He Embarrassed Himself in The Boardroom of a Major Bank

I have met some amazing women in my life, amazing in both a business and personal context. Women who have excelled professionally.

Banks and the world of finance are notoriously a male-dominated world, and years ago it was even more the case.

It was rare that a female business executive was part of the board of directors of a major bank, especially years ago.

Well, I once knew such a woman, a trailblazer, a glass ceiling shatterer, a strong independent woman.

I first met Helen through a friend at work. Helen was a straight shooter, exceptionally intelligent, and a master at auditing and tax, tax law, corporate finance, and personal finance.

You would never have expected Helen to be such a skilled person by looking at her. Helen never used to dress as if she was the boss, she never ‘dressed for success.’

Helen was down-to-earth, a real person. Her personality didn’t change at different social gatherings. She was comfortable in her own skin. She had an inner peace about her. I think she was confident because of her business acumen. Though she grew up on a farm, she had a passion for mathematics and finance.

She worked her way up to the Board of Directors of a major bank which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. She was quite young to attain such a position, but she kept her head down and unassumingly delivered the objectives and performance metrics required of her.

She had risen within the corporation so quickly because she delivered.

Helen told us of the day they introduced her to the Board of Directors, the day that she was ‘announced’ as a board member.

Banks are large organisations with distinct divisions and each director focussed on their division, because of the complexity of banking and the world of finance. The day arrived when the directors of the various divisions were to meet in the boardroom at the head office.

The boardroom was abuzz with excitement for ‘a big announcement.’ Stiff bankers in suits and ties filtered into the boardroom, as did Helen.

“Hey there, I’ll have a coffee thanks, oh and one of those chocolate biscuits. I’m sitting over here.” said a grey-haired, overweight, overconfident man in a suit as he looked directly at Helen.

Helen looked at him and smiled dismissively as she started speaking to one of the other directors close to her.

“Hey there, you, yes you, I said I am sitting over here, and I’ll have a coffee and a chocolate biscuit.” The man was now rather adamant that Helen do what he says.

Before his words were cold, the CEO called the meeting to order, and the boardroom fell silent. The meeting began with the CEO stating the following words.

“We have an announcement today. A new member of the board. The first female to hold this position, and she is a lady with excellent credentials. Helen, please introduce yourself before we continue with the financial reports.”

Helen told me about the director that had mistaken her for the lady that serves the tea. How he sat red faced and squirmed in his seat, and the greatest pleasure was when he had to introduce himself and welcome Helen.

She said nothing to him or anyone else in the boardroom about his antics that day. Helen said she knew she had to work with him in the future. His squirming and red-faced humiliation was enough for her. She looked at him directly, staring at him as he introduced himself and welcomed her.

It is best to remain humble and silent and listen and learn, lest our biases reveal our ignorance.

The Helen incident taught me about internal and cognitive biases that we carry with us. When we look at people as equals rather than subordinates or inferiors and show respect to them, no matter who they are, we guard ourselves from embarrassment.

It's far better to be humble, and patient, aware and quiet, while gathering knowledge and the ‘lie of the land’ rather than a blowhard, arrogant idiot.