Be well: how to lay the foundation for success

How do you build a successful career that “honours and aligns with” your wellbeing? The motivation to ask ourselves that question is clearer now than ever, according to Lorene Phillips, owner of executive coaching company Clarendon Wallace.

“Having come though a pandemic, people are very clear that they want to be well,” she said. “And success looks very different to us now because we are asking ourselves a powerful question: ‘what’s most important to me?’.”

She added: “Many of us build our careers and build our lives without ever asking ourselves that question. And if you did ask yourself, then how long ago was that, because if that was 10 or more years ago, then I guarantee that you have changed. What are your ultimate values now and how do they align with your work life and your personal life?”

Regular in-person contact with colleagues has been missing for many during the COVID-19 pandemic, though this has been less of a problem in Bermuda where government action to control the spread of the virus has been effective, Phillips said. But many workers on the Island, as in other jurisdictions, are insisting on a work-life balance more than ever before.

Phillips’ timing was impeccable—she established her Bermuda-based company in March 2020. She had trained with The Coaching Academy in London and, when the pandemic arrived, she felt more than ready to help others deal with the new world of work or, in some cases, the loss of a job or even the loss of a loved one or colleague.

After almost 30 years as an international underwriting executive, alongside raising family, she wanted to do something that was “bigger than me”.

“I decided that I was going to take a bet on myself,” she said. “I had made a very good living, building portfolios and books of businesses for companies, and I decided I would do the same for myself this time by becoming an entrepreneur who supports individuals, especially under-represented individuals, to thrive in the workplace. I know how to do that, because I’ve lived it,” she said.

Burnout is not success

Many executives, “under-represented” or not, will know what extreme stress feels like, but is the success it leads to real or illusionary, given its physical and psychological effects?

“Burnout is not success,” Phillips said. “I’ve experienced it and so has anyone else who is a high performer, or who has worked in a way of doing way too much and way too fast. Raising a family, with all the different iterations that entails, can also lead to burnout at one point or another.”

Stress was the topic last month of The Huddle, a webinar series for youth leadership development. This is a free-to-participate online platform that Phillips designed for future leaders. Its purpose is to “create a space” where participants from all backgrounds can talk about how best to prepare for—and thrive in—the workplace

“They pick the topic and then I go out and find the experts if I’m not the expert, and we have a real conversation. We agree, we disagree, it doesn’t matter, but we really flush out whatever that topic is,” she said.

Phillips works not only with senior executives, but also with individuals at the mid-level of their career and those coming straight out of college “who have no idea what they’re doing”.

One thing they all have in common is the universal need for self-worth.

“Self-worth means being able to ask for what it is that you deserve and that you know is aligned with what you contribute to an organisation,” Phillips said. “What I do, is help give them the skills to develop that sense of self-worth and as early as possible.”

“I help my clients get their next promotion and the next promotion after that.”

Networking as your true self

Jamaican-born and moving to Bermuda after high school, Phillips has particular empathy for the importance of networking, which was another topic for discussion by The Huddle.

“I fundamentally believe that a lot of opportunities that are missed for marginalised or under-represented individuals is because, a lot of the time, they’re outside networks. I show them how to develop their network early and strategically, so that they can build a successful career for the long haul,” she said.

Data from the Association of Bermuda International Companies show that, unsurprisingly, the talent pool is split unfairly, Phillips said.

“We need to see more women, more black people and people of colour moving into executive roles. We want diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) being lived out in organisations and not something that is just talked about and then stored in a binder somewhere, gathering dust. DEI must be embedded in the culture of every company because that’s the right thing to do.

“And, guess what, the new generation is looking for that from their employers, they are asking for evidence, and so if we’re going to attract and retain a diverse talent pool, then we have to do a better job. The data needs to bear that out because you can’t manage what you can’t measure, right? The data needs to start reflecting our community.”

None of the “black and brown” clients Phillips coaches had ever been coached before.

“They’d never had access to a ‘safe space’, where they could address the things that are of most concern to them; where they can be vulnerable, where they can be honest, where they can do the inner work, so that they can thrive wherever they are,” she said.

Circling back to wellbeing from networking, Phillips said: “You have to believe that you belong there, you have to believe that you have something of value to add. You need to have the confidence to dare yourself to go into new places.”

Code switching

For many Bermudians working in the international business community, there is the matter of what Phillips calls “code switching”. This is how they feel working in an environment that is different from their local community—they feel they have to change their persona as they move between each. This disconnect is evident in particular among black Bermudians in senior positions, who feel they have to perform at work as a different person from who they are when they go back to their local community each day.

“It’s a survival mechanism that’s common among people from minorities, by race, sexual orientation, class or age, it doesn’t matter what the difference is,” she said. “It’s where you assimilate in order to normalise whatever you think is acceptable for your success. If that means changing the way you speak, dress or behave, you’ll do it, even if it is not authentically you. You’ll do it in order to feel accepted and included, and to be rewarded for your work.”

Phillips argues that true inclusivity means being encouraged to bring “all of who you are” to work.

“You should be able to showcase that because you can still be professional and good at your job. The difference is that you are valued for what you offer as your true self.”

Code switching can be “exhausting” in a small place like Bermuda, she notes.

“There is no getting away—the bubble is really small and really tight. When I moved to London for work, I was so happy to be anonymous!”

Does the coach need a coach?

“Every good quality coach needs a great coach. So yes, I have a coach as well, because there are things I need to talk about, and things that I need to work on as well,” Phillips said.

She continued: “People often come to me because they’ve been stuck in the same job for many years and they don’t know how to get unstuck. They find it hard to move on and look for other opportunities, or even to move within their organisation. They might not have the confidence to have what they see as difficult conversations, to ask for a salary increase, to negotiate on behalf of themselves.”

The “beautiful” thing about coaching, she says, is seeing the level of self-awareness an individual can achieve in order, not only to tap into their strengths, but also to identify their “inner saboteurs” and navigate around them so they can succeed.

Understanding what makes us feel uncomfortable is helpful because that is “where the real growth takes place”.

“We are multilayered and multifaceted and how we see ourselves is becoming more and more important in terms of valuing each other.”

Is coaching a class thing?

Executive coaching is, traditionally, a “perk” given to the top 1 percent in an organisation, according to Phillips.

“It was usually kept as a secret but, all of a sudden, you’d notice that a person looked different, they were dressing differently, had a different haircut. In board meetings, they’d be more assertive and you would wonder what was going on with them,” she said.

“I’ve tried to make a correction to that by introducing coaching even before someone embarks on their career, long before they need it, so that they are ready to succeed.”

A client may have a lack of confidence around presentation, be suffering from impostor syndrome, have a fear of rejection (or even a fear of success).

“They need coaching now,” said Phillips, “because otherwise they may never make it to the C-suite.”

There are also those who have access to coaching but decline to try it because they see the need for it as something to be ashamed of.

“That’s another stigma out there, where someone would say they’re just going to pull themselves up by the bootstraps,” she said.

And others might say they have already achieved success without coaching and therefore proved they don’t need it.

“‘I’ve done well all by myself, so I don’t need a coach’, they say, but all the research shows that when you’re being coached, your performance goes through the roof. I help my clients get their next promotion and the next promotion after that. It’s called succession planning for C-suites, and it’s about preparing them for each next big step.”

Phillips does a lot of pro bono work as well, such as by supporting the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies, to prepare young people applying for scholarships, writing their CVs and having job interviews. For those whose interest in coaching extends beyond the academic side, she also has her British School of Etiquette that focuses on helping her clients develop distinguishing social skillsets.

Virtual presence

An industry built on relationships has been forced, along with other sectors, to adopt a hybrid model of working, and it is critical that its leaders make that new reality a positive experience, she added.

“We’ve proven in the pandemic that, as much as we can beat expectations, blow through our budget, exceed productivity, we are losing the human connection, we are disconnected from each other. And that’s why, when I work with clients, I don’t just help them with their presence physically but also spend a lot of time talking about how they show up virtually. How can they make sure that who they are is transferable, whether they are seen in person, or on a screen?”

Phillips describes this as “virtual executive presence”.

“Someone’s presence is the essence of who they are. A high level of self-awareness allows you to move gracefully in any space and be able to take your presence along with you. It’s your presence that people remember after you leave a meeting with them,” she said.

But no one is born with “presence”—it is a skill that can be learnt, with a coach’s support.

“I’ve done a lot of leadership training in how to communicate in this hybrid work environment. I’ve done a lot of work on executive presence and what that means in an authentic way. And I’ve built Clarendon Wallace on the innate desire to create sustainable change for the new generation because I want to build a legacy.”

And the new generation wants the hybrid model.

Phillips explained: “Leaders need to focus more on how the work is being done rather than where and when because, as we attract a more diverse and younger group into our industry—and we desperately need them—the way they work is going to be different. Different is a good thing.

“We need to create a space where they get to network and build those human connections that will allow them to thrive, and allow their career wellbeing to be enhanced. Like us, they need human connection, where they feel a sense of belonging and a sense of inclusion, and we can’t and shouldn’t try to replace that, but what we can do is create a both/and.”

Not a 9 to 5 generation

Young people are not like the previous generations of employees who are used to arriving at the office at 9 and leaving at 5.

“My youngest son started working in the London Market in early September,” Phillips said, “and he works Mondays and Fridays from home. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he’s in the office.”

That means, Tuesday is the new Monday and Thursday is the new Friday.

“I went to meet some colleagues on a Thursday, and Leadenhall Market was spilling over! They said that’s because nobody comes into the office on Fridays anymore. That’s a glimpse of how the London Market is changing and I love it because it means we can attract the Gen Zs.”

To understand this change, leaders must adopt a new type of “growth mindset”, she said.

“A lot is changing and leaders need to find new ways of working that support their employees’ wellbeing if they are to attract and to retain the best talent. I would suggest that any leader who wants to lead this next generation, to lead a workforce that is going to thrive in an organisation for sustainable success, that they develop a new learning mindset and sense of empathy. Then they can collaborate with their team to create a work format that supports individuals, because when individuals are happy, they will go the extra mile.”

www.clarendonwallace.com