Mentoring, inclusiveness and charitable works highlights of award-winning leadership
Before Rose Patten joined BMO Financial Group in 1995, women held just nine per cent of the management roles at the Toronto-based bank. Considering banks attract a high proportion of women at the entry level, the pool from which to choose women for management positions was quite deep. With such low representation in the management ranks, Patten knew something had to be blocking their move up the ladder.
“We recognized that one of the factors inhibiting peoples’ progress, and particularly with the advancement of women, was the work-life balance dimension,” she said.
In response, Patten advocated for the implementation of policies that are common now, but at the time were on the cutting edge, such as job sharing, flexible hours and elder-care support.
Today, women hold 35 per cent of management roles at BMO. While there are many factors, such as education, that have helped the proportion grow over the past decade, family-friendly policies are a key component of that growth, said Patten, who is the bank’s senior executive vice-president of HR.
“We were certainly pioneers and quite passionate about work-life balance and all the policies you need to help that process,” she said.
She’s pleased with the bank’s progress but there is still more work to be done to get more women into senior roles, said Patten.
While women make up more than 30 per cent of management at BMO and other large organizations, there are still many organizations that don’t have anywhere near that high a proportion, she said. And the percentage drops significantly at the executive level and on boards of governance.
“We’ve come a very long way and we’ve broken down some of the systemic barriers, attitudinally,” said Patten, who is the first woman to sit on the executive committee of BMO. “There are still new levels to be attained, because while we’ve managed well in the general management ranks, when it gets to being presidents and CEOs we’ve got a ways to go.”
Patten’s work for the advancement of women through family-friendly policies at BMO is just one of the reasons she was awarded the 2008 YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction award for corporate leadership.
“Rose exemplifies someone who has risen to the top of her field without having to leave anyone behind. She is a very inclusive leader who has made a very deep impression on many other women coming up through her field,” said Amanda Dale, director of advocacy and communications at the YWCA Toronto.
The YWCA award exemplifies leadership that is inclusive, shares power instead of hoarding it, invites others to the table and ultimately contributes to the development of everyone, said Dale. This kind of leadership is the exact opposite of what is seen in popular culture, on television and in the news, she added.
“We see a vision of leadership that valorizes a kind of top-down authoritarian leadership,” she said. “We offer, through these awards, an opportunity to imagine a leadership where nobody loses just because somebody is on the leading side.”
One way Patten exemplifies this kind of leadership is by including people from all levels and all backgrounds in various projects.
“When you have a large body of people, why wouldn’t you tap into as many as possible?” said Patten. “It’s really a matter of having better outcomes, having better solutions and getting better decisions because you have the richness.”
Her senior rank gives her the ability to role model this inclusive and collaborative form of leadership and make it part of the bank’s culture, she said.
“I have the position of influence to be able to set that tone,” she said.
Mentoring is another important component of Patten’s leadership style for which the YWCA recognized her.
“I try to, by nature and in a deliberate way, make every encounter I have a bit of a mentoring encounter,” she said.
This can include helping someone break through a barrier or offering a bit of advice to help an employee be successful at work or in life. At any given time, Patten also has about 20 formal mentees.
The YWCA also recognized Patten for her charitable contributions to help society’s less fortunate, especially disadvantaged and abused women. At BMO, she has been a strong advocate for charities that help battered women and encouraged the bank to become the corporate sponsor for Shelter from the Storm, the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s campaign to fund shelters across the country.
She has funded several bursaries and scholarships at the University of Toronto and Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld., to help single parents, women and new Canadians who don’t have the financial resources to attend university.
Giving people access to education gives them access to the opportunity to improve themselves, said Patten.
“Education is quite an equalizer in today’s world,” she said.
Throughout her career, which spans more than three decades, Patten has never worried about overstepping her bounds or taking on a project that wasn’t necessarily in her job description.
“Whenever the opportunity existed, I tried to do new things that would give me new skills,” she said.
It is that kind of openness and willingness to work hard that Patten would like to pass on to the next generation of women climbing the corporate ladder. By being open to new experiences, women will be prepared when job opportunities present themselves, she said.
“We recognized that one of the factors inhibiting peoples’ progress, and particularly with the advancement of women, was the work-life balance dimension,” she said.
In response, Patten advocated for the implementation of policies that are common now, but at the time were on the cutting edge, such as job sharing, flexible hours and elder-care support.
Today, women hold 35 per cent of management roles at BMO. While there are many factors, such as education, that have helped the proportion grow over the past decade, family-friendly policies are a key component of that growth, said Patten, who is the bank’s senior executive vice-president of HR.
“We were certainly pioneers and quite passionate about work-life balance and all the policies you need to help that process,” she said.
She’s pleased with the bank’s progress but there is still more work to be done to get more women into senior roles, said Patten.
While women make up more than 30 per cent of management at BMO and other large organizations, there are still many organizations that don’t have anywhere near that high a proportion, she said. And the percentage drops significantly at the executive level and on boards of governance.
“We’ve come a very long way and we’ve broken down some of the systemic barriers, attitudinally,” said Patten, who is the first woman to sit on the executive committee of BMO. “There are still new levels to be attained, because while we’ve managed well in the general management ranks, when it gets to being presidents and CEOs we’ve got a ways to go.”
Patten’s work for the advancement of women through family-friendly policies at BMO is just one of the reasons she was awarded the 2008 YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction award for corporate leadership.
“Rose exemplifies someone who has risen to the top of her field without having to leave anyone behind. She is a very inclusive leader who has made a very deep impression on many other women coming up through her field,” said Amanda Dale, director of advocacy and communications at the YWCA Toronto.
The YWCA award exemplifies leadership that is inclusive, shares power instead of hoarding it, invites others to the table and ultimately contributes to the development of everyone, said Dale. This kind of leadership is the exact opposite of what is seen in popular culture, on television and in the news, she added.
“We see a vision of leadership that valorizes a kind of top-down authoritarian leadership,” she said. “We offer, through these awards, an opportunity to imagine a leadership where nobody loses just because somebody is on the leading side.”
One way Patten exemplifies this kind of leadership is by including people from all levels and all backgrounds in various projects.
“When you have a large body of people, why wouldn’t you tap into as many as possible?” said Patten. “It’s really a matter of having better outcomes, having better solutions and getting better decisions because you have the richness.”
Her senior rank gives her the ability to role model this inclusive and collaborative form of leadership and make it part of the bank’s culture, she said.
“I have the position of influence to be able to set that tone,” she said.
Mentoring is another important component of Patten’s leadership style for which the YWCA recognized her.
“I try to, by nature and in a deliberate way, make every encounter I have a bit of a mentoring encounter,” she said.
This can include helping someone break through a barrier or offering a bit of advice to help an employee be successful at work or in life. At any given time, Patten also has about 20 formal mentees.
The YWCA also recognized Patten for her charitable contributions to help society’s less fortunate, especially disadvantaged and abused women. At BMO, she has been a strong advocate for charities that help battered women and encouraged the bank to become the corporate sponsor for Shelter from the Storm, the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s campaign to fund shelters across the country.
She has funded several bursaries and scholarships at the University of Toronto and Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld., to help single parents, women and new Canadians who don’t have the financial resources to attend university.
Giving people access to education gives them access to the opportunity to improve themselves, said Patten.
“Education is quite an equalizer in today’s world,” she said.
Throughout her career, which spans more than three decades, Patten has never worried about overstepping her bounds or taking on a project that wasn’t necessarily in her job description.
“Whenever the opportunity existed, I tried to do new things that would give me new skills,” she said.
It is that kind of openness and willingness to work hard that Patten would like to pass on to the next generation of women climbing the corporate ladder. By being open to new experiences, women will be prepared when job opportunities present themselves, she said.
