Episode 20
Meet Ann Carter , C Suite Supply chain executive - Part 1
Download the 21 traits of authentic leadership e book
Ann Carter is the leader people love to follow. Don’t take my word for it just ask anyone who has worked with her. Ann has experienced tremendous success in the C suite and across multiple industries, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Chemical, Aerospace, and Healthcare, she sees no barriers to success and leads the charge in the area of supplier and workplace diversity and inclusion, it's her mission.
This Harvard grad has a story to tell and one that will inspire you on your authentic leadership journey. She is a compassionate leader who has the confidence to inspire, but also the humility to be respectful and encouraging.
There is a part 2 to this podcast, tune in to part 1 to find out why. I had to be vulnerable in part 2, more to follow.
02:26 – Ann’s story
12:49 – Automotive to Healthcare
14:23 – Authentic Leadership
19:00 – Aligning and breaking down silos
23:09 – The games we play in the boardroom
27:46 - Mentoring
31:35 – Advice to your 25-year-old self
36:27 – Leading through a crisis
43:16 – Employee engagement
49:25 – Fun in the workplace
53:11 – The legacy
Transcript
[Transcript]
Jan: [:[00:01:28] So we recorded a second episode. Enjoy. My guest today has spent many years in the C-suite. She is a chief procurement officer and a well-recognized leader in her function. She's worked for Ford motor company, Baxter, healthcare and BP. She is an authentic leader and yes, she is a leader with gravitas.
[:[00:02:00] [00:01:59] Ann: [00:01:59] Hi, Jan, thank you for inviting me to your podcast. I am so excited to be on your show. It's great to have
[:[00:02:19] So I can't wait until we can get into all of that. So let's start. What is your story and Carter, where
[:[00:02:27] Ann: [00:02:27] it begin? Well, you know, that's a great question. And I'd like to answer that by where I am today. I used to define myself by the company I work for or the position, the title that I'd held. And more recently as I've gotten older, I started to question, is that the right way to define who I am?
[:[00:03:26] And I loved going back to something I'm more passionate about and providing the years of experience and leadership to help that organization grow and provide value and arts to a segment of the city where. It's basically an arts desert. In addition to that, I'm tapping into my entrepreneurial roots. So I'm looking at opportunities that are expanding the definition of who I am [00:04:00] beyond.
[:[00:04:05] Jan: [00:04:05] a bit, uh, it's a real awakening, isn't it? I went through the same process where you wake up and you go, Whoa, wait a minute. And I spent all my life trying to get this title and the next job and the next position and more responsibility.
[:[00:04:17] Ann: [00:04:17] to life than this. Oh, absolutely. And my own personal story quite honestly is very interesting. Um, I'm actually half Chinese. My mother is Chinese. My father is, um, African-American. I was born in Beijing, China, and you can say immigrated or move back to the U S um, when I was four years old.
[:[00:05:19] And some of the values she instilled in my brother and I first and foremost was education. And so we lived in Kansas city, Missouri for some time. And my mother learned about an opportunity to go to California. And if you lived in California for a couple of years, you could have access to tuition free.
[:[00:06:17] Jan: [00:06:17] And then what happened? You moved to California,
[:[00:06:36] Jan: [00:06:36] chemistry, or this sounds a little
[:[00:06:41] I love the idea of. Understanding how molecules fit together and how the reactions. Could create something different. I went to UCLA undergraduate and finished my career or my degree in, um, [00:07:00] um, in chemistry. I was also a, um, cheerleader on the dance squad at UCLA, which combined my passion for dance. Um, as well as I guess my knowledge passion for chemistry.
[:[00:07:45] And I said, I gotta go back to school. So I looked at what I could do. And at the time I said, well, I could go to medical school. And then I said, Hmm. So I can go to law school. [00:08:00] And I say, Oh, let me see. What's another thing I can do as a business school. And I chose business goal for at first it was a two year program and it was fordable.
[:[00:08:31] Jan: [00:08:31] Oh, I'd say that's quite a story. I didn't realize that we had the, uh, the China piece in there.
[:[00:08:41] Ann: [00:08:41] So at Harvard, um, I learned so much, I meet some of my closest friends to these days, um, at, uh, from Harvard. And, um, I also met my husband at Harvard. He was a second year student. I was a first year student. [00:09:00] And, um, after graduating from Harvard business school, that.
[:[00:09:37] Uh, vendors, um, from a, a, a distribution and a logistics standpoint, I had a great eight years with, um, British petroleum. Um, then I had an opportunity to join Ford motor company. Um, in Detroit and so moved pack their bags and moved to Dearborn, Michigan, which is the headquarters of Ford motor company. [00:10:00] Um, many of you guys know Ford as the, you know, premier, um, automotive manufacturer.
[:[00:10:45] Um, I have been a global leader. Managing teams of 200 plus located in Latin America, all over Europe, all over Asia Pacific. And those were some of the most [00:11:00] career defining moments in my journey. So you can say I've made my way around the great lakes from Cleveland to Detroit and now Chicago. So I, healthcare is a total different animal.
[:[00:11:59] And [00:12:00] so learning about and managing in that environment. Was a real eye-opener um, in terms of the complexity of the supply chain, the extreme need for quality, um, especially for those types of drugs and devices that go into the human body. Um, a fascinating journey for me. Um, and as a chief procurement officer working with the variety of suppliers, Working to ensure the robustness of supply was critical because of the kind of, of products that we made and how it impacted people's lives.
[:[00:13:07] Okay.
[:[00:13:48] So understanding the risks and mitigating the risks from a supplier standpoint, throughout the supply chain and at all. [00:14:00] Points of the product development life cycle, um, is critical. And it's not to say that that wasn't critical in the automotive industry, but it was just a different level of scrutiny and awareness because of the, um, again, because of the nature of the product.
[:[00:14:22] Jan: [00:14:22] held these senior level roles. As I said in the intro, you've been in the C-suite for quite some time. You've seen a lot. What is authentic leadership to you? I mean, you've seen good and bad across these industry, um, boundaries. So. I I'm fascinated to know, you know, all the things that you've learned.
[:[00:14:56] Ann: [00:14:56] So I'm going to answer that this way. I. [00:15:00] Have watched leaders, as you've said over my career, and I'm going to send, synthesize the three things that I've seen consistently on great fabulous leaders.
[:[00:15:41] Like they are the most important person to them are the ones that I. Have seen can really rally the troops in times of crisis and also lead the troops in the good times. The second characteristic is [00:16:00] communication and I don't just mean written communication can write a good email or send out a great newsletter.
[:[00:16:20] Transforms beyond just the words on the page is when the individuals in your company can repeat the vision, the promise statement, or the goals and objectives of the organization. And that communication talent is so linked to the leader's ability to connect. And the third one. Is trust an authentic leader, exudes not only confidence in the direction, but helps to build confidence that the team has in his or [00:17:00] her leadership capabilities.
[:[00:17:30] Through the leader are the characteristics that I most admire. Yeah.
[:[00:17:53] You just know it when it's there with a person and that you're almost programmed or [00:18:00] pre-programmed to figure out how you're going to respond to that person based on that initial interaction. And when I met you, we would do an, a workshop together and. You were the senior level person in the room, but you honestly couldn't tell that the moment I walked in the room, because you were very comfortable with the team, they were very comfortable with you.
[:[00:18:42] And then it further manifested itself. When I realized that the woman sitting next to you, ran quality for Baxter. And the two of you were in the room talking about joint goals and objectives about aligning these two teams together. [00:19:00] Often in these large corporate environments, we see silos, but you were on a mission to break down that silo.
[:[00:19:24] Ann: [00:19:24] be, yeah, that's a very good point. I mean, as you've pointed out, Companies who don't break down silos are going to have trouble moving quickly in today's environment.
[:[00:20:14] So a couple of things that I think are important in breaking down that those silos is building a relationship of trust with your counterpart. And that means. Having one-on-ones with them to align on direction and objectives and not always in the office meeting outside of the office to genuinely talk about each other's lives so that you actually know the person, um, in a informal as well as formal ways.
[:[00:21:17] To make sure that your counterpart is aware of things that are going on that may or may not impact their function, but they should know about so that they can be a formed in terms of guiding their teams or providing a response to the company. And that kind of sharing of information should be mutual.
[:[00:22:07] And it doesn't happen overnight. You have to make the investment. If you don't make the investment, you're not going to break down those relationship area. Yeah, you're
[:[00:22:25] Ann: [00:22:25] companies.
[:[00:22:53] And to me, when there's a crisis, that's when [00:23:00] all functions need to drop their barriers and work together to resolve those issues as quickly as possible.
[:[00:23:20] And of course that goes right to transparency. It's about being transparent and being open and honest with the information. And often we see these games playing out in the boardroom where somebody will. Hoard information or hide information. And then there'll be the one to sort of reveal to the, the executive team that, you know, this is the information.
[:[00:23:47] Ann: [00:23:47] seen that. Yes. And, um, you know, the, those gotcha games. Right? That's it. They're exhausting. Yeah. Right. And I. [00:24:00] I think people play gotcha games because of misaligned goals and objectives.
[:[00:24:44] Because if your team doesn't succeed, then you don't succeed as an individual is the right goal that most corporations should have in that should help with the. I'll call it gotcha. Games, which is really exhausting. [00:25:00] Yes. And nonproductive. And doesn't do anything to add value to the customer. Yeah,
[:[00:25:08] In addition to those games. My experience in the C-suite has been that when you have two women in the C-suite, it can be awful. It can be ugly, or it can be absolutely phenomenal. Fantastic and supportive. What is your experience?
[:[00:25:54] We're still not at parody or at a level [00:26:00] of,
[:[00:26:38] Younger women in the organization or for that matter, maybe even more mature women in the organization to help them navigate this very dynamic environment that we have today. In corporate America, where competition is increasing, the speed of change is increasing [00:27:00] and we all have to adapt to be successful in this new reality that we face.
[:[00:27:33] And there's still biases out there in terms of recruiting women, promoting women. And certainly we know that the wage gap for women is still very prevalent. What
[:[00:27:53] Ann: [00:27:53] process? I think mentoring is absolutely wonderful.
[:[00:28:31] How you make decisions is important because the ones that are coming up are facing the same type of dilemma or crossroads in their lives or choices. And oftentimes they feel like they're alone, but they're not. And oftentimes they're encountering the same crisis of confidence. Or as we talked about earlier, the imposter [00:29:00] syndrome or any number of challenges, personal or career, they just need advice or someone to talk to, to say, am I going in the right direction?
[:[00:29:13] Jan: [00:29:13] think that you're in a very, um, influential position. You have the ability to do that, to touch the lives of so many younger women coming into the corporate world, because you're there, you know, you've, you've reached these very high levels in the corporate world to these big companies.
[:[00:29:56] Let's have a conversation. We need so much more [00:30:00] of
[:[00:30:28] I always, one of the things I tell young women is there are no truly right or wrong answers. It is really your answer that works for you at your stage in your life. At your point in your career. What I try to do is open up our, open them up to all the possibilities, meaning there's really no door closed.
[:[00:31:29] What you need to do is broaden your horizon of what are the possibility of all the answers that you have, what advice
[:[00:31:42] Ann: [00:31:42] I would say focus on more self-confidence and I can still remember being 25 and. Feeling less than confident about my capabilities, my skillset, my [00:32:00] drive.
[:[00:32:33] Um, and the second thing I would do would be to tell myself, to get a mentor because in some ways, I didn't use outside resources to help me make decisions. And I could have benefited from an other's perspective in making the choices that I made, but I, I loved what I did in [00:33:00] my twenties, so I wouldn't change it for the world.
[:[00:33:12] Jan: [00:33:12] Yeah. And I think it's important too, to know that your mentor is not your boss and should never be your boss and mentor is somebody who sits outside ideally outside of your function. And I always like to see somebody actually positioned outside of the company even.
[:[00:33:35] Ann: [00:33:35] Well, I, yeah, I definitely agree. And I definitely support both mentoring formal and informal. Yeah. Because advice can come from a lot of different sources, but it's gotta be sources you trust.
[:[00:34:18] Um, you know, I may say, okay, you need a dress in blue, but if blue is not your color, Pick the color that's right for you. Yes.
[:[00:34:39] And the unexpected benefits that came from both sides is in a mentoring relationship. Sometimes the most senior level person, you know, it's this idea that they're going to impart all this wisdom. To the younger person and they, then the person has to sort of suck it all up and absorb it and off they go.
[:[00:35:29] And that's when the magic happens.
[:[00:36:00] [00:35:59] Having. Reverse mentoring can help, uh, you know, you adjust and as you say to invest in your success and, um, I'm a firm believer in reverse mentoring. So everyone I mentor is mentoring me. Um, and like you said, it's mutually beneficial and there's a genuine connection there. So it makes it easy. It makes it really easy.
[:[00:36:27] Jan: [00:36:27] There are five generations in the workforce today in some organizations, which makes that a leadership challenge. I'd like to, uh, go one step further than that and talk about what's happening in the world today, which is a crisis management. We are in a crisis mode right now with Corona virus. How do you as a leader?
[:[00:37:16] So my question is this, how do you, how do you lead a team through a
[:[00:37:41] Yes. There's a level of command and control, but I think this is where it's also an area where you can tap into the best nature of the people who work for you. I'm [00:38:00] a firm believer when you have a crisis that you. Tap those who are your high potential and put them in charge of certain areas of the, of solving the problem and you let them go.
[:[00:38:56] It is about, especially in a manufacturing [00:39:00] industry. It's about getting supplies so that you can continue to manufacture. And so that purpose and clarity allows for very clear also communication, because we're all on the same goal. You have those tasks, you sign your high potential to work those paths, and then you watch them just shine and help deliver what you would not have thought would have been accomplished at the time.
[:[00:40:15] So the clarity, the. Putting the right people in those leadership positioning positions and letting them really shine and perform, and then rewarding and recognizing their sacrifices. Um, to me are the key leadership talents that you need to bring when it's time of crisis. Do you turn
[:[00:40:43] Ann: [00:40:43] I think there's a level of command and control. Um, But I think presence as a leader is important. The leader, when there's a crisis to me, the head of the house has to be engaged and present. It is not [00:41:00] enough just to appoint someone and say, okay, you're, you're, you're leading the situation. You have to be present in the room on the calls, making sure that you're.
[:[00:41:40] Jan: [00:41:40] Yes. And you're right. It brings the clarity of mission and purpose is never clearer than it is when you're in crisis mode. If only we could take that, whatever it is that allows us to get that clarity and then use that in our normal, everyday working life, when we don't have a crisis, then we would really have something.
[:[00:42:28] In an everyday setting. That's why they have these mantras or these goals and the missions and the values and our goal statements and our objective statements. And, and, um, but you know, you, you can't. Have your company run on one crisis after another, that's just not the way to do it, but I do think there are other tools in the toolbox for CEOs and C-suite executives, such as, um, objectives, um, training, [00:43:00] um, relationship building that can help too.
[:[00:43:17] Jan: [00:43:17] a definite shift in focus to those kinds of skillsets. Now, more so than ever before, people are talking about human skills. I D I don't like to call them soft skills.
[:[00:43:56] All these different generations in the workforce and attract [00:44:00] millennials and gen Z, then we really need to do all of this. And it's just the right thing to do. Are you seeing
[:[00:44:23] It's more. Okay. And how can you effectively communicate? How can you effectively work with others that are important, um, to the development of your employees, um, and leaders for that matter. And part of that is. You see that in the, um, there's many companies who these days measure the pulse of an organization, how do they feel about working for the company?
[:[00:45:18] So if your employees are not engaged, they're not coming to work, bringing their best, or they're frustrated with where their career is going to. They're frustrated with their job. Um, they're going to come, it's going to show up in their daily work and it's going to show up in their work product and. That employee engagement is so important because when you get everyone rowing in the same direction and thinking that their job have purpose and meaning, and they are appropriate, rewarded and recognized, that's going to come through in the products or services that you provide for your customers.
[:[00:45:54] Jan: [00:45:54] a Gallup poll out there. I think it's a couple of years old now, but it said that, and this is a [00:46:00] global poll. Only 15% of people feel truly inspired and fulfilled and fully engaged at work. 15%. That's a, that's a, that's a frightening number. Now I've seen some data recently that says that number is up.
[:[00:46:28] Ann: [00:46:28] utilization.
[:[00:46:31] Ann: [00:46:31] mind, right? Absolutely. You try to fix it and improve its output. Um, I, you know, employee engagement is, um, Interesting.
[:[00:47:07] And then the second question I usually ask is how can I help you get there? And that turns the conversation around, because it's not about me, it's about them. And it's about what they. Need or want in order to feel fulfilled in their job or their career or with the company. And there've been many times where, when I've taught to someone, you know, they were asking those two questions and they go, well, I don't know.
[:[00:48:07] And how do I make a move within a company when it's so siloed? And, you know, if I want to move into HR and HR only recruits HR, um, but that's a different conversation. I think the first part of the conversation is. Understanding, what is it that you want that you think will make you happy or fulfilled?
[:[00:48:33] Jan: [00:48:33] Yeah, I agree. And I follow the Simon Sinek philosophy, which is very much around this idea that we want people to come to work feel great about the work that they do, their contribution feel that they're supported, that they're trusted, that, uh, they're challenged as much as they want to be challenged.
[:[00:49:17] And I think there's so much to that. If we can really inspire people to the point that they feel that way, when they come to work, we've got
[:[00:49:43] And you know, some ways to generate fun in the workplace is to, you know, uh, we, we had Brown bag lunch sessions where people can learn about different, um, functions, um, or hear from. [00:50:00] You know, their internal colleague about a success. We would have town hall meetings where we would ask people to, okay, why don't you talk about your project and how you were able to achieve what you achieved and that just generated such dialogue in such in compliments.
[:[00:50:56] Into your everyday work and the people that you [00:51:00] work with. And of
[:[00:51:03] Ann: [00:51:03] Of course you can dance to ACDC. And of course I'm very fond of dancing. I've seen you do it, and
[:[00:51:14] Ann: [00:51:14] happen. I love it, especially how conservative we are.
[:[00:51:18] Jan: [00:51:18] Yes. I remember Anne told me that she saw some of her team members dance in the room that probably hadn't moved and certainly downs for 20
[:[00:51:41] It also says, yeah, you can do things that you wouldn't have thought possible. Yeah. And your
[:[00:51:57] Ann: [00:51:57] was leading towards.
[:[00:52:30] Um, Having fun, having some, something that would be different that would unite us as a joint team. And outside of that, we let those two leaders decide what to do, how to do it when to do it and what the agenda looked like. And it was quite successful. I believe that there's a lot of hidden talent in organizations.
[:[00:53:13] Jan: [00:53:13] And kata, what is your legacy?
[:[00:53:20] Jan: [00:53:20] everybody that question, even the millennials, I
[:[00:53:51] Was important, but it was really the relationships that I developed that [00:54:00] really shaped not only me, but the individual I encountered. Um, you know, it's hard to kind of define what you leave behind, but I hope I leave behind good memories. I hope I leave behind. Good friendships. And I hope I leave behind that.
[:[00:54:30] Jan: [00:54:30] I am excited to see what happens next. When the next chapter of Anne Carter, something big and exciting is coming. I just know it and I am thrilled to be on the sidelines, watching it unfold. And with that, I would like to say, thank you very much for joining us on the podcast today.
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