Leader Journeys: Four Women Executives Share Their Insights

The tide is turning. Women account for 28% of C-suite executives in the U.S., according to a October 2023 McKinsey report, the highest ever recorded. While that certainly demonstrates plenty of progress, it’s clear there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Women deserve a seat at the table and the opportunity to reach the highest levels in whatever paths they choose. As we look to 2024 and beyond, it’s important to keep the momentum going in every walk of life. It was in that spirit that we spoke with four highly accomplished Chicago-area women executives to discuss their achievements, inspirations and lessons learned:

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  Stephanie Hickman, President and CEO, Trice Construction Company

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  Emily Smith, Senior Vice President, Bespoke Commercial Real Estate

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  Lauren Falotico, Operations Manager, Haskris, a manufacturer of tailored water chilling solutions for medical and laboratory applications

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  Lauren Greenwood, President and Co-Founder, YouCopia, a maker of home organization products

As BMO’s Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer, I was excited to serve as the moderator. Here’s a summary of our insightful conversation.

Women’s power comes from lifting each other up and tapping into their collective power. That includes taking on the challenge to inspire inclusion, particularly in male-dominated industries.

Stephanie Hickman: I have the bully pulpit to bring women into our organization. At Trice, we hire a lot of women into entry level roles. It operates as a springboard for their careers because they get with us, they work a couple of years and then they get poached. And I think I take that as a badge of honor that the women that we've developed have opportunities in other places. Right now, our project management team is 50% women. It’s important for us to make sure that in a male-dominated environment, we're finding ways to bring women in and to develop them.

Lauren Falotico: We're a very male-dominated manufacturing company. When I joined six years ago, I became a very active part of our interviewing team and I think that made a huge difference. Five years ago, we were about 5% or 6% women, and now we're 13% or 14% women just because having a woman in leadership is part of the interview process. It shows candidates there are women in leadership here. They value that as part of the culture, and that's exciting for women in engineering and the manufacturing trades to see that representation.

For all the progress that’s been made, for many women in corporate America it’s still common to find themselves as the only one in the room. And for women of color, there’s the intersectionality of being the only women and the only person of color in the room. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure inclusion involves all women.

Stephanie Hickman: Being the only one in the room is my normalized experience. My father told me a long time ago to walk in the room like you own it. Come in with that confidence. So, I've always done that. For me, that intersection as a woman of color highlights and identifies where I need to do work to bring other women into those rooms, to get them engaged and connected with allies. When you're the only, you should try to find ways to bring in others.

All the panelists have built highly successful careers and still have plenty of years of ahead of them to reach even greater heights. As they look back on their journeys, we asked what they would have liked to have known earlier in their careers.

Stephanie Hickman: I'd have to talk to my younger self about patience. Trusting the process, realizing that things mostly take longer than you expect them to take.

Emily Smith: I wish I would have found someone to mentor me that didn't look like me. I had a very rough entry into my career. And because of that, I didn't get the mentorship I probably needed and deserved. And on the flip side, I challenge anyone in leadership to please mentor someone that doesn't look like you. Because if we can do that, a lot of the pay gap issues and a lot of the diversity challenges that we're dealing with would improve significantly.

Lauren Greenwood: I would tell my younger self that it's going to be a lot harder than you think. But you can do it, and you can't do it alone. You need good people around you. I would tell myself surround yourself with good people and you can go far.

It’s a question that only women are asked, but it’s still worth getting the perspectives of the ones who have achieved great success.

Emily Smith: If you live a life of intention, you can have everything that is important to you in that moment. I think women in general tend to people-please, and we have to get away from that. Otherwise, we can't possibly do everything that is important to us.

Lauren Falotico: There's no formula for what “all” means. I have to decide what that means for me and have the confidence to commit to that and not compare myself to what someone else is choosing to do.

Lauren Greenwood: It’s about choices and deciding what's enough for you, going after that, making choices and being OK with the things you decide you don't want to pursue, or you can't pursue.

Emily Smith: Women are not competition. You need to find yourself a good hype woman that can hype you up.

Stephanie Hickman: Women are more powerful than we think.

Lauren Falotico: Women are warriors, and every element of their lives as tough as nails.

Lauren Greenwood: Women are rising. We've got the wind at our backs, and I feel like it gets better from here.