Shannon Curtin
This Group VP for Walgreens chose to stay true to herself, which helped her get noticed. Years ago, a woman leader taught me an important lesson about perception that I still remember. We were scheduled to attend a business meeting where we would be face-to-face with top company executives. I asked her how I should prepare. Her response surprised me. She told me what to wear. She said it would be best if I wore something black so I wouldn’t be noticed. I found her advice strange, and thought perhaps she had misunderstood my question. That night, I bought a red dress to wear to the meeting, because I think I look great in red. At the meeting, my boss seemed appalled that I wasn’t wearing a black suit like the rest of the team. I stood out. In my red dress, I was a confident professional willing to share my thoughts and ideas. By the end of the meeting, every executive in attendance knew who I was.
But even more important than having executives know my name and listen to my ideas, was learning that I know who I am. I’m feminine by nature, and wearing the red dress helped me exude confidence. I chose to stay true to who I am. The best way to move your career forward is to stop trying to fit in when you can stand out. Focus on business principles and be true to who you are, instead of who someone else thinks you should be. We are each unique individuals, and leadership should encourage everyone to feel empowered. These are lessons I teach my team today. When they ask me how they
should prepare for a meeting, I explain that I am more concerned about their ideas, and how we are going to communicate them in a meeting, than I am in having them blend in. PDJ
“The best way to move your career forward is stop trying to fit in when you can stand out.” Irene Moshouris
For United Rentals’ SVP and Treasurer, “leap and learn” has been the secret to a great career.
Whether to make the leap to a new role or workplace is always a difficult call. It sometimes requires pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. For the first 15 years of my career, I worked as an international tax attorney in various firms. While serving as a tax attorney and
liaison for the Latin America and European regions at Avon Products, Inc., an offer was unexpectedly presented to me to join the company’s treasury department. Having devoted time and energy to practicing tax law, the decision was quite agonizing. I enjoyed practicing tax law (this may be difficult for some of you to believe), and I felt comfortable and safe in that role. However, after evaluating the remaining opportunities in the tax department, and recognizing the potential to expand my skill set, I accepted the offer in treasury. It was time to move on. This move was one of the best deci-
sions in my career. I gained management experience and surrounded myself with seasoned treasury professionals who helped me shorten the learning curve. I quickly learned about a new, but complementary, discipline that would open doors for me later in my career. Five years later, I joined United Rentals, Inc. as treasurer. During my tenure, I have been responsible for tax, real estate, and credit & collection. As I entered each new discipline, I again surrounded myself with seasoned experts to facilitate faster learning. PDJ
“I quickly learned about a new, but complementary, discipline that would open doors for me later in my career.” Read more at WWW.DIVERSITYJOURNAL.COM
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