Q&A with Jacqui Boylan

INTERVIEW WITH JACKIE BOYLAN

Kunle managed to entice Jackie Boylan to the Oval cricket ground for the first time to learn more about the lady who is driving many positive changes at Fidelity Funds Network. We managed to avoid questions on Australian cricket!

Tell us more about what you do?

I help advisers look a er their clients’ financial wellbeing by providing a “platform” that enables them to invest and transact easily and efficiently.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

Definitely the client interaction, even when it isn’t always positive. I get great satisfaction out of knowing we help people in such an important area of wellbeing. Having financial understanding and ideally financial security is so important. I also like to get a bit creative - what’s coming in the future that could help advisers and clients, how do we ensure we understand problems and how can we solve them, how do we look at other industries and apply that to financial services? I couldn’t work on my own. I love being surrounded by my team. I have on occasion worked in more siloed roles and I didn’t really enjoy it.

I am still learning about diversity in society. What positive changes are you seeing in diversity of thought?

I’m still learning too! Every time I speak with someone who is different to me I find it interesting and thought provoking. When you ask questions and truly listen, your wisdom develops - something that I expect is only a realisation you get as you get older?!

Key things I’m seeing are a better understanding that all perspectives are relevant (not just the ones that match your own).

People accepting and even embracing the view that recruiting in your mirror image (because you want someone as good as yourself) is not the best outcome. You already have one of you, do you really need another?

And finally an openness to question long held personal beliefs or perspectives (we ran unconscious bias training with our team, and then facilitated discussion groups). We all have biased opinions, that’s human nature, but being aware of them and then working out how to manage them is really important.

How can the financial services profession improve the financial education that students receive?

We have been throwing around ideas on this with a competitor of mine. Just because we are competitors doesn’t mean we don’t share the same values.

The key thing really is to get the Government to agree it’s important enough to be part of the school curriculum. A er having conversations with some industry colleagues, I believe this has been lobbied for over the years without much success. So there are a few things we could do if we can’t crack that way.

Firstly, we could support other groups that do offer financial literacy in schools. But we could also band together and do something ourselves and continue what we do now which is ad hoc career days and advice sessions (is something better than nothing?).

What tips would you have for anyone starting a career?

• Work hard • Be curious • Don’t be afraid to try something different • Get on LinkedIn and connect with people • Read (or listen) to articles/podcasts • Find something you feel passionate about/something you connect with/something that makes going to work not actually feel like working

How do you deal with disappointment?

I’m quite positive and competitive, so if something disappoints me, I reflect on why and what I can do to make sure I’m not disappointed again. That sounds really simplistic, however I do think it’s something that is possibly genetic? With all of the issues around mental wellbeing, particularly being highlighted during the COVID lockdown period, I do think I am extremely fortunate to have strong mental health. Although from what I’ve been reading, I shouldn’t just assume that will always be the case.

I am generally optimistic and I think being a leader who embodies that is really important.

What's your favourite quote?

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” by Maya Angelou

I really love this one because it gets to the heart of that human connection, that care we need to show our clients.

What would you now like to have known that you didn’t know before?

That being myself is ok. As a female in a male dominated industry, for a long time I felt like I had to act and dress in a certain way to be successful. I was also told I needed to be more like certain people I worked with; louder, more dominant. I wish I had understood that there are more paths to success than just one. I hope I’m showing people that now!