"In These Moments, It's Important For Leaders to Show Their Human Side."
Below is an article originally written by Adam Bryant, Managing Director at Merryck & Co., and published on April 27, 2020. This article is about PowerToFly Partner PwC. Go to PwC's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Tim Ryan, US Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC, recently shared his insights with me on leading through these challenging times. He also discussed the qualities he values the most in colleagues, and how he's opened up more conversations about diversity and inclusion at the firm.
Q. How have you adjusted your leadership style in the crisis?
A. Once the crisis hit in earnest, my team and I started meeting every night, instead of the weekly cadence we had before. And we are now doing weekly meetings with our entire team of 55,000 people, instead of the usual twice-a-year, all-staff town halls. Our participation numbers are through the roof. We'll get anywhere from 35,000 and 45,000 people on the call every Wednesday.
As the leader, you want to tell people it's going to be okay, but at the same time maintain your credibility. I try to never to make a promise I can't keep. We talk first about the fact that their safety and their family's health are most important. In the early days, that was about travel restrictions and office closures. Now the conversations are shifting to the challenges of working remotely and the stresses of this crisis. It's starting to wear on people.
I closed a recent webcast by sharing with everyone that my family had our blowup moment on the previous Friday night. I needed them to know that because we're all in that situation. In these moments, it's important for leaders to show their human side, and that you're not some Superman CEO. It was therapeutic to share, and it was therapeutic for our people to realize that "I'm not the only one." I probably got 300 emails from people sharing their own blowup moments.
Q. So much of leadership challenge now is around communicating, and balancing the tough realities while also inspiring confidence. How do you think about that?
A. I'm a big believer in something I learned from a mentor many years ago, which is that bad news doesn't age well. If you've got something bad to say, you should share it. What I've done with our people is to say, look, I'm going to share very openly what I know when I know it.
My last slide every week is that we're going to succeed because, number one, our people come first. Number two, we're focused on our clients and their needs. Number three, we will be calm and humbly confident. The last one is about focus and reminding people that we don't have to go it alone. And those words are very soothing and important. I've learned that calm and confident, but not overly optimistic, communication is important.
Q. Let's step back from the crisis. When you started in your role, you pulled together your leadership team. What are the qualities that matter most to you?
A. I'm looking for people who understand that we work for people. I don't believe we're at the top. We are here to serve and lead others. Another quality I look for is a thick skin, because leaders by definition can become out of touch. I was looking for a team that could really take feedback, as opposed to telling people why they were wrong. Leadership is about listening, and if enough employees tell me something, I probably need to fix it or act on it. The third one is I wanted people with a big tech acumen.
Q. And when you moved into the current role in 2016, was the reality of it different from what you expected, even in subtle ways?
A. Without a doubt, particularly around the number of stakeholders you have. There's clearly your people and your clients, but even within the company, there are different groups of people who have different needs. And realizing that I couldn't go deep on everything was a challenge for me, because going deep is my style.
I will also say that a big challenge for me early on was, how do I take all feedback but stay true to who I am? In my first week on the job, we woke up on a Friday morning to the shootings in Dallas in July 2016. I sent out an e-mail to our 55,000 people to simply say, "I know we're all feeling something here, let's get through it together." I got hundreds and hundreds of responses, and one said, "Thank you for the note. When I came to my office on Friday morning, the silence was deafening."
I've come to grips with the idea that I'm not always going to please everybody.
I threw out the plan that I ran for the senior partner role on, and I spent a significant amount of my time over the next four weeks on diversity and inclusion. Three weeks later, we had our first-ever day-long discussion on race. We shut the firm down and we talked about race.
I got some blowback from some people at PwC who felt like I had overstepped my role as the CEO. I told them that I appreciated the feedback but encouraged them to go to one of our days of understanding. They came back to me and said, "I had no idea that some of our people felt this way," and then they were on board.
So for me, what I learned is that I have to follow my North Star about what I think is right. I don't intentionally make people mad, but I've come to grips with the idea that I'm not always going to please everybody, and that's okay.
Q. As a leader, how do you create the environment to have those conversations?
A. What started making these discussions more routine, and the message from the top down was that we're going to keep doing them. I've been in dozens of those conversations. I would start off by saying that this discussion is about respect, so I'm going to ask everybody to respect each other. Then I would simply ask, how do you honestly feel? How do you feel when you come in to work every day? And you ask that of everyone. That simple question starts the conversation flowing. If you want to make progress, you've got to own the issue as the CEO. You can't delegate this.
Q. What were important early influences for you?
A. My mother and father were both blue-collar workers. I'm the first one in my family to complete college. My dad worked three jobs. His full-time job was as a Boston Edison utility worker. He also worked at the Boston Herald at night and as a garbage man. My mother was a supermarket worker. They taught me those things I mentioned earlier, about working hard, being honest and being respectful. Those have served me so well.
Q. And in your role now, I imagine you do a tremendous amount of mentoring. What's the most common piece of advice that you share?
A. I will often advise people that listening more is better than talking. I'll also say to people that while we want everybody to speak up, some things are better said in private, one on one, rather than in a larger group. Or maybe I'll counsel people about a better way to ask a question or challenge a colleague. A lot of my mentoring is about the EQ side of business, and how to create success and dynamics around people. How do you help make a team better?
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8 (Virtual) Diversity Conferences to Attend in 2021
Diversity Reboot 2021: The One Hundred Day Kickoff
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 1-5, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free!</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://summit.powertofly.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>We had to include our own Diversity Reboot on our list of the best diversity and inclusion events to attend in 2021 because we know firsthand how the quality of 100+ expert speakers, the enthusiasm of 10,000 participants, and the cutting-edge tech that enables meaningful virtual networking and job fairs combine to create a truly epic five-day experience. This year, the theme 100 Day Kickoff harnesses the energy of the new government's first 100 days in office to help jump-start personal and professional plans to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces. </p><p>Following the February summit, we'll have a monthly series of smaller virtual summits on topics spanning everything from returnships to LGBTQ+ advocacy, so be sure to stay tuned for updates!<br></p>The Future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 3-4, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/virtual_events/upcoming_virtual_events/the-future-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2021_kcxf8glq.html#detail" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This virtual conference put on by HR.com focuses on how social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have pushed DEI at work beyond legal compliance and into a major factor of any company or brand's culture, employee engagement, and performance. Topics include how to uncover and resolve pay gaps across your team and hire top-level diverse talent.</p>Workplace Revolution: From Talk to Collective Action
<p><strong>When</strong>: March 8-12, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$820</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://cvent.me/ZQ4BbE" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>The Forum on Workplace Inclusion's 33rd annual conference includes 12 session tracks, from DEI Strategy to Social Responsibility, along with 59 workshops and daily networking sessions. This year's theme focuses on one question: "What will it take to start a workplace revolution that moves us from talk to action?"</p>Diversity: How Employers Can Match Words With Deeds
<p><strong>When</strong><strong>: </strong>May 19, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register</strong><strong>: </strong>Early bird registration is $49 and general admission is $149</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://hopin.com/events/may-virtual-conference-diversity-how-employers-can-match-words-with-deeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here</a></p><p>From Day One is hosting monthly conferences in 2021 focused on different ways for companies to foster strong relationships with their customers, communities, and employees. May's half-day virtual event is focused specifically on how companies can make diversity promises that don't fall flat and features workshops, panels, and a fireside chat.</p>Hire with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
<p><strong>When:</strong> August 18, 2021</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$195</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hci.org/conferences/2021-virtual-conference-hire-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-august-18-2021" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This conference put on by the Human Capital Institute is one of 12 virtual conferences that HCI has planned for 2021. This one focuses on fair and inclusive talent acquisition, including how to attract diverse talent, implement inclusive hiring practices, and addressing bias in employee selection. Other conferences will focus on optimizing talent strategy, engaging employees, and developing your workforce.</p>Virtual Grace Hopper Celebration 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> September 26-29, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual, broadcast from Chicago, Illinois</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Was $799 for regular access to the virtual conference in 2020; 2021 pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://ghc.anitab.org/attend/registration/" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>Grace Hopper might be the best-known conference for women in tech. Through keynote presentations, networking sessions, job fairs, and community-building activities, vGHC reached over 30,000 women for their 2020 conference and are expecting even more in 2021! While not a conference focused exclusively on diversity and inclusion, many speakers plan to focus their talks on creating environments for women to thrive in the male-dominated tech field.</p>Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> October 25-27, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual and in person in Austin, Texas as of now</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://conferences.shrm.org/inclusion" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>The Society for Human Resource Management's biggest conference of the year saw 1,200 DEI leaders participate last year; SHRM hopes to see even more come to learn, be inspired, and to walk away with a playbook of implementable strategies to create truly inclusive workplace cultures.</p>AfroTech 2021
<p><strong></strong><strong>When:</strong> November 8-13, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Early bird pricing is $149 for individuals and $249 for corporate attendees; regular pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://experience.afrotech.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>AfroTech is a conference hosted by Blavity, a tech media platform for Black millennials. It focuses on emerging tech trends, connecting Black talent with top tech recruiters, and providing networking and educational opportunities, with an overall goal of building a strong Black tech community. Over 10,000 people participated in 2020. While the conference isn't focused specifically on DEI, its main audience of Black tech talent is an important one to understand and to engage at work and beyond, and several speakers plan to focus on issues of race and inclusion at work. </p>Finding Her Sport: Being Part of the Team in a Startup Environment
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