moment in the meeting, but I’ll pull them to the side later and say, ‘Hey, it would have been helpful had you... X, Y, or Z’. So sometimes its going to take having those crucial conversation and calling out bad behavior, because if you don’t call it out it’s just going to continue to perpetuate,” said Trimuel.
The last piece of advice the panel offered? When you need to say "no," do so, and do so quickly.
“Is it aligned with what you are trying to accomplish? Do you have the time? Do you have the time to be productive and really contribute meaningfully?” advised Heger. “My experience is, if you are being honest and explain why you are saying no, I think people really honor that and really respect you for that.”
