Q. What should aspiring C-Suite leaders be doing today to realize their career aspirations?
A. (Lola Lin)
Fundamentally, the C-Suite is there to support and execute the direction and vision the CEO has for the organization. The CEO position is incredibly complex and multi-faceted. The role must determine the right balance between near-term and long-term goals. Moreover, this executive needs to lead a complicated entity that resides in an ever-changing world and is beholden to a multitude of important stakeholders. Therefore, if you wish to serve the CEO in the C-Suite, it will be essential for you to become multi-dimensional in your skillsets as well.
Although you will have deep expertise in one area, such as a CLO with legal matters or a CFO who is well versed in finance and accounting; it is the cross-functional expertise that will enable the opportunity to sit at the table. Skillsets such as business acumen, practicality, strong judgment, interpersonal skills, and strategic mindset are all traits we should aspire to master; regardless of our degree in a certain major. Many difficult issues do not fall into a single siloed discipline. You must have the ability to catch problems where they fall and shepherd them to resolution on behalf of your company and the CEO irrespective of your title.
Q. What are your top three recommendations for aspiring candidates to begin doing today to achieve their long-term goals of entering the C-Suite ranks?
A. (Lola Lin)
First, it is critical to wonder why. I have had the privilege of working for and with great CEOs and each has been insatiably curious about all things in the world. To try to keep up, push yourself to be well-read on as many topics as possible despite all of the other demands that occupy your time. I have found that it is difficult to catch up if you start this later in your journey – don’t put it off. Often times the best ideas you can bring to your work are the ones that you have seen applied in a completely different context or world. This prevents one’s value from becoming stale or single note. Regardless of the role within a C-Suite, bringing innovative ideas is mandatory; it is not just expected from the EVP of R&D.
Second, it is essential to observe and learn from many. Even as a lawyer, I have to sell, understand financial consequences, make observations about talent, push strategic objectives, and understand technology. In order to develop these skills, I absorb, emulate, and intake the skills and strengths of others; many of which are not in my field. I would suggest that you find someone to guide you who is willing to tell you the uncomfortable truths of what you need to learn while they celebrate what you already know. It is easy to have your “role” define you and this will limit the development of skills essential to work effectively in the C-Suite.
Finally, it is crucial to be adaptable when new career opportunities come your way. This may include where you live in the world, the industries you think you prefer, and the work that you are willing to do. If you limit yourself prematurely with too many non-negotiables and parameters, it is inevitable that those will confine you one day, perhaps, right before you reach your aspiration of entering the C-Suite. I have never been able to conceptualize the exact path my career would take, but I have always been willing to take on new career opportunities as they come. Seizing these important moments is not easy and does require the sacrifice of comfort and familiarity for you and those who care for you so discuss the prospect of change for the sake of growth ahead of time.
Q: What would you say to those who are concerned about encountering limitations such as bamboo or glass ceilings on their way to the C-Suite? For instance, even though Asian Americans have been the fastest-growing minority group in the legal profession they are significantly underrepresented in the profession’s top leadership positions. [1]
A. (Lola Lin)
I wish each of you a long and prosperous career. Along the way, there will inevitably be many challenges as well as joys. Limitations of all sorts will exist; whether it is a disappointing manager, a misled company, a disingenuous colleague, a lack of diversity, or otherwise. I would just say that one of the most distinctive traits of a C-Suite executive is that they are rarely bound by limitations. They have, without fail, the ability to envision a goal or objective despite the most challenging of limitations and meet it. Ingenuity, intuition, determination, and a positive mindset often lead the way.
Bios:
Lola Lin is Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Secretary of Howmet Aerospace Inc., a leading global provider of advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries. Lola leads Howmet Aerospace’s legal team in all corporate, governance, securities/corporate finance, M&A, litigation, risk, employment, regulatory, intellectual property, and commercial matters. She also leads the global Ethics & Compliance and is a member of the Howmet Aerospace Executive Leadership Team. Lola has more than 20 years of legal expertise over multiple industries. She most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Airgas, Inc., a leading U.S. supplier of industrial gases, safety products, and process chemicals. Prior to her time at Airgas, Ms. Lin served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel within Air Liquide in the United States. Previously, she also held roles at Dell Inc., Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP as well as Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP.
Partha Anbil is a Contributing Writer for the MIT Sloan Career Development Office and an alum of MIT Sloan. Besides being VP of Programs of the MIT Club of Delaware Valley, Partha is a long-time life sciences consulting industry veteran, currently with an NYSE-listed WNS, a digital-led business transformation company, as Senior Vice President and Practice Leader for their Life Sciences practice.
Michael Wong is a Contributing Writer for the MIT Sloan Career Development Office and an Emeritus Co-President and board member of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association. Michael is a Part-time Lecturer for the Wharton Communication Program at the University of Pennsylvania and his ideas have been shared in the MIT Sloan Management Review and Harvard Business Review.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2021/09/14/discrimination-and-bamboo-ceiling-the-unconscious-bias-facing-asian-american-managers/
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in collaboration with the HLS Center on the Legal Profession. NAPABA Coffee House Episode 1: Lola Lin, Chief Legal Officer of Howmet Aerospace
https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/asianomics-in-america-article
