As a groundbreaking sportswoman, former telco engineer, and now a senior leader in financial services, Jeni Mundy knows what it takes to forge a successful career in a male-dominated world. She talks about the importance of confidence and courage.
Chapter: Nurturing and developing female talent
About: Jeni Mundy is Visa Inc.’s SVP global head of merchant sales and acquirers. Prior to joining Visa, Jeni spent several years working as an engineer in the telecom industry, becoming Vodafone Group’s first female CTO in the process. Before joining the corporate world, she earned distinction as a member of the first all-female crew to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race
You’ve spent much of your career in male-dominated environments. What has it been like to build a career in those circumstances?
I started my career in the telco space and was the first female engineer at my first company. This was in the early days when mobile was growing fast, and as it took off, I grew with it, so I became CTO within around seven years. When the company was acquired by Vodafone, I was the first female CTO in the group, and that was quite a big deal. I used to get asked what it was like being the first woman to do the job, which is actually incredibly difficult to answer because, well, I’ve never done it as anything other than a woman.
But in terms of being in a minority, number one, I look for the silver lining. There are lots of disadvantages in that you kind of have to play by the unwritten rules of whatever the majority happens to be. But there are also upsides. One of them is that you’ll always be remembered, and that’s a great asset. Number two, I always say to myself, “Well, someone’s got to do that job. Why not me?”
“One of the upsides of being in a minority is that you’ll always be remembered, and that’s a great asset.”
Where did that self-belief come from?
It possibly comes from the fact that before I embarked on a corporate career, I was a professional sportsperson. In my early twenties, I was part of the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. The best case was that we would all retire early. Worst case, we were all going to die. Nobody that looked like me had ever done anything like it before. But although people doubted me, I categorically knew I could do it. We actually won two of the hardest legs and came in second overall in our class. It was an incredibly formative experience that gave me a lot of confidence
“Being part of the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race gave me a lot of confidence.”
If you’re fortunate enough to be offered that kind of crazy opportunity, as I was, it takes courage to go for it. And that fueled my passion for making success feel more achievable for women. You know, how do we give women more confidence to go for it? How do we help men to see their potential? How do we level the playing field?
Do you think things have changed for women over the years?
I think we’ve come a long way from when I started out, and we should recognize that. Yes, senior women are still a minority, and we’re not where we need to be, but it is much better. We have a much broader definition of leadership in lots of different spaces— not just the traditional male version—and that is really wonderful. I think more people are realizing that they can be a leader and be themselves. A lot of women used to ask me, “Do I have to be like the guys?” to be successful or be promoted. And I don’t get asked that anymore. I’m not saying it’s perfect or that we’re 100 percent there. We need to move faster, and we need more of us. But it definitely feels like we’re more diverse and more welcoming of diversity than we were 15 years ago.
“We have a much broader definition of leadership in lots of different spaces—not just the classic alpha male shape— and that is really wonderful.”
How important have role models or mentors been for you?
I think we can learn a lot from any and every person we get exposed to—what to do and what not to do, what feels good and what doesn’t. And we take those lessons as we move and change and grow.
I have had mentors and sponsors at various points in my career, and not always in the sense that we’ve declared it was that type of relationship. But we’ve all had people who have taken risks on us, right? It’s so important when it comes to things like succession planning and decisions around people that there’s someone who, number one, knows you and, number two, will advocate for you. That doesn’t mean seeing you blindly as only a brilliant thing but understanding what you can bring, what you would be good at, and where any gaps are.
"I think we can learn a lot from any and every person we get exposed to. … And we take those lessons as we move and change and grow."
What’s important now that you’re a leader and a role model yourself?
We typically talk about role models in the positive, but you can also have bad role models. And for anyone in a leadership position, whether you like it or not, you are a role model. People will be watching you, so you have to be very deliberate about the things you want to stand for and then stand for them. What are your behaviors? How do you make people feel? Do your words and actions support that view of yourself? This becomes even more important the more senior or impactful your role is.
“For anyone in a leadership position, whether you like it or not, you are a role model. … You have to be very deliberate about the things you want to stand for and then stand for them.”
As for being a mentor, first of all, I think you need a bit of chemistry, a connection with someone. Secondly, there has to be some sort of personal motivation on both sides to learn from each other. So rather than just asking someone if they’ll be your mentor, maybe start by having a chat, asking if you can pick their brains or share some ideas with them. And then see if it was useful if it felt like a good conversation that you might want to turn into something more regular. As a mentor, I’m always asking myself who am I taking a risk on? Am I being bold enough in my decisions? Are they getting exposed to the right things? And how can I help make that easier for them?
That’s a great philosophy. How can organizations use that kind of thinking to nurture female talent and leaders?
Number one, actions speak louder than words, so you have to be deliberate about it. It’s about making sure that you’re driving change and providing genuine allyship for your talent and future leaders. Male allyship for women is really, really key. It’s kind of a double power to have another voice supporting you that doesn’t look like you, and if it can be your most senior male leaders, that’s even better.
“Male allyship for women is really, really key. It’s kind of a double power to have another voice supporting you that doesn’t look like you.”
There are loads of great best practices out there now, but most of it really comes down to listening to the women in your organization and providing a forum for them to be heard. What are the values of your company? I’m not talking about what’s written on the wall. I’m talking about how it actually feels to be there. This is really important for women, so we need to pay attention
How can women be more courageous?
I read a great book by two female journalists called The Confidence Code. And the strapline is that inaction is the enemy of confidence. That’s such a great line. We often think courage is about doing really massive things in our lives, but it can be just speaking up in a meeting or trying something new. To grow, we need to take action, take more risk, do more things, say more things, push more things. That’s what builds confidence. Because if you do something three times and it works brilliantly, guess what? It’s going to feel easy the fourth time. Over time, all those little things really add up and change how we feel about ourselves, how we come across, and how we impact others. It all starts with doing things that make you a bit uncomfortable.
“Inaction is the enemy of confidence. … To grow, we need to take action, take more risks, do more things, say more things, and push more things.
Request a free copy of the Empowering Women: A Collection of Thoughts from Women Leaders to Advance the Workplace.
Comments