MBA 2018 candidate Alicia Hines created her own blog called . She interviews powerhouse business women that she looks up to and shares this information with us鈥擨 highly recommend checking it out! What does 鈥淒oyenne鈥� mean? A woman who is the most respected or prominent person in a particular field. With Alicia鈥檚 permission, we鈥檙e reposting one of our favorite posts so far鈥攁n interview with Katica Roy.听
KATICA ROY
on gender equity, risk taking, and knowing your value
Katica Roy is an impressive individual.
As the daughter and sister of refugees, she fostered a deep reserve of grit, understanding the importance of always doing her best and never giving up. She leaned in throughout her career, choosing challenging roles, and rose to the position of Global VP in the Office of the CEO at a multinational enterprise software corporation.听That鈥檚 a big position at a big company.
Then, she took a big leap.
She ventured out on her own to start a company to address gender inequity in the workplace. She makes a persuasive argument that we won鈥檛 achieve gender equity until we make it an economic issue. This is why she left her successful career and founded , a company that makes software to increase financial performance of companies through operationalizing gender equity.
The data is strong that shows that diversity is good for business and that getting more women into all ranks of business improves financial outcomes. Essentially, Pipeline is software that connects to the company鈥檚 own human capital management system to 鈥渕ake recommendations that support improved financial performance for the organization, as well as growth for the individual鈥�. It essentially ties gender diversity and inclusion directly to the economic outcomes for the companies that use it. A practical solution to a big problem.
(Told you she is impressive.)
Katica and I spent considerable time talking about the barriers that women face in achieving gender equity and also touched on a few other meaty topics. You鈥檒l find my biggest takeaways below.
TAKEWAYS
1. GENDER EQUALITY REQUIRES STRUCTURAL SHIFTS
As a business woman still early in my career, the topic of gender equity is routinely on my mind. I have spent a lot of time researching the barriers that women face in business. Most of the articles and research I have read make a moral argument for gender equality, that it鈥檚 the right thing to push for. The trouble is, not everyone agrees (or cares), in fact, some people outright resist women鈥檚 advancement in business.
That鈥檚 why, when Katica shared her perspective that we won鈥檛 shift gender equity until we make it an economic issue, I felt the lightbulb go on. Gender equity is not just the right thing, it鈥檚 the smart thing.
And the data is strong that shows that diversity is good for business. Here are just a few tidbits to blow your mind:
There鈥檚 clearly a strong business case for increasing racial and gender diversity in our companies, but as Katica and the folks at Pipeline point out, we have to 鈥渇ix the leaky pipeline鈥�. It鈥檚 not enough to know that our businesses will benefit from diversity, we have make changes in how we hire, promote, and compensate women and minorities to reap their benefits. If we just stay our current course, It will take 168 years to reach gender equality in the US. :(
If you want to learn more about what鈥檚 getting in the way of gender equity, and some of the solutions that are bubbling up, check out the resources linked at the bottom of the page. There are a bunch of killer articles by Katica as well as the LeanIn.Org/McKinsey and World Economic Forum studies which are jam-packed with good info.
2. TAKE CALCULATED RISKS
Growing up in a single-parent household where the money was always tight, I developed a pretty strong aversion to risk. (It鈥檚 really hard to free-fall into uncertainty when there鈥檚 no safety net to catch you.)
I have worked for many years to get more comfortable with risk taking, but I am still blown away by people that believe in the power of their ideas and have enough fire in their bellies to go after their dreams.
Katica is one of those inspiring entrepreneurs. It took a lot of courage for her to leave her successful career at a global organization to invest time and money in creating, launching, and building Pipeline.
When I asked Katica about her thoughts on risk-taking, her responses were so good that I just started writing down everything she said, verbatim.
- 鈥淐ourage is a muscle 颅颅鈥� when exercised it gets stronger.鈥� I love this! Not only does it help you muster courage in the moment, keeping this little refrain in mind gives hope that these moments will get easier in the future.
- 鈥淢indfulness matters. There is a difference between how we feel and how we behave. I can feel the way I feel, but I don鈥檛 have to act on it.鈥� Ya鈥檒l, we don鈥檛 have to act out of fear! This reminds me of the popular saying 鈥淔eel the fear. Do it anyway.鈥�, but goes a step further to give you a tiny roadmap for how to do what scares you. You pause. Check in with yourself. Question the fear鈥nd then move. This approach acknowledges that jumping from fearing to doing isn鈥檛 straightforward or easy.
She also recognizes that there is a practical, tactical approach to risk-taking. 鈥�Don鈥檛 be foolhardy. Do your homework. Minimize the downside, and then jump.鈥� 听
A lot of work went into launching Pipeline. She didn鈥檛 blindly fall. If she had found that there wasn鈥檛 a market for Pipeline or that it couldn鈥檛 be done technologically, I鈥檓 sure she wouldn鈥檛 have pursued it.
Good news: you can remove a lot of the risk in risk-taking just by doing your homework.
3. SERVE A HIGHER PURPOSE
When I asked Katica how she manages the desire to be liked, her answer surprised me. She told me, 鈥淢y value is that I鈥檓 a truth-teller. That鈥檚 not always popular, but it鈥檚 valuable.鈥� Of course, she clarified that she is mindful to say things in such a way that the people she鈥檚 telling would be receptive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about being nice, it鈥檚 about being effective鈥�. It鈥檚 about identifying what the important goal is (the success of the project), and working toward that end.
She knows the value she provides in a team or an organization, which provides a higher purpose that is greater than her desire to be liked.
This reminded me of what had said to me just a few days before 鈥� that being respected is different than being liked. It鈥檚 about doing the right thing, even if it鈥檚 hard.
One final thing on this topic: I think it鈥檚 very powerful to find (and flex) the thing that provides value to your organization. But, don鈥檛 forget 鈥� you must use that power wisely.
Sure, it鈥檚 not about being nice, but being effective means that your approach needs to be appropriate for the situation. If you鈥檙e a truth-teller like Katica, then you need to make sure to read your audience and deliver your message in a way that they鈥檒l be open to. If you鈥檙e decisive, you might need to bring others along in your decision-making process. If you鈥檙e good at predicting roadblocks, you may have to keep an open mind so that you鈥檙e not obstructionist.
You get the point.
听HERE鈥橲 THAT BONUS MATERIAL I PROMISED:
From Katica:
LeanIn.Org/McKinsey & Company:
World Economic Forum:
听
