Careers

Maria O’Connell talks to Accountancy Ireland about how, through resilience, adaptability and the support of a strong female network, she has achieved career success I decided to become a Chartered Accountant when I was 16 after reading an accountancy career brochure. I didn’t know any Chartered Accountants at that stage and my school didn’t teach business subjects.  When I was growing up in Cork in the 1980s, career opportunities were scarce and often viewed through the lens of emigration. Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant seemed to offer an exciting career path with many opportunities, travel options and income security.  I qualified with PwC in 1989. The foundational skills underpinning my career – business management, communication, problem solving and technical knowledge – were laid during these years.  The Chartered Accountants Ireland training programme nurtured a highly transferable and versatile skillset, which has been integral to my career success.  Drawing on my bank of achievements  Keen to travel, I moved to PwC in Milan, Italy, in 1989. I learned to speak and work in Italian, integrated into a new working environment and experienced a beautiful country, people and culture. Then, in 1992, I interviewed for a junior finance role with JP Morgan in Milan but was offered the role of Bond Settlements Manager. I had no experience working in the Italian government bond market – a prerequisite for such a role.  However, the Director of Operations at JP Morgan in Milan was a Chartered Accountant and understood the value of my training and related skills. He could see an alternative approach to filling the position.  I took a chance and moved into this entirely unknown world. The job was exciting, challenging, fascinating and demanding. I loved every minute of it. My role at JP Morgan was the start of an exciting career journey, leading me to other incredibly fulfilling financial services roles in Italy and Ireland – roles that rarely followed the traditional accountancy career pathway. When I returned to Dublin in 1994, I focused my job search on companies in the developing International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and that took me into the asset management industry. Always curious and genuinely interested in people, I continually seek new challenges and opportunities to add value and learn. These traits have propelled me to leadership positions covering strategic, business-critical, transformational and governance initiatives in global-facing organisations, such as Bank of Ireland Securities Services, Bank of Ireland Asset Management, Irish Funds and State Street Global Advisors. I have also been extremely privileged to work with highly talented people with vision and foresight who have always focused on my abilities, experience and potential. These role models provided me with precious opportunities for further development. Of course, I also encountered hurdles as I navigated my way, but every hard-earned success added to my internal bank of achievements, which I draw on to this day when my confidence falters or a challenge seems insurmountable. I remind myself routinely that I can do anything I put my mind to. As women, I think we often tend to focus on what we can’t do rather than what we can. Drawing strength from our bank of achievements will always direct us to our ‘can-dos’. Aligning my career with my life priorities  By 2004, I had three children aged six, eight and 10, and a fourth on the way. I decided to take a career break to focus on my family.  This decision was tough as I had invested so much in my career. Despite having a husband who shared the family workload and a flexible employer, I felt I was always letting someone down – my children, colleagues or clients.  Every family is different and we make our choices based on our unique set of circumstances. My decision to take a career break at that time was the choice that worked best for my family and me. Throughout my career, I have always tried to align my career with my life priorities. This choice was one of many steps on that alignment pathway.  Rebooting my career When I decided to return to work in 2013, my first port of call was Karin Lanigan, Head of Members Experience at Chartered Accountants Ireland, who gave me practical advice and guidance. I was lucky to secure a place on the first Reboot Your Career Programme, run by the Institute to support those returning to the workplace.  The course was invaluable in providing me with the confidence, toolkit and ready-made network to kick off my job search and set me on the next stage of my career journey.  It was not easy to return to the workplace after a nine-year break. Colleagues had passed me out on the promotion ladder, and the world of financial services had changed significantly following the financial crisis of 2008. I faced a very steep learning curve.  I was determined to learn as much as possible, however, concentrating on what I could achieve rather than on others who had moved ahead of me.  All the traits that had propelled my career forward in the past, resurfaced and I was able to move forward again in a senior leadership role at the EU headquarters of one of the largest asset managers in the world.  My advice to anyone rebooting their career would be to leverage the supports available from Chartered Accountants Ireland, your own network and to tap into your existing bank of achievements.  Don’t compare your career with others; focus on your own motivations, what you want to achieve and then go for it. The power of the female network As a trainee Chartered Accountant, many of my new female friendships evolved quickly into a highly supportive and powerful network in which experiences, challenges and solutions were openly shared.  This precious network of women, built up over many years, now extends to diverse roles and disciplines beyond the accountancy profession as well as different generations and geographies.  Building positive relationships as we move throughout our lives ensures that we stay connected with each other – and that we are not merely connections on a list.  None of us signed up to this network ‘overtly’, but we all understand the unwritten rule that anytime we reach out for advice, we will find support. Our natural empathy as women, innate ability to connect with and learn from each other and openness to share experiences are powerful tools in driving and embedding change. More women are holding senior decision-making roles, yet we are still navigating structures designed to cater to a single gender order.  Our networks are critical in harnessing our collective strengths as we and our male colleagues reimagine more equitable, diverse and inclusive structures.  I am grateful to be part of a network of diverse, insightful, talented and kind women. Our networks are intrinsic drivers of positive change and sustain us through tough times. Key lessons as a Chartered Accountant My career as a Chartered Accountant has far surpassed anything my 16-year-old self could have dreamed of. A kaleidoscope of experiences has gifted me these key lessons: Seek out those exciting, diverse, non-traditional roles. Don’t let others discourage you.  Stay curious, always looking for new challenges and new things to learn. Draw strength from your bank of achievements. You can do anything you want to.  Periodically assess how your career aligns with your life priorities. Don’t be afraid to make changes when they fall out of sync. Focus on what you want to achieve and what motivates you. Don’t compare your career with those of others. Value, nurture and leverage your female network. It is a precious resource.  Enjoy the journey. It will take you to amazing places. Maria O’Connell  B.Comm., DPA, FCA, is a consultant specialising in board governance and business strategy. She was formerly Vice President of Business Strategy and Governance at State Street Global Advisors Europe Limited

Julia Rowan answers your management, leadership and team development questions Q. My organisation is going through a lot of change; there is a new leadership structure at the top, but some changes are still undecided. I am hoping that some roles in my area (which were regionalised about eight years ago) will be recentralised under my management. While this has not yet been decided, the regions have got ahead of this with quite a public challenge to the leadership to retain roles at regional level. They have much more clout than my small team and me. A. I am going to assume that your query is about the quality of the work your function provides rather than simply headcount. In any case, a couple of things are immediately clear: Whatever happens, your relationship with the regional directors, as well as with other colleagues currently fulfilling regional roles, is very important. This ‘inter-regnum’ period could be very useful to all of you (in the regions and centrally) by giving you time to get together to work on issues relating to this restructure with a view to making improvements – no matter the eventual outcome. Perhaps someone on the senior leadership team could initiate and sponsor this. You need to play a long game; organisations make changes all the time and how you are seen to deal with this issue will impact your profile. Avoid ‘either/or’ thinking (i.e. ‘they either report to the regions or to me’). There could be many ways to create win-win outcomes. Until a decision is made, there is room for negotiation (see the book suggestion below). I suggest you carefully work out a couple of positions, including: Your ideal outcome (and how to transition to it); Acceptable outcomes if you don’t get your ideal outcome (e.g. dotted line responsibility, developing the more interesting aspects of your role, new structures to support your team, developmental support, etc); and Unwelcome outcomes (and how to avoid them). It could be useful to work on this with your team. I have no doubt that they would have a lot to add to the conversation. Q. My team is under huge pressure – as am I. I try hard to help them, but they keep coming back with the same issues and they are very negative. A. It is the leader’s role to help, but how do we help? Sometimes, it’s by fixing, helping and advising.  And sometimes it’s by listening and empowering the team member to fix it themselves.  As leaders, we are often scared by negativity and we jump in quickly with advice and fixes. I suggest you listen deeply to your direct reports. When they bring up something negative, stay with it and help them to explore it.   The pull to fix is great, so this is much more difficult than it sounds. Arranging to meet to discuss the issue will give you the time to pull together some great questions that will help your team member think through the issue and come up with solutions. Of course, you can suggest solutions too – but people are much more likely to listen to your suggestions when you have helped them to think things through first. Julia Rowan is Principal Consultant at Performance Matters Ltd, a leadership and team development consultancy. To send a question to Julia, email julia@performancematters.ie If you read one thing... Getting to yes – negotiating an agreement without giving in by Roger Fisher and William Ury. We often go into negotiations with an  ‘either/or’ attitude. Either they win or I do. Getting to Yes offers a framework for ‘principled negotiation’ helping us to come up with creative options where both parties (or more) can achieve what they want. 

Charlotte Rose Keating reflects on her path from a law graduate to achieving FCA status, highlighting the transformative power of stepping out of your comfort zone so you can achieve more in work and life I was awarded FCA status in January. Reflecting on my career journey so far, with its twists and turns, I am grateful for the chain of events that led me to become a Chartered Accountant and excited to see what being a Fellow will bring.  At school, I never imagined it would be possible for me to be a member of the accountancy profession. Maths was my Achilles heel. I believed I wasn’t numerical. Being a fan of debating and problem-solving through words, I got my law degree from Trinity College Dublin.  I graduated in 2008, but with the uncertainty of the financial crisis, it was not the ideal time to apply for graduate jobs. This, combined with uncertainty in my personal life, drove my need to secure a good role.  One evening, while applying for law firm training contracts, an advertisement for Deloitte popped up on my screen. Intrigued, I clicked to learn more and was pleased to see that the firm encouraged applications from individuals of varied backgrounds, not just those with accounting and finance-related degrees.  “I’ll take the risk” As I selected the Enterprise Risk Services Department, I thought, “I’ll take the risk,” and applied. Like magic, things started to fall into place.  While on holiday, I got called for an interview and as it turned out, one of my travel companions had trained with Deloitte and specialised in risk. She and her partner sat me down around a campfire to give me advice and conduct a mock interview.  Sure enough, it ended up being a fantastic interview experience.   When I was offered the role, I couldn’t wait to get started, seeing it as an opportunity to diversify, understand the business world and overcome a long-held fear of numbers.  Working mainly in internal audit and regulatory compliance for various public and private sector clients, I leveraged my law degree while developing new skills and confidence.  Training and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant involved stepping out of my comfort zone, but it is one of the best decisions I’ve made. Yes, it gave me security, but it provided me with so much more, including the opportunity to travel and fulfil a lifelong dream of living and working in New York City.  The qualification was an invaluable asset when I pursued professional acting, not a fallback. Being a member of the profession provided me with the tools and the self-belief I needed to set up my own coaching and training business – Act On It Coaching – where I work with individuals and companies to support personal and professional development.  Despite taking my qualification in a different direction, I still use it daily to support and add value to my clients. My membership is something I treasure and I value the support of the Institute. The bias challenge Since my training days and throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have had wonderful role models and mentors who reflected my strengths and encouraged me, guiding me on where to improve and imparting advice drawn from their own career journeys.  I’ve had the privilege of working with many inspiring, strong women. Having female camaraderie and confidantes is extremely beneficial at any stage in one’s career.  Bias, both conscious and unconscious, is still a challenge in the workplace, and there remains a lack of female representation in key decision-making roles. As the saying goes, “If I can see it, I can be it”, and female role models at the partner and senior executive levels are essential in enabling junior-level women to envision their own career pathways. Mutual respect and people accepting one another’s unique qualities and differences naturally fosters inclusion and encourages individuals to play to their strengths to make a positive impact and contribution in what they do. Take responsibility for your career  When it comes to navigating career advancement, the most effective strategy, in my opinion, is to start with you. Take responsibility for your career.  I have asked myself what I want to achieve as I have learned that self-reflection is so important to set short- and long-term goals. I have reflected on my strengths, achievements and the aspects of work I enjoy to build confidence in the present that can propel me towards future achievements.  To keep focused, on track and in charge of my career, I check in regularly and ask myself questions like: • What do I need to do more of? • What do I need to do less of? • What do I need to start doing? • What do I need to do differently? • What do I need to stop doing altogether? This practice helps me to identify professional opportunities and be prepared to put myself forward confidently.  It’s also highly beneficial to get clarity from others. Asking a senior colleague the simple question, “how am I getting on?” can help you to understand whether or not you are meeting expectations.  Seeking feedback from clients and junior staff is also fundamental to growth and career progression.  Good and timely communication prevents conflicts and misunderstandings and dramatically reduces anxiety. It’s important to be technically strong, of course, but we need to hone our soft skills, especially in this era of artificial intelligence. As I was in a small but growing department when I started with Deloitte, I was fortunate to have ample opportunities to develop leadership skills early on.  An aspect of my work that I particularly enjoyed was coaching and mentoring junior staff members and designing and delivering training for them.  This led to me developing the Trainee Toolkit, a programme I have been rolling out across different firms to support the next generation of Chartered Accountants in succeeding in their exams and training contracts, assisting the efforts to plug the talent gap and future-proof the profession.  Tap into your professional community  Being part of the family of Chartered Accountants provides us with community, whatever stage of our career we are in. It’s vital to tap into this community and make the most of the support available to advance our careers.  Collectively, we give ourselves a sense of purpose, an appreciation of our individuality and health and wellbeing benefits.   Nurturing relationships and building connections within this community can be particularly beneficial for women, who face various unique challenges in the profession.  Mentoring and networking allows women to brainstorm collectively, share solutions to challenges, professional and personal experiences, to thrive, build confidence, take control of their careers and ultimately experience greater fulfilment in all that they do. Managing work-life balance As a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, I love saying yes to new challenges. This is my biggest issue when it comes to work-life balance. I take on a lot because I don’t want to say no to opportunities to grow. Being mindful and focusing on each task to the best of my ability helps me to avoid feeling overwhelmed.  Good time management is also key; anticipating unforeseen events and factoring buffer time into my projects reduces pressure. A non-negotiable is my daily walk. It’s my chance to reflect, exercise and clear the cobwebs. I often go out with a problem and come home with a solution. Living a more holistic life where we can be at our best involves recognising that nothing is wasted, all experiences in and out of the workplace, all the successes and setbacks shape us into who we are, and it’s good to take stock of this daily. Cultivating personal and professional relationships helps us perform at our best and feel good in the process. Charlotte Rose Keating, FCA, is CEO of Act On It Coaching  My Story So Far: Women's Career Series Last year, Accountancy Ireland introduced a new series in collaboration with the Gender Working Group of the Institute’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. Focused on the women in our membership, we are relaunching this series this year under the new banner ‘My Story So Far: Women’s Career Series’. It follows the 2022 publication of a global Chartered Accountants Worldwide survey which explored opportunities for women in the profession. The survey found no obvious gender-related barriers to entry into the profession but revealed that a growing number of women were making the decision to leave or pivot within the profession mid-career. ‘My Story So Far: Women’s Career Series’ seeks to highlight the experiences of the women in our membership and provide a forum to share their insights into how they have managed their careers in tandem with their lives and overcome the challenges and obstacles they have encountered along the way.

Julia Rowan answers your management, leadership and team development questions I work in HR and recently helped a partner recruit a manager to lead a team of six people. The team had been without a manager for about a year and there are issues which need tackling. We wrote a very specific job description which highlighted the people management aspect of the role and focused on this a lot at the interview. The new manager has not stepped up to the people management aspect of the role; they say that they don’t have the time as there is too much work. The partner has asked me to intervene – but the new manager is very defensive.  Managing people is wonderful. It is also tough, and it can be much easier for managers at all levels to focus on the work than on the people.  In many organisations, there is a lot of aspirational talk about people/culture that does not translate into the lived experience of employees. So, sometimes people ‘talk the talk’ to get a role and then step back when faced with a challenge.. I love that you paid so much attention to the job description and interview – you laid a solid foundation for future conversations.  When the new manager came on board, did the partner sit down with them and draw a red thread between the interview and the role, explaining why they were given the role? This type of conversation builds on the foundation and provides real clarity about desired behaviours. It is not too late to do this, and probably very important that it happens. The partner has asked you to intervene – is this due to lack of time, misperception of HR’s role or avoidance of the issue? Certainly, you can help, but this is a great opportunity for the partner to role model how to step into leadership and deal with a tough issue.  I think your first call is to explore how the partner is supporting their new manager. Do they have regular one-on-one meetings? If so, are they all ‘business’, or are they talking about the people issues too? If the partner cannot offer support, at the very least they need to let the new manager know that you are acting on their behalf and they need to stay involved. You and/or the partner may need to have a few meetings with the new manager to explore what is happening, build trust around the issue and ensure that they are bought in.  You will need to ‘listen like crazy’ without explaining or advising so that you can get to the heart of the matter.  Ask them what support they need to tackle the situation. Make sure they are connected to other people managers across the organisation who may be able to support them. Let us not forget that there are legacy issues at play here, and perhaps the ‘ask’ of the new manager is too big. A well-run team session could help the team to disentangle issues and move on. But these issues can run deep, and professional help may be needed. Julia Rowan is Principal Consultant at Performance Matters Ltd, a leadership and team development consultancy. To send a question to Julia, email julia@performancematters.ie

Julia Rowan answers your management, leadership and team development questions I am an experienced manager who is comfortable with delegating work and trusting my team to get on with it. This allows me to keep a strategic focus. I moved to a new organisation recently and find that my manager and other senior leaders expect me to have detailed knowledge of the work of my direct reports. I do not want to get sucked into operational detail. How do I stay high level while keeping my seniors happy? I always put options on a continuum of ‘do nothing’ (i.e. comply) to ‘the nuclear option’ (i.e. leave), and then identify the options in between.  Before you begin, reflect carefully on what is important for you so that you can shape a clear and positive message. Watch the language – are you ‘getting sucked into the operational detail’ or ‘on top of the data’? My guess is that this is a cultural issue, and if you want to effect change, you need to remain credible. Reflect on what the seniors need: do they need you to have information at your fingertips to save them time? To make important decisions? Are there trust issues around work done by more junior people? Is there something else?  Working this out will help you to meet seniors where they are (not where they ‘should’ be). Ask your manager for their support in meeting expectations while contributing at a higher level (focus on both/and rather than either/or). Bring the same question to your team and get their input and solutions. Reflect on your own expectations – you may need to give a little.  Identify the colleague who navigates this most effectively – ask them how they do it. Build the profile of your team: bring them to meetings. Find a reason to host an event at which your team members share their insights, demonstrate their capabilities and build relationships with your seniors. There may be practical solutions. Could you contact seniors before meetings to check if there are issues they want to discuss? Maybe you could create a shared folder where updated information is posted (either so that you can access it quickly – or colleagues can access it). There are a few options in between. There are many more. Just be open to looking for them. Two colleagues who don’t get on keep trying to drag me into their issues. I feel caught in the middle. In such cases, tapping into our sincerity often gives us the clarity and courage to address tough issues. My guess is that you want to support both without siding with either. Imagine one of your colleagues is sitting in front of you. What would you most like to say? It might be “I am uncomfortable as I feel stuck in the middle” or “That sounds difficult. How can I help you to address this with him?” or “It can be hard to work with someone whose style is so different”.  Try it and see what comes out. Then whittle that down to a sincere and helpful response. Julia Rowan is Principal Consultant at Performance Matters Ltd, a leadership and  team development consultancy. To send a question to Julia, email julia@performancematters.ie.

Julia Rowan answers your management, leadership and team development questions I am terrified of making a mistake or being seen as stupid. So, I work very long hours, perfecting my tasks, rarely speaking at meetings and avoid taking any kind of risk. How can I feel confident about what I am doing? When clients tell me about a fear they have, such as making a mistake, I ask them when was the last time they made a mistake. Most clients can’t come up with any evidence at all to support their fear.   In fact, they mostly have evidence to contradict their fear, such as praise from organisational leadership.   Isn’t it interesting that our thoughts trump our lived experiences?   To overcome your fears, write down the evidence you have proving it’s legitimate as well as evidence that contradicts your fear.   What does looking at those lists change?  Here’s a mnemonic I love: FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real.  The ‘false evidence’ is your thoughts and the ‘appearing real’ is the impact of those thoughts on your emotions, physical experience and behaviour.   It is often worth bringing issues of self-esteem and confidence to a therapist. It could be worthwhile to enquire about access to your organisation’s Employee Assistance Programme.   I contribute a lot at meetings but don’t make an impact.  I love my job; I am always well prepared and I’m a confident speaker – but I don’t seem to get my point across. Whether making a formal presentation or speaking at a meeting, I often advise clients that every word should work for its place.   When we know a lot about a subject, there can be a tendency to want to over-share that information – more than the audience needs – especially at a presentation.  In addition, extraverted types (who make sense of things by talking about them) often use 10 words where one would do, then they add another example, which reminds them of something that happened… You get the picture.   Whenever you have an important presentation, rehearse what you want to say out loud. It takes real discipline to pare your points back to the core and trust that you have said enough.   It’s important to hold onto this learned discipline at the Q&A by giving short answers. People can always ask for more information if they want it (whereas it is hard to say “that’s enough, thank you”). At meetings, I suggest that people preface what they want to say with a line such as, “I have three (two or one) main points” and then number the points as you make them.  This puts structure on what you want to say and helps you to be brief.   Make sure to reflect on your audience – how interested in the subject are they? How much do they already know? What is the objective of your presentation?  What part of your contribution are they more or less interested in? Tailor your answer to their needs.  Julia Rowan is Principal Consultant at Performance Matters Ltd, a leadership and team development consultancy. To send a question to Julia, email julia@performancematters.ie.