ABOUT SANDRA:

"If the ship is rocking and everybody says it is not going to work out, being positive is not a sign of naivety but of leadership." - Sandra Babylon

OUR QUESTIONS:

What do you think is needed to better support women in their careers?

I can tell you what it takes, and I can tell you we're not there yet: There still is so much untapped Female talent – and still so many stereotypes and biases involved! For example, while talking about the female talents I support I sometimes get questions like "so, why are you supporting her, aren’t you afraid she might be taking your role one day, and what do you do when someone you promote is even better than you?" My answer is “Well, that's great! I will literally pull over, cheer her on and yell, ’GO GO GO’, the speed lane is all yours!". After all, leadership is about building the next generation of leaders, and my legacy will be that I can say with a big smile “Of course she is great and guess who put her there?”. Moreover, maybe sometimes I do not even say that, but instead just say she's simply great. My best decisions in hiring people are usually looking for potential rather than 10+ years of experience or a 100% fit in skills. So when hiring a senior profile into a role, I look for that person’s potential for the next level up, and you might hear me say things such as "She's partner material, she's going to be a partner eventually, and if we don't hire her now we might not get a chance to hire her later in her career”. Women are rated differently than men when it comes to the more senior roles, and many women might feel judged based on experience and “proven” capabilities vs. potential. Sometimes they fall off the promotion list based on “she is not there yet / too junior / she can wait another x years” or “we don’t have enough slots this year to consider her”. Actually, that is not true - and yes, you don't want to hear that - but other candidates were considered for promotions or for that new role. The truth is, there are always slots, positions and new jobs. If you weren’t considered there might me other issues involved. So the real question is how are you noticed, how do you make sure you’re positioned and find sponsors and coaches to get you to the next level. Women need to proactively drive these discussions with their mentors, bosses and sponsors!

How did you get to where you are today? Can you tell us a bit about your journey?

Before I started in consulting, I worked for a publishing house - something that I've always wanted to do. I ended up leaving after 6 months because it was just terrible. Then I went into advertising, which was super-creative with great people, but also with a boss who once – only half joking - told me: "Look, your job is to look pretty and hold the cardboard." Therefore, not really what I was looking for either. By coincidence I was invited to an interview for a consulting job, very much to my surprise I ended up having survived a tedious assessment center and being picked from a bunch of - from my perspective - much better qualified candidates with relevant skills and experience. However, someone saw the potential in me, and I got the job. After getting started in a hardcore IT and banking environment that taught me to develop a growth mindset, I finally got my groove and defined learning as my key trait. Still, it took me years to define my position, my USP and advocate my skillset and talent - and I still do it today! When I was younger, I never thought that being a structured problem solver, having a strong can-do attitude and curiosity would help make a career, however I discovered that this is really what defines me and outlines what I do well: structure, manage, and take decisions. Looking back, I think career planning is NOT what I was doing, even though it might look like this from the outside. What it really was is lots of coincidences and - much more important - taking opportunities when they popped up and make the best out of it.

How was it for you to climb up in consulting? Was that difficult for you?

I stayed in my consulting job for more than 20 years and have achieved more than I ever dreamed of - but it was also a journey of frequently redefining where I wanted to go and what I wanted to achieve. And, of course, setbacks are part of the journey! When I took my first attempt to get promoted to the Manager ranks, I didn't get promoted. I couldn't believe it at all - I didn't get promoted!!! I was disappointed, questioned my career choices and thought about moving on - for weeks and weeks I was sulking! In hindsight, I would say my worries about not “making it” were completely irrelevant - I got that promotion 6 months later. Therefore, the lesson learned really was that your time will come, and you will be ready and then it will work - if you bring up the courage to define your path and say what you want to achieve. When you are younger, you somehow do not realize that it is important to speak up, make yourself seen and work on your network - because if you are not being noticed, you do not move forward.

Is there some advice you like to give women in the course of their career?

Over the last years, I’ve had the pleasure of supporting and coaching many women along their career path in several roles and I have promoted a number of them to very senior roles. One piece of advice that I shared was to be bold, and positive - the doubts and insecurities that you may have are not to be shared with your boss or stakeholders. If you are sharing your thoughts like “I do not know if I'm ready”, “I've never done this before”, or “I'm worried” you might be putting yourself in a weak spot. The recipient of these concerns, mainly men, might be thinking "Okay, she is not ready to do that, then we should not be putting her up for that promotion / that next step / in such a role, there's no point because she really doesn't want that."