Bay Street - A Step Behind Nature?

By James Fleming

Illustration by Thomas Kuhlenbeck

GOOD LEADERSHIP qualities are not dependent upon gender. If you doubt that, consider the examples of Barbara Palk, president of TD Asset Management and her colleague at TD, executive vice-president Diane Walker, or Barbara Stymiest, COO of RBC Financial Group, or Karen Maidment, BMO Financial Groups CFO, or Maureen Jensen, who monitors market trading as vice-president of Market Surveillance at Market Regulations Services Inc. Yet the relatively small number of women at the top suggests that Bay Street has been slow to recognize their potential. Part of the reason probably lies in the wolf pack, eat-what-you-kill mentality that drives the dealmakers. Just below the civilized trappings lies a system in which alpha males lead, followed by juniors who know when to tuck their tails between their legs, and where stragglers or middle-aged managers with a little too much grey hair are kicked out of the pack. Very Darwinian. But even in a wolf pack there are dominant females who share leadership duties. So maybe the Street is a step behind nature.

Whatever the reasons, which is a subject for a whole other story, women, together with non-white employees, stand to benefit most from good mentoring relationships. As it is, there are few examples of women who have benefited from a mentor relationship. Exceptions include BMO senior executive vice-president Rose Patten, who was mentored by her former boss at ManuLife Financial, Tom Di Giacomo. For women, fathers can be important mentors. Consider Belinda Stronach, current politico and former auto parts boss, who was mentored by her father, Frank. So can husbands. Consider the power couple relationships of Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, or Kiki and Ian Delaney, in which mentoring can flow both ways.

Blending in with the pack takes extra effort when your genderor your colouris still a subconscious strike against you. Mentoring, whether informal or through formal programs can help, according Dr. Rey Carr, president of Peer Resources. Mentoring programs, he says help women and minority groups break through glass ceilings or concrete barriers. That is why formal mentoring programs hold special appeal, and potential. Toronto-based companies with formal programs include most major banks, Rogers Communications, Deloitte & Touche, Bell Canada, and Canadian Tire. A major objective of these programs is to ensure that the company doesnt pass over the talent and holds on to it. So dont be a straggler, join one if you can. If not, seek out the counsel of a mentor who has beat the odds.

For the inside story on Bay Street's greatest mentors,
see the October issue of The Bay Street Bull.