®

CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH p.266

All Things Diversity & Inclusion

SEPT/OCT 2012$25.00

GLOBAL COMPANIES FOR ADVANCING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

Sue LaVallee, AXA Equitable Life Insurance • Anne M. Lockner, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP • Pamela Liebman, The Corcoran Group • Caryl N. Lucarelli, Tech Data CorporationLaurie Ledford, Marsh & McLennan Companies • Sammie Long, Kellogg Company • Susan S. Lanigan, Dollar General Corporation • Courtney Hall Leimkuhler, NYSE Euronext

Lisa Wong Lockland, Lewis and Roca LLP • Joanne Kugler, GE Power & Water • Gena Lovett, Alcoa, Inc. • Jacqueline Leung, Arrow Electronics, Inc.

September/October 2012 WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM 135

11TH ANNUAL

Company and Executive 2013 AWARD WINNERS

All Things Diversity & Inclusion

®

NYSE EuroNExt coNgratulatES

courtNEY lEimkuhlErfor bEiNg NamEd oNE of thiS YEar’S womEN worth watchiNg

13051_ProDiv_Journal_Ad_120705.indd 1 7/5/12 6:29 PM

144 PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL September/October 2012

“Women often have ATTRIBUTES that create positive cultures that lead to success.”

HEADQUARTERS:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

WEBSITE:

www.rkmc.com

BUSINESS: Law firm

EMPLOYEES: 748

TITLE: Partner

EDUCATION: BA, University of Minnesota; JD, Georgetown University Law Center

FIRST JOB: Drug store cashier

MY PHILOSOPHY:

Do everything with compassion.

FAMILY: Husband, Brian; black Lab, Hailey

› What college courses do you suggest for aspiring leaders? As someone who has a liberal arts degree, I’d suggest taking more business-related classes. Of course, if I had a business degree, I’d suggest more liberal arts classes. A well-rounded curriculum is the goal.

› What does it take to succeed in your position? A clear understanding of my clients' objectives, creativity to solve the problem, the intuition to know which battles to pick, and a good sense of humor

› Has discrimination affected you as a woman in the workplace? If so, how did you deal with it? While rare, when opposing counsel makes comments that I doubt he would say to a man, I see it as his weakness that can be effectively exploited to my advantage.

ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WOMEN’S GRADUATE DEGREES AND WOMEN IN LEADER-SHIP POSITIONS RESULTS FROM WOMEN BEING LESS WILL-ING TO STAY IN A CULTURE THAT SEEMS UNFAIR OR UNSAT-

ISFYING. There is nothing inherently wrong with this tendency. To the contrary, I have nothing but respect for someone—man or woman—who has the self-awareness to know that she would be happier in a different environment and makes that happen.

The next step in achieving true equality in leadership positions is to start creating environments with positive cultures that value the vast array of assets that women, in particular, bring to the table. Women often have attributes that create positive cultures that lead to success. I have found that if I am on a team made up of mostly women, they are often very successful at creating a cohesive, cooperative unit that can tackle any challenge effectively. They listen to one another, collaborate, ensure that each person gets good opportunities, and do not focus on who gets credit for the success of the project. The result is a loyal group that is willing to enjoy successes and suffer defeats together—making the environment more satisfying and fulfilling. And make no mistake, the men on these teams enjoy the positive aspects of the resulting culture as much as the women. These teams work as hard, as innovatively, and have as much intellectual horsepower as any teams I have ever worked with. But they build a culture that generates more energy than it takes—making it a sustainable and satisfying place to spend a career.

The most successful companies and firms of the future are going to be the ones that fig-ure out how to maintain and harness the incredible amount of leadership potential that is currently walking out the door on an all-too regular basis, because the environment takes more energy than it gives. Just saying, “she wasn’t cut out for this place,” without evaluating whether perhaps it is the “this place” that needs improvement is short-sighted and compa-nies and individuals who default to saying that without further analysis do so at their peril.

Women, find each other and work together. Take your strengths—your intelligence, creativity, compassion, and leadership—and create great cultures that drive great results. Employers, hire, and promote these women. Otherwise, your competition will.

Lockner

Company and Executive Women Worth Watching® 2013 Award Winner

Anne M. Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP