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    Changing Lanes, Changing Lives: How Leaders Made a Meaningful Career Switch from Corporates to Non-profits
    Changing Lanes, Changing Lives: How Leaders Made a Meaningful Career Switch from Corporates to Non-profits
    Changing Lanes, Changing Lives: How Leaders Made a Meaningful Career Switch from Corporates to Non-profits
    Ebook229 pages2 hours

    Changing Lanes, Changing Lives: How Leaders Made a Meaningful Career Switch from Corporates to Non-profits

    By Richard Hartung

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    About this ebook

    Are you a senior corporate executive who wants to make a leap to the non-profit world? What are the risk and rewards? This book spells it out by recounting the journeys of a baker’s dozen of corporate high-fl¬iers who have made this transition and more than thrived. Their stories tell what non-profit leaders actually do, what they had to consider in making the decision about whether to change jobs, what they learnt after shifting from a corporate to a non-profit, and their advice for anyone considering a similar move.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateJan 15, 2013
    ISBN9789810752309
    Changing Lanes, Changing Lives: How Leaders Made a Meaningful Career Switch from Corporates to Non-profits

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      Book preview

      Changing Lanes, Changing Lives - Richard Hartung

      Centre

      Preface

      A lawyer stopped practicing law to work at a non-profit and help children with disabilities. The managing director at a top global bank now uses her skills to improve healthcare for needy patients. And a sales director works to nurture children and their families.

      Many corporate leaders think about joining a non-profit to do something similar. This book is for anyone who's considering a shift from a corporate role to working at a non-profit.

      Especially after a week of late-night conference calls, time on the road, meetings that decide little, missing dinner with family and work that has become routine, managing directors, lawyers and financial controllers and a multitude of other corporate leaders are ready to give it up to do something more meaningful. Then, they stop to think. What is it really like at a non-profit? Can I survive on less than the salary I'm making now? Will my friends still respect me? Doubts set in, and they're back to another week of slogging through the same routine.

      If only I could talk with someone who has been in my position and switched to a non-profit, they sometimes think, I could find out what it's really like. They check in Outlook or Linkedln and find that they do not actually know many non-profit leaders they could talk with.

      Centre for Non-Profit Leadership (CNPL) CEO Francis Wong and I were talking recently about how we might be able to help potential sector shifters, people who are considering a shift from the corporate sector to the non-profit sector, learn more about non-profit leaders who have made the shift. Francis' goal at CNPL is to link corporate leaders to non-profits, and I interview people as a freelance writer. The more we talked, the more we thought there could be synergies in working together. CNPL could provide introductions to non-profit leaders with corporate sector backgrounds and I could write up their stories. That simple dinner turned into this book.

      Over the course of nearly a year, I've had the privilege of talking with former corporate sector executives who have actually made this switch. They've shared their innermost thoughts about what it is really like to work in the non-profit sector. This book contains their stories so that you, too, can find out what they've learnt.

      Their stories are truly heart-warming, and their insights are powerful. What shows through time and again is that they're far more satisfied now than before. When one person was offered a higher salary to return to his previous employer, his family implored him to turn it down—and he did. Another regularly declines calls from corporate recruiters. A meaningful life, they have found, is more important than a little more money.

      Even after reading their stories, you may find that the corporate sector suits you better. On the other hand, you may well decide that you want to follow in these leaders' footsteps and live a more meaningful life working at a non-profit. Either way, these powerful stories offer valuable lessons about how people have made their decisions, what they have found after switching to a non-profit and—perhaps most importantly—what really matters in life. Come, then, and turn the page to start learning from the stories these leaders have shared about their journey and the lessons they've learnt along the way.

      THE ROAD TO ALIGNING

      VALUES AND VISION

      "I want to make sure that I don't pretend to be stronger than anybody else, and to have that balance. It's not only about your values, but respecting yourself as a person, giving yourself the right rest, the right exposure to new friends, the right exposure to your family."

      VERONICA GAMEZ

      Executive Director, aidha

      After moving from her home in Mexico to a high-flying investment banking career in London, aidha Executive Director Veronica Gamez made a major shift and moved to a non-profit in Singapore. She tells how she decided to make a difference in people's lives by providing financial education to domestic workers, and how a story she had heard as a child made it all happen.

      The Journey to the Non-Profit Sector

      Veronica grew up in Mexico, and found her way to London starting her career in a high-profile consulting firm, the Boston Consulting Group. Before long, she joined investment bank Credit Suisse in a team on the trading floor that brought in new accounts to trade complex banking products. It was very, very intense, and very, very demanding, she said.

      One day at Credit Suisse, she said, the first thing she saw when she turned on her PC was a Mexican flag. Being Mexican, she immediately opened the link, finding an article about how Credit Suisse was part of the IPO for a microfinance institution in Mexico. At that time, Veronica did not know much about microfinance, and started asking colleagues to find out more. One person said, 'I've heard this gives financing to the poor,' and this was the key for me becoming interested in microfinance, to help others. She immediately became part of a microfinance group in London and started to attend conferences.

      A story she heard when she was about twelve years old, and her desire even from that very young age to find a solution to a problem spurred her interest in microfinance. The story was about a migrant worker crossing the border illegally from Mexico to the US; a tale she found almost unbelievable. He needed to take off his clothes to cross the river. He didn't know how to swim, so he used a car tire to cross. And then he was discovered by immigration, and spent the night in prison. I thought, how could somebody allow himself to lose his dignity as a person because he needed to sustain his family back home?

      While she had always wanted to figure out a way to help out people like that, her busy life in London put that goal on hold. Life in London and Europe dazzled me, and I didn't think about that goal I once had, she said, until the day when I opened that article at Credit Suisse.

      She read Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus' book about microfinance to find out more about the sector and quickly saw how microfinance could be economically powerful for the whole economy rather than the few people she helped directly. The concept of microfinance helped me see the possibility to reach out to an economy, she said, and that's when it started to make sense.

      One part of microfinance, however, did not make sense. I said, how can one give money without first educating? If people have never had money in their hands before, perhaps expecting that they will pay it back or run a successful business could be unrealistic.

      Before answering those questions, she left Credit Suisse to do an MBA at the University of Chicago. During her break, she ended up coming to Singapore to interview for jobs. Along with traditional corporate positions, she also looked at those in social entrepreneurship or related to microfinance. While most people she talked with tried to steer her away from working in this industry, one of them suggested she talk with aidha, which provides educational programmes and support to build foreign workers' money and business skills. She found aidha fascinating, because it offered the education that she felt workers needed.

      After completing her MBA, Veronica continued her career at Credit Suisse and was asked to take a job in Singapore. Initially, she thought about turning down the offer, but soon realised that there could be real opportunities in Singapore. She decided to give it a try, closed down everything in London and moved to Singapore.

      She told Credit Suisse that if she moved to Singapore, she also wanted to volunteer in a microfinance institution or the social sector. The bank agreed. So once she moved to Singapore, she ended up spending weekdays at Credit Suisse and Sundays at aidha. Before long, she also found herself involved in outreach and diversity efforts at Credit Suisse as well. I received a lot of support from Credit Suisse.

      One Sunday, one of the students at aidha shared her story and changed Veronica's life. The lady had lived in Singapore for eighteen years. During her first fourteen years, she didn't have days off and her employer asked her to sleep on the floor; she didn't have enough food and she survived only thanks to neighbours who knew about her situation and hung a plastic bag with food by the window so she would have something to eat. Her story was just something that I couldn't believe, Veronica said. Another day, she came to me, and said, 'Veronica, I started to save on a regular basis.' I said, 'Congratulations, that's fantastic' And I asked, 'How much did you save?' She said, 'Twenty dollars, ma'am.' I guess I looked shocked, so she said, 'No, wait a second—this month I saved twenty-three dollars!' To me, that was the sentence that helped me make the decision to leave Credit Suisse and dedicate my life to this cause.

      Banking was a fantastic experience, Veronica said, and she used to have great times. But aidha helped me to shift a few things in my life to find an alignment—with my values, what I wanted to pursue in life, what's important for me. I strongly believe in opportunity, choice and the power of education, not only for me but for everyone, especially including people living below the poverty line. And this is the reason why I shifted to aidha.

      The Decision to Shift to the Non-Profit Sector

      Before the decision to leave investment banking, she spoke with two people: her younger sister and her mentor at Credit Suisse. Her sister's message was clear, Follow your heart, just go for it, it's great. Her mentor at Credit Suisse was a senior executive, and had guided her through all the right steps for career progression. When I shared with him my desire to move, he said, 'Absolutely yes! It is something that many people would like to do, but so few manage to accomplish. It would be fantastic.' Later, her mentor found he had a malignant tumour. One month before he passed away, he called Veronica to tell her that he admired her tremendously for having the courage to make a career shift to something she was passionate about.

      Veronica knew that she'd have to make major lifestyle changes if she moved to aidha, and she thought carefully about these.

      The first was time. Sure, banking is very demanding, she said, but at least there are clear definitions between weekdays and weekends. My work here at aidha is part of my life, and when you mix work with your passion, it is difficult to separate them, especially since I'm doing something that makes me feel fulfilled.

      The second was her lifestyle. I had to consider much more economical ways to live, as my budget was going to change significantly, including how much to spend on rent or when meeting with my friends for dinner.

      And the third was her network and identity. When somebody asks where you work and you say Credit Suisse, she said, people respond as if you're clearly established. When I say 'I work at aidha', they say 'what is that?'. Although aidha is gaining momentum in the social enterprise sector, the response I get is still quite different.

      In the end, she said, I keep aligning myself to what I believe— alignment is so important for me, doing what I believe in.

      Her mother helped put things in perspective. Not long after joining aidha, she shared several challenges she was facing. Her wisdom and questions helped me to see the challenges in a new perspective, Veronica said. She'd asked, 'Veronica, do you still believe in what you are doing?' Yes, Mom. 'Do you still eat three times a day?' Yes, Mom. 'Do you still have a roof over your head?' Yes, Mom. And she said, 'What's the worst thing that can happen, Veronica?' I started to think. And she said, 'The worst thing that can happen is that you have to go and sleep under a tree. And from what you tell me Singapore is always warm!' That'd made her laugh.

      Keep striving for what you believe in, Veronica said her mother had told her. She always has very practical ways to see things and always helps me to be back on my feet. All my friends are still here. My family is still here. I have what really matters. Above all, at aidha we believe that when we touch the life of one student, that student will create a better life for herself, her family and the economy back home. I truly believe that my work is helping economies and those at the bottom of the pyramid.

      Her Work at aidha

      As executive director, Veronica reports directly to the board, and her key responsibility is to present the plans and goals for the years ahead. Meeting those goals is an essential part of her role. "It's quite a responsibility to have, to manage the

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