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How to Lead and Enjoy Your Career, With Helena Morrissey

Veronica Morozova

Helena Morrissey is a passionate campaigner for greater gender diversity within company boardrooms, she is a member of the House of Lords and an established author and mentor with three decades of experience in the financial industry.

💥 Today on The Wallet:

1️⃣ Helena tells me how she navigated her way to become a CEO and a board member in a male-dominated industry, and how developing her style and personal brand has helped her to build self-confidence and lead as her authentic self.

2️⃣ As Chairman of a large investment platform, Helena explains what the role of the chair entails, how we can get more women into leadership and senior positions, and how the statistics of women on boards has improved in recent years.

3️⃣ In her latest campaign, Helena is encouraging more women to invest for the long term, so today she shares her top tips for getting started with investing.

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  1. lead as your authentic self

  • Helena is a mother of nine, and lockdown has, understandably, not been an easy feat. Despite this, Helena has successfully published her second book, Style and Substance, in October 2021.

  • Women often don’t get the recognition they deserve, despite being just as intelligent and qualified as men. Women are not perceived as good as they are because the classic perceptions of a leader are associated with more masculine traits.

  • Because of this, a lot of women try to either be more like a man, or blend in as much as they can. This leads to women feeling down because they’re not embracing who they really are.

  • Instead, Helena suggests women should enjoy and celebrate their differences rather than submerge them. It’s important to have a personal brand that reflects who you are.

  • When it comes to thinking about your style, it’s important to know yourself: eg. what do you value, what are you good at, what defines you, and where do you want to get to? Get feedback from someone you trust on what looks good on you, and think back to what outfits you get most compliments on.

  • If you want to progress in your career, it’s critical that you are perceived as a leader.

  • When looking to change jobs, be prepared that there will be setbacks, which is why you should take time to reflect. Remind yourself that you left for a reason — to do something different.

  • If you’re planning a career change, make sure you have great support. You don’t have to have all the answers, because it’s not plausible to know everything.

2. getting more women into leadership positions

  • More than a third of FTSE 350 board positions are now held by women, an increase of 50% over the past five years.

  • Helena is passionate about helping women avoid the same fate she suffered when she was passed up for a promotion because of her pregnancy. She says that unless women have more share of the money, they won’t have more share of the power.

  • Find a few things that really matter to you, and stick to them. If you find yourself having a real desire to help with something, just start and see where it takes you.

  • Helena practices what she preaches, and is now the Chairman of investing platform AJ Bell.

3. how to start investing

  • Helena's latest campaign hopes to get as many women as men to get involved in investing, because presently we are a long way behind that. That’s why at AJ Bell, they’re putting a lot of resources up online, all in one place, to help those who want to get started navigate relevant information.

  • Storytelling is also an important element in trying to get women to invest. When we see people who are in similar financial and lifestyle situations as us getting involved with investing, we’re more likely to do the same.

  • When it comes to your finances, treat your financial wellbeing as you would your health and fitness. Have realistic expectations and don’t expect things to transform overnight: it’s about setting aside a little bit of time each week.

  • If you’ve started investing, talk to your friends about it, and don’t forget to instil those habits into your children, too.

  • We need to ensure that ESG funds are doing what they say they’re doing, and there’s a lot of travelling to go down before we can match our beliefs with the funds that are available.

  • It’s important that investing delivers the results both financially and morally. This is especially pertinent for women.

RESOURCES: 

You can follow and connect with Helena at:

Resources:

*** Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. ***