Université du Delaware Messenger Vol. 24 non. 2

OUR ALUMNI & FRIENDS
$9 billion budget and a staff of 44,000. “It’s an incredibly humbling role,” she says. And one, she adds, that grew from a diverse breadth of skills and expertise. “When I’ve been asked to take on new opportunities, my first instinct has been fear. But far greater than that has been a craving for never being bored, for always learning something new.”
– R U L E # 3 – Seek mentors;
be found by Sponsors
– t–
Perhaps the best definition of mentorship comes from Stephen Colbert’s farewell to Jon Stewart during the Daily Show’s final episode. “All of us who were lucky enough to work with you...are better at our jobs because we got to watch you do yours,” the former correspondent told the host.
Mentors inspire by example. Sponsors advocate on your behalf. Both are
critical to professional success.
“It’s good to seek out mentors, people you can learn from,” says Karen Johnson, BE90. “But sponsors tend to find you.”
As executive director of compliance and ethics for the global biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson touts the importance of letting your work speak for itself. “When you achieve results, lead with integrity and stand
up for what you think is right, it will get noticed, ideally by people with influence.” (And if it doesn’t,
see Rule #5).
Still, profiting from surrounding talent doesn’t have to be limited to your place of employment.
Tanya Bakalov, BE04, makes a conscious effort to meet with women in leadership outside of her organization. People are open to conversations, she says, if only you ask and are respectful of their time.
“I seek them out on a weekly basis,” adds Bakalov, founder, senior vice president and chief of staff for the digital monitoring company SevOne. “And I ask questions like, ‘How did you
become a member of this board?’ or ‘How are you managing this particular challenge [that I may be facing
myself ]’?”
Of course, mentors and sponsors can—and should—be diverse, in both gender and race.
“You want someone with a different perspective who can help you learn
and grow,” says Cameron Rice, BE96, managing director for Morgan Stanley. “A strong network of mentors and sponsors should be made up of people who look and think differently than you.”
– R U L E Work
# 4 – the hours, but
prioritize
the time
– t–
In industries like banking, trading and private equity, the reality of long workdays is inevitable. Time, as the saying goes, is money. And making the latter requires a great deal of the former.
––
Women
Business
Summits
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The Women in Business Summits brought together more than 30 women in leadership positions to assess and address opportunities
to increase gender diversity in academic majors and, ultimately, in the work force.
“We have clearly graduated many successful women, but we’re not where we need to be as business schools, and we’re not there as businesses,” said Bruce Weber, dean of the Lerner College of Business and
Economics. “But,” he added, “I believe we in Lerner have the opportunity to be a harbinger of change, to tee up critical topics and move the needle on women in business in leadership roles.”
The first summit, held
in
46 University of Delaware Messenger