Culture Archives - Vanguard Careers

Embracing and manifesting cultural differences in leadership

May 5, 2021/in Culture, Diversity & inclusion all /by kunalwagchoray

Embracing and manifesting cultural differences in leadership

Your identity plays a significant role in how you lead. Recognizing and acknowledging your cultural background within your identity shapes your leadership style. Embracing the fact that there are celebrated business leaders from every culture, we can internalize and appreciate there isn’t only one way to be successful. This is the first step to accepting and evolving your personal gifts as a leader. For example, as an Asian female raised by traditional Taiwanese parents, I honed the skill of compromise early in life. Growing up in the U.S., I had many opportunities to practice finding common ground between Eastern values emphasizing collectivism and Western values emphasizing individualism. I am wired to hold and optimize opposing concepts in the same space. As a business leader, I have used this skill time and again to solve seemingly intractable problems with multiple stakeholders.

One of the most important practices in leadership is self-reflection. Through the self-reflection process, you find out all about yourself – the good and the bad. If you don’t accept all you are, you can’t use all you have. There are many aspects of yourself that are there for you to bring to everything you do. Your cultural background is an integral part of who you are. Self-reflection opens the door to discover places you may have overlooked in yourself. This helps you to love your uniqueness. There is, after all, no one like you. You have a perspective that only you can offer and contribute to others.

As leaders, we need to look for opportunities to leverage our identity in whatever we do for our business. It could be as simple as tapping into our personal and professional networks to source diverse clients. Who we are is who we know, and that’s powerful. When we combine our individual networks, we cover a lot of people! For example, Vanguard’s Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP) Crew Resource Group partnered with ASCEND (a US- based, nationwide Asian professional organization) to co-produce an informative webinar featuring two of our own leaders on investing in these uncertain times. Organizations like this help to expand our network and reach new clients.

Our cultural identity is a wonderful tool to further business goals. As managers, we are charged with creating the right environment and equipping our team to drive business results. It is corporate culture that creates those outcomes. Research proves there are better solutions and more creative, collaborative results when you have a diverse group of people. Bringing our identity to the table is not only the right thing to do, it is also an appreciated one that is good for business. Our clients care about the culture in the corporations they are affiliated with. In my role leading a team of investment consultants who advise our Institutional pension clients, I not only represent, but also discuss our corporate diversity and inclusion efforts.

Embracing your cultural background is not just letting people know who you are, it also includes finding out who they are and how you can work best together. It’s often easy to hide your true self, creating an artificial line of demarcation between work and personal. Too often your personal identity is not accepted as part of your business identity. Getting to know others can allow you to see more of who you are.

Being vulnerable and open to sharing your personal story and inviting others to share theirs becomes a powerful and expansive give and take. Leaders should tell their story, as well as listen to the stories of others. There are plenty of appropriate avenues through informal conversations, blogs, and social events, whether virtual or in person. Just remember that while listening, you should be willing to really hear what the other person is saying.

A good tool for understanding your leadership style and learning about those of others is the Deloitte Business Chemistry types. Like Myers Briggs, it talks about different characteristics within four primary categories: Driver, Pioneer, Integrator, and Guardian. This tool provides greater insight into your style, and also helps us understand the behavior of those with different styles.

Remember that whether you’re conscious of it or not, all parts of you, including your culture, show up in all you do. For example, I am a Pioneer and an Integrator. This makes a lot of sense to me. Being part of an immigrant generation is a crucial part of my identity. When my family came to this country, we had nothing and had to pioneer new ways to do things. As a middle child, I was always keeping the peace, trying to integrate everyone and find compromise. The person I have become because of my background and culture is reflected in my business dealings. Today, my leadership sponsors the Open Architecture effort, connecting investment professionals and information technology. In addition, I find innovative ways to craft win-win pricing proposals for clients and Vanguard, and I bring a differentiated perspective to building our pension advisory business.

Throughout my career, I have found adaptation to be an evolutionary necessity, but rejecting who you are in the process is a mistake. My cultural heritage and personal background are strengths that I leverage daily.

-Jean L.

Jean is a co-lead of LEAP and a Principal and Department Head in Institutional Advisory Services, where she leads a team of investment professionals. She embraced and manifested her own cultural differences to rise through the Investment Management Group Division leading teams in the Fixed Income Group, Risk Management Group, and Global Investors Shared Services. Jean has been an active member of LEAP since its inception – as co-lead for the Leadership and Professional Development sub-team, sponsor of all three LEAP Leadership conferences, and an active member of the Advisory Board.

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Recognizing Autism Awareness Month in IT

April 28, 2021/in Culture, Diversity & inclusion Technology /by kunalwagchoray

Recognizing Autism Awareness Month in IT

To me, Autism Awareness Month is about recognizing the unique perspectives and abilities that various people are able to contribute that are not always recognized. Autism Awareness Month also serves as a time to reflect and consider ways to make both our workplace and world a more inclusive environment for those with Autism and related differences.

The Information Technology (IT) Inclusion Council is an internal volunteer group focused on making the IT environment at Vanguard more welcoming and inclusive of different backgrounds and perspectives. It often holds events to celebrate, recognize, and support different forms of diversity.

On April 1st, the IT Inclusion Council held an Autism Awareness panel featuring crew members from across Vanguard and an external speaker. The event provided a great opportunity for the panelists to draw upon their unique experiences to answer questions from the audience and share their stories.

During the event, some common characteristics and diagnoses with regards to Autism were shared. Chris L., the event panel moderator, summarizes the educational aspect of the event with the following quote, “It’s important for all of us to create an environment that is inclusive of people with autism, and that can start with autism education.” Also, when asked about how to respond to a new autism diagnosis based on her personal experience, panelist Julia S. responded, “Usually, people say they’re sorry. But this is a good thing. You know more [now]. Stuff is going to make sense now. You may have a sense of community now.”

I look forward to being involved with future IT Inclusion Council events focused on promoting the awareness of and celebrating various communities!

-Chris L.

More about the panelists:

Tom N. has been the headmaster at Hill Top Preparatory School for 14 years. Located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Hill Top serves bright, neurodiverse students in grades 5-12. Throughout students’ high school years, the school focuses on college preparation and experience in the world of employment.

Michel B. has worked for Vanguard for 16 years and is an IT assurance advisor in Global Resource Strategy and Controls (GRSC). He lives in Pennsylvania, with his wife, daughter, and adult son, who is diagnosed with moderate autism. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and educating his friends and colleagues on autism.

April D. is a senior project manager on the Sourcing Governance Team in GRSC. She came to Vanguard in 2016 through the MBA Development Program. Before joining Vanguard, April earned an M.B.A. from Indiana University, a J.D. from Ohio State, and practiced law for ten years. April lives in North Carolina, with her husband and two children, both of whom are on the autism spectrum.

Tracie L. has been at Vanguard since 1998 and has worked in many different technology roles. She currently works in Global Investment & Financial Systems, supporting Corporate Finance on the Oracle Cloud Transformation Program. Tracie grew up and lives in Pennsylvania, with her three sons. Her middle son is autistic.

Julia S. is an infrastructure engineer within Workplace Services in Global Technology Operations. She’s been with Vanguard since 2018 and is passionate about data and automation. She lives in a 145-year-old rowhouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, three blocks from her fiancée. Julia is an autistic mom of an autistic teenager. Their all-autistic household has strong feelings about autistic representation in media and autistic self-advocacy (“don’t talk about us without us”).

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Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

April 21, 2021/in Crew benefits, Culture all /by rumpamala

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

April 22 is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Prior to having kids, I always imagined myself bringing my adorably cute, super well-behaved child(ren) to my workplace and giving them a glimpse of what mom does every day.

Fast forward to March 16, 2020, when a stay at home order was put into effect for Pennsylvania. Overnight, everyday became ‘bring your kids to work’ day. Spoiler alert: it was not as glamourous as my pre-kid self envisioned. It was downright hard. Reflecting on the past year with my husband, who has also been working from home full-time during this period, I recall good times, bad times and hilarious times. Vanguard has been there for us every step of the way and I couldn’t be more grateful to work for a company that has proven time and again how much they value their employees.

For some perspective, I have three children: an eight-year-old, a four-year-old and a one-year-old. I have had at least one child home each day during work hours for over a year (379 days to be exact as my daughter started back at school full time on Monday, April 5). Here are some highlights that we’ve shared together:

The Good Times

Having multiple family meals together each day.
Watching my youngest son grow up before my eyes and being present for milestones like sitting, standing and walking.
Being a part of my third grader’s education and truly understanding what she is working on each day.
Learning that my four-year-old can nap at any time, in any place – if he’s tired he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.
Appreciating the divide and conquer approach to household responsibilities that I have with my husband.

The Bad Times

I lost my four-year-old one afternoon and after 20 minutes of panic and frantic searching, we found him sound asleep under the couch.
Not only do I play the role of Vanguard professional and mom, but I also hold the title of housekeeper, lunch lady, referee, playmate, teacher, orthodontist and enemy number one (sometimes all in the same day).
Personal space and quiet time cease to exist.

The Hilarious Times

When asked what I do for Vanguard, my four-year-old replied that I talk on the computer phone (not entirely wrong).
I have gotten really good at ignoring the noise around me. On a call one day, one of my kiddos was trying to get my attention by repeating the word “mom” over and over. I was in the middle of presenting a topic and as soon as I finished, I asked if anyone had any questions. Without missing a beat, one of the participants on the call said, “I think someone has a question for mom.”
My one-year-old learned how to hang up calls on my headset – that was fun.

I can’t think of anyone who would say this past year has been easy. Employers have had a real opportunity to step up for their employees, and Vanguard has done so in a big way. It is OK if my kids pop on video calls to say hi. It’s OK if I need to reserve my lunch hour to make sure my kids are fed. It’s OK if I must step away from a meeting to help my child. Vanguard has welcomed my children into the mix with open arms, and I have never had to make excuses for having a life outside of work.

-Schuyler T.

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How Vanguard supports long-term career growth

April 14, 2021/in Career opportunities, Culture Technology /by kkilgarriff

How Vanguard supports long-term career growth

Vanguard supports the long-term career growth of our crew through an internal mobility process, as well as mentorships and upskilling resources. I have the privilege of leading a Talent Acquisition team of internal recruiters in Human Resources who are dedicated to delivering a transparent and equitable hiring process for our crew. In this blog, I’ll be sharing insights into our offerings, as well as feedback from key stakeholders.

A look at internal recruiting
Internal roles are posted to our enterprise career site, and recruiters facilitate the process by ensuring all applicants are reviewed and calibrated, and that candidates interviewed receive feedback. Further, recruiters consult interview teams on the importance of diversity, awareness of unconscious bias, and why strong interview feedback is critical for career mobility. Our Talent Acquisition team fills more than 2,500 job opportunities a year through crew mobility and advancement.

“In my role as an internal recruiter, I am fortunate to experience firsthand the myriad of career opportunities available to Vanguard crew. Playing a part of the career development process is such a gratifying and meaningful aspect of my job. Vanguard truly encourages and supports career mobility and I am proud to contribute to that effort.” – Kris C., Recruiter

“The managers whom I’ve interviewed with have been very receptive to follow up conversations about my interviews and how and where I can improve. These conversations are the best way for me to fully understand and learn where my opportunities for growth are. Interview feedback has been incredibly helpful and has allowed me to land the job I’m applying for.” – Sam R., Internal candidate

Development opportunities through Crew Resource Groups
My team has a front row seat to observe crew investing in their professional development through enterprise resources and supports them in taking actions that will enable them to advance in their careers. Crew participate in our Crew Resource Groups (CRGs), such as Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP), Open Professional Engagement Network (OPEN), Hispanic/Latinx Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA), Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS), and Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), as well as our Vets Connect group, to receive 1-on-1 mentoring, coaching, and business training. Crew leverage CRG opportunities to support their Vanguard and local communities and grow professionally.

“I am a member of the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), one of the many crew resource groups available that fosters inclusivity and career progression. Through VBPN, I was assigned a mentor, a senior leader who helped me increase my networking opportunities. Through her guidance, I was able to navigate interviews and land my current role. There are a lot of CRG collaborations across the different groups, which creates a broader network for crew mobility.” – Agnes E., CRG mentee

“I joined multiple CRGs soon after beginning my Vanguard career. I quickly discovered that the mentorship programs are a wonderful way for new employees to forge long-term bonds with more tenured employees. I was grateful to be partnered with a mentor in VBPN and a mentor in WILS. Both mentors have been instrumental in my career growth and have provided thoughtful guidance, support and friendship throughout my time at Vanguard.” – Tammarra W., CRG mentor

Our annual Career Expo
In addition to the opportunities mentioned above, the internal recruiting team recently partnered with our CRG community to host Vanguard’s third annual internal Career Expo, which went 100% virtual for the first time in 2020. The expo featured ways to fuel your career during a season of change with over 60 virtual booths. During the event, crew were invited to build business acumen, network virtually, and develop skills in relation to career mobility. Over 2,700 crew registered to attend the Vanguard Career Expo and enjoyed learning about job opportunities, as well as Vanguard upskilling resources.

“The Global Risk & Security (GR&S) division has gone through a transformation over the past two years in order to ensure that the risk management support we provide to our various business lines keeps up with the dynamic and evolving industry in which we operate, and that we continue to protect and steward client assets. The career expo provided a fantastic opportunity for me as a leader to share insights into the work happening every day in GR&S, the shifting risk landscape, and how our crew are partnering with the businesses to meet strategic goals. Crew were able to attend overview sessions to learn more about the division and identify potential career areas of interest. We are always looking to hire talented crew into GR&S!” – Marissa B., Business lead

Resources for enhancing your skills
As for upskilling resources, Vanguard recently introduced Degreed to crew. Degreed is Vanguard’s learning experience platform and is a “one stop learning shop” that fits into the flow of normal work. With Degreed, crew get smarter in skills aligned to their career path with seamless integration of articles, books, videos, and courses to build needed skills for professional growth and expertise. Degreed is one of many Vanguard tools used to support crew in achieve their personal and professional goals.

“I really like how Degreed integrates a lot of sources and platforms (Harvard publishing podcasts, articles from industry publications, etc.). I already had followed the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Women at Work podcast, so having it in the learning system to check off as a learning task was awesome. Additionally, it allows crew to consider the other learnings that they may already be doing outside the traditional learning platforms.” – Jasmine T., Crew user of Degreed

“Vanguard is dedicated to providing a variety of development opportunities for crew at all levels. From industry certifications and advanced degree programs, to training classes and job rotations, I have personally benefitted from the development offerings. As a business leader who recently transitioned to a new domain, Degreed provided a roadmap for me as I worked to quickly increase acumen in my new role through internal thought leadership, external podcasts and articles, and traditional training classes.” – Marissa B., Leader user of Degreed

Come launch a career at Vanguard and meet my team in your advancement journey!

– Chelsea M.

Want to learn more? Take a few moments and watch this video where five crew talk through their career progression at Vanguard.

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Women’s History Month 2021

March 26, 2021/in Culture, Diversity & inclusion all /by kunalwagchoray

Women’s History Month 2021

Each year on March 8 we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) to honor the achievements of women, in a variety of fields, throughout history and across nations. March also happens to be Women’s History Month in the United States.

In recognition of both International Women’s Day (IWD) and Women’s History Month, Vanguard’s Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS) hosted a number of experiences centered around the 2021 IWD theme: Choose to Challenge. This theme is all about making conscious choices to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements and to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality.

Through live speaker events, coaching sessions, workshops and a podcast, crew engaged with each other across virtual platforms. Many also participated in a #ChoosetoChallenge campaign by posting photos striking the IWD pose to show their commitment to helping forge an inclusive world.

Lastly, WILS also took this opportunity to recognize and celebrate “women we admire” through a spotlight series. Take a moment to read the insights these crew members shared about their personal career experiences with our WILS members.

Ginene L.
Associate Counsel and Senior Manager, Vanguard Litigation & Regulatory Enforcements Team

Ginene opens up about the importance of being your own advocate: “I’ve experienced many encounters that required me to speak up for myself, even when it came with possible rejection or consequence. But that’s the sacrifice of being your biggest advocate––everyone may not agree with you but, if it’s true to who you are and what you believe, you have to trust yourself and trust your journey. I also learned that it’s never too early or too late to take charge of your career. Oftentimes, the fear of ‘why would they want to meet with me’ or ‘what do I have to offer’ gets in the way of building great relationships that can change the trajectory of our career. Keeping my head down and waiting for the work to come may have worked for others, but that wasn’t the road for me.”

Adriana R.
Head of Institutional Sales for Mexico and South America

When asked how she challenges the status quo in her role, Adriana says, “Building a business in the International division means we challenge the status quo pretty frequently, and our business partners will attest to this. Without their collaborative support and frequent and upfront communication, we would not be able to serve our clients by strategically leveraging Vanguard’s scale and strengths.”

Mara B.
Project Manager, Institutional Investor Services Business Enablement Team

When it comes to your career, Mara believes you control your own destiny: “I am certain we have all been in a situation where a friend, family member, or colleague has questioned a decision you made for your career because maybe it was something you hadn’t done before, or maybe it didn’t follow the typical path of those before you. When those situations happened to me, it was important to remember that I was the only one who could make the decision. It didn’t matter what one person said or what they thought of me after, it mattered what I wanted for my career and what would make me happy. You control your own destiny, and the only person who can stop you is you.”

Sara V.
Personal Experience Lead in Australia

On breaking barriers to achieve success, Sara shares, “Growing up, I was blinded by the idea of needing a stable and reputable career when I went down the accounting path. People often say the only way to succeed in your career is to love what you do. It took time to build the courage to do something about the career I’d built that did not align with my passion. Taking action is important, and I’m now in a more people-focused, dynamic and fast-paced role where I use my strengths every day to make an impact. I am so much happier for it—even on the stressful and challenging days!”

Jessica B.
Education Consulting Services Manager, Institutional Investor Group

Jessica opens up about Vanguard’s culture and how it has afforded her flexibility as a working mom: “Something I greatly value about Vanguard’s culture is the opportunity to leverage flexibility in the workplace to be successful as a working mom. Four years ago, my first daughter was born with complications resulting in many lifelong disabilities. I thought my career was over, as the demands for her doctors’ visits and therapies wouldn’t allow me to be successful in both my career and providing her the care she needs. However, our corporate culture and many influential leaders in the organization have taught me that I can do both; thrive as a mother raising a child with disabilities and be a successful career-driven woman. I have learned to utilize resources such as mobile technology to stay plugged in to work while sitting in doctors’ offices. I have leveraged my ability to work a flexible schedule in order to facilitate my daughter’s physical and occupational therapy sessions. Watching my daughter overcome the many obstacles she is faced with daily has been my inspiration to thrive for success in everything I do, to never give up, and to always find the value in my accomplishments.”

Ginene

Adriana

Mara

Sara

Jessica

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Networking amidst a pandemic

March 17, 2021/in Culture, Diversity & inclusion all /by marcin

Two women colleagues on video chat in office

Networking amidst a pandemic

With most of us working remotely, networking has taken a back seat. Gone are the days when you could grab a quick conversation with someone after a meeting, in the hallway, or the galley. In our bubbles, we can’t even meet often with friends outside work. Creative thinking must be called upon. For our personal and professional lives, we need to find fresh ways to connect. Vanguard’s Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP) is offering opportunities to get to know people across the enterprise with monthly Virtual Coffee Chats.

How it Started
I found out about it when I was asked to put together an email for the LEAP Networking and Cultural Awareness Group. The group realized in a virtual environment it’s hard to meet new people. Someone on the team had the idea of virtual meet ups and two members of the group, Annie B. and Vrinda M., ran with it. By taking advantage of our remote environment, it’s now possible to meet LEAP members across the world.

My Experience
I met with Catherine D., who is Head of Direct/Large Market Sales for Institutional Sales. She and I hit it off and found we have a lot in common, but there were also opportunities for us to help each other grow. For example, she suggested specific areas of focus in my learning journey and I gave her tips on writing. At the end of the meeting we agreed we wanted to continue the friendship. Judging from the responses of other participants, the goal of the LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats to unite people is working! I found a new friend and colleague. Catherine has always been a remote worker from her home in Northern California, and I’m in Pennsylvania. She’s a Department Head in Institutional and I’m an Administrative Associate in Information Technology, so the likelihood that our paths would cross was slim.

My second experience was a wonderful conversation with Stephanie S., a PA-based Accounting Operations Lead in Finance. Though she’s not so far away, Stephanie is still someone I would have been unlikely to meet in the office environment. Now I have new connections, broader perspectives, and agreements to keep the relationship going. Two new friends without leaving my chair!

How LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats Work
For those of you who are interested in organizing a similar program, we explained the concept in an e-mail and provided a link for all who were interested to sign up. Annie and Vrinda performed a randomization on the names and came up with pairings. The pairings were sent out in two columns. The first, highlighted in yellow, was the designated person to set up the meeting. The second column was the partner. Those who sign up continue to be included month to month. With each round, a broad email asks if anyone else wants to participate.

What’s Next?
Annie and Vrinda were pleased that in the second month of Virtual Coffee Chats, the number of people who participated doubled! Not stopping there, the two came up with an idea that, every other month, it might be fun to have a Group Chat, centering on a topic selected by the participants. These would be conducted as small group meetings in Microsoft Teams breakout rooms. For the Group Chats this month, due to popular demand, we are looking into providing healthy breaks of meditation and stretching. LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats continue to bring people together and strengthen them.

-Alexandra C.

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