WOMEN IN SECURITIES FINANCE
Looking back at the past couple of years, what are lessons that you/your members have learnt? Harpreet Bains: Realistically, it might be years before the full ramifications of the pandemic on our professional and personal lives are properly understood. A key lesson for me personally is more greatly appreciating the importance of leading with empathy and trust. Covid has helped shine a light on the role that empathy plays in effective leadership. Hopefully, this is something that will continue to be valued by workplace cultures even beyond the pandemic.
There are many questions WISF is attempting to help answer through research, sharing of past successes, growing network initiatives, and general support.
BC: One of the lessons I learned was that I had not previously grown, nurtured or leveraged my network as much as I should have. I always focused on my job and my team, neglecting my personal development and exposure. I had been fortunate to have mentors who encouraged me to make time for networking, but personal development was always less comfortable to do. WISF helped me to move outside my comfort zone, encouraged me to focus on my personal development and reminded me about the importance of leveraging my trusted resources.
Mary Jane Schuessler, BMO Capital Markets
don’t have to go to every event. In fact, ‘over networking’ can actually have a detrimental effect. Be selective and opt for those that will be of most value to you. Finally, consider expanding your digital footprint and getting to know people on social media. Reading lengthy articles and papers can be challenge if you’re time poor but short posts on LinkedIn can be more manageable, easier to engage with, and open up opportunities to connect with someone new and like-minded that you might otherwise not have reached through traditional methods.
How do you build effective networks in a sector which has also seen elements of remote working being introduced? HB: The benefits of hybrid working have been spoken about at length, but this does not mean the end of the office. It’s very important that women - and everyone - do not lose sight of the importance of teamwork, physical interaction and networking. To do this successfully means learning to network more smartly. It may seem that there are plethora of events and gatherings taking place and trying to manage for these within a hybrid working pattern may be proving difficult, but reality is that you
Securities Finance Americas Guide 2022
What are you hearing from you members in terms of challenges they are facing but also opportunities they are seeing? MJS: I often get asked how one can get involved especially when it comes to leading an event or a chapter. This is something we have discussed across all the chapter leads: the need for succession planning and bringing
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