A Weber Shandwick study of Fortune 500 firms shows companies with the best reputations have more women in senior management. They’re more profitable too. AT&T has more than 84,000 women who are executives, engineers, finance leaders, attorneys and mentors. One of their highest ranking executives is AT&T National Business President Cathy Martine. NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams recently asked her, as part of our on-going series on the power hitters we call “Jersey Girls”, whether women lead differently than men?
Martine: I think everyone leads differently. There are no two people alike, but I think women bring in a different perspective to the table. In some cases I found many of the women I work with to be very intellectually curious and they ask a lot of questions, hopefully to come with a better set of solutions to whatever opportunity exists. So I see often a more open and collaborative style of gaining input.
Williams: What was your biggest professional struggle and how did you overcome that?
Martine: My biggest professional struggle was probably the time in my life when I was pregnant. It was the first time many of the colleges with whom I worked had experienced a woman who was pregnant that was working up until the end. And so that was a challenge I was not expecting, quite frankly. Everyone was quite gracious and very kind but it was different because they saw me differently.
Williams: Did you feel that your power was diminished as a consequence?
Martine: I don’t know that that was the case. I just felt like I have always worked to be considered an individual who happens to be a female, but not ever using my gender in any, way, shape or form.
Williams: As an equal.
Martine: …And that is my expectation. I am an equal. At that point in time people where more worried with how I was feeling than what we were talking about.
Williams: To what do you attribute your success? To whom do you attribute your success?
Martine: My professional success is a function of education and opportunity converging in an industry which is just absolutely fascinating and has fascinated me since I started. The communications industry is the most amazing place that I think anyone can choose to work. So, I felt like I was well prepared academically, as well as I had opportunities for growth and development because we were in an industry that was growing. So that was a professional reason for success as well as performance. Personally, I think my family helped me from a very early age in assuming that I could do whatever I chose to do and was always supportive of me as I made my way through this career. I have many AT&T mentors who have helped me enormously and I credit them for where I am today.
Williams: How important is mentorship for young women?
Martine: I think that mentorship is essential for everyone, but particularly for women. I think in many ways women need someone they can talk to about the challenges they’re facing in a safe environment with which to be able to ask questions without it being considered a weakness.
Williams: What is the best advice you give the young people you mentor?
Martine: The best advice I usually give is to really take risks. Don’t be afraid to really push the envelope. Look at every opportunity as an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and not to look at things too long in any way, shape or form because you’re afraid you’re going to make a mistake. Mistakes are okay. It forces personal growth, and for many people everyone wants to be perfect so the opportunity for them to explore themselves in a way that allows them to really grow as an individual.
Williams: Research suggests women are less likely to negotiate for higher salaries than their male counterparts. Have you found that to be true?
Martine: I know that many have felt as though women may not push as hard on negotiation. Personally, because I’m in a sales organization I think we’re really skilled at negotiation. However, I think that woman may negotiate differently. From that standpoint they may actually go about the negotiations less directly and in some cases that might be perceived as a soft sell rather than a hard sell. But in my experience I don’t always think that being too direct in situations like that always benefits the individual as much as using subtlety and influence to gain that objective.
Williams: Having it all is that even possible?
Martine: I think you can have it all some of the times, not all of the times. It depends on where you are personally and professionally, it depends on what you’re balancing in your personal and professional life. But I think whether you’re an athlete, whether you’re a student or a successful CEO, everyday is a challenge, and so one has to make priorities and be disciplined about their time to actually be able to accomplish it all, as you define it.