WEW Spotlight: Jennifer Smith

1. Tell us about your career path: I don’t think I’ve had a path as much as a series of extremely serendipitous encounters that helped guide me along this meandering way. The longer version is I started on my career with Bank of America as a merchant teller (fancy name for a specialized bank teller) not long after graduating college, as what I thought would be a part-time gig until I received an acceptance to a graduate program in art history. Spoiler: I was summarily rejected from the three schools to which I applied (lesson learned: don’t listen to your department advisor when he tells you, “I think applying to a Ph.D. program instead of a Master’s is the way to go”) and realized straightaway that my bank job would need to become a career.  Fortunately, I was promoted to a management position rather quickly and, within a few years, I moved into a division of wealth management and then migrated to the change management side of that business. I worked on several M&A integrations, including the Countrywide acquisition. A subsequent role within executive complaints deepened my experience with the regulators (including starting up a relationship with the newly-formed CFPB), and I shifted into regulatory enforcement oversight work for several years. That experience led me to Santander Consumer and my previous M&A integration work led me to Gateway First Bank, where I had the pleasure of helping them convert from an IMB into a bank. I pivoted into consulting about three years ago and have been loving helping clients in a variety of ways: from M&A to start-ups, operating model optimization to addressing regulatory concerns, and lots in between.

2. Is this the career you always expected to have? Or the field you wanted to be in? Absolutely not – when I started college, I didn’t even know change management was a thing or that the career path of a banker extended beyond my local branch. I always loved helping people, but didn’t know how to make that into a career, so I went into something I was good at (photography) and hoped to make that a career. I am immensely grateful for unanswered prayers – I love what I do now.

3. Did you face any challenges/setbacks as a woman in your profession? That’s a tough question because I’m sure I did, but it’s hard to pinpoint those as being overtly due to my gender. That’s one of the trickiest parts of discrimination: you often don’t realize that what’s happening to you is based on bias. I recall being told I was too aggressive, too ambitious, too outspoken, too bossy, too nice, not nice enough, you get the picture – and that was the reason I wasn’t promoted or given as large a raise or as high a rating. When I became more seasoned (and more confident), I started asking for specific examples of the undesirable behavior. That proved immensely helpful because there was some good coaching in there about perceptions that my leader and I could see applying regardless of gender.

4. Who inspired you to be a leader and why? Paige Kelly, now with Truist, was the greatest influence on me becoming a leader. Not only does she exemplify the best qualities of a leader (honesty, authenticity, transparency, direct and constructive coaching, approachability, to name a few), but she provides unwavering support – you know she has your back – and truly believes in her people’s ability to execute and gives them the space and trust to do just that. There were many really great managers in my career, but she was the first truly great leader I had worked for, and she surrounded herself with and cultivated so many other great leaders under her direction. I was fortunate enough to work for several of them I met through her and am still amazed by the reach of Paige’s influence.

5. What does the WEW mean to you? Sisterhood. Support. Strength. Encouragement. Empowerment. WEW means so many things to me that it’s hard to properly express the breadth and depth of its impact on me professionally and personally. I have an entire organization of champions and supporters who I know I can call up as a personal board of directors to help guide me. The advice, encouragement, and candid feedback that my fellow WEW members have provided me has been invaluable. Honestly, I do not think I would be where I am now without them!

6. How do you encourage women to not give up? Aside from cocktails and cookies? I jest. One of my favorite holiday movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. Over the course of the movie (spoiler), George Bailey realizes that he has made a real and profound impact on those around him, in ways he never would have imagined. You have a purpose and you make a difference. You may not see it or realize exactly who or how much you have helped, but you need to allow yourself to feel that magic. As Carl Sagan said, “we are made of star stuff.” Let your light shine, you magical, wonderful woman!

7. What advice do you have for women looking to grow either within their own organization or to start their own business ventures? Be honest and authentic with yourself as to why you want to grow or start your own business. The best way to grow within your organization (assuming a healthy organization here) or even venture out on your own is to first understand what it is you seek. Do you seek autonomy that you currently don’t have? Do you desire to be challenged and learn new things? The worst reason I ever heard from a subordinate for why she wanted to grow within the organization was because she wanted to be made an SVP. When I asked her why that specific officer title, she really couldn’t articulate a reason at first. Fortunately, we finally peeled back enough layers for her to realize that what she truly sought was a level of recognition and respect for her expertise that wasn’t going to be a guaranteed outcome with an SVP title. By focusing on what really mattered to her, we were able to craft a growth plan that would help her truly achieve her goals.