Brenda Wensil of Bravanti: How to Hire the Right Person

Values — I like to know what’s important to them, what they value outside of work. Is this a job that’s going to be demanding in a way they’re not set up to handle or is it going to be a good fit? I once hired a woman to handle some of our merchandising and marketing and she had small children, which would prevent her from traveling. It could have been an issue, but as we talked about what she valued and what she could contribute, we were able to negotiate and work around her personal needs at that time. We identified what was important and worked out some flexibility.

When a company is looking to grow, the choice of who to hire can sometimes be an almost existential question. The right hire can dramatically grow a company, while the wrong hire can be very harmful to morale and growth. How can you know you are hiring the right person? What are the red flags that should warn you away from hiring someone? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who can share insights and stories from their experience about “How To Hire The Right Person”.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brenda Wensil, Managing Director & Practice Leader of the Leadership Acceleration practice at Bravanti. She is an executive leader with a successful background in sales and marketing, advertising, brand management, customer strategy, service experience, and supply-chain performance management on both domestic and international levels. Brenda is known for her expertise in building collaborative partnerships and developing teams to improve leader performance and drive results. She is an accredited coach who works with leaders and managers in large and mid-size companies as well as non-profit organizations.

In her extensive career, Brenda has led engagements for organizations focused on women’s leadership and advancement, which include long programs, workshops, speaking engagements, and individual and group coaching. Her approach is practical, goal-focused, and action-oriented. Brenda established the first-ever customer-focused strategy for the federal government as Chief Customer Experience Officer at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, the single largest provider of funding for post-secondary education in the U.S.

Brenda has held leadership roles for 20 years with Wachovia Corporation (now Wells Fargo) as Head of Customer Strategy, Marketing and Customer Relations, as well as Head of Retail Segments and Director of Enterprise Supplier Performance Management. Brenda has also served as a consultant to Barclays Bank in London, leading an international team to re-design and execute the company’s global-technology supplier management functions.

She earned her Master’s Degree in Organizational Development and Executive Coaching from the McColl School of Business at Queens University, Charlotte, N.C., and a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. She is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program, Kenan Flagler, at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

Brenda is accredited by the International Coach Federation and is a board-certified coach. She is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, a freelance writer, and has been a keynote speaker on topics ranging from women’s leadership to customer-focused strategies in the financial industry. She received the Executive Leadership Award for public service from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and the Service to the Citizens Award for Leadership in higher education. Brenda is certified in numerous assessments, including Hogan, Workplace Big Five, Thomas-Kilman Index, and MBTI. Managing Director & Practice Leader, Leadership Acceleration.

Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?

I am currently devoted to leadership practices and advancing women forward faster. I am a certified coach and head of the leadership acceleration practice at Bravanti, a premiere global consultancy in executive coaching and leadership acceleration. I’ve served for many years in leadership roles and have often been the only woman at the leadership table, so I understand the headwinds that women face in their career journeys. Those experiences are steeped in many years in private sector financial services in the U.S. and abroad, as well as federal government work at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). A journalist by education, I have a natural curiosity and inclination to want to express what’s going on and convey that to readers. So Kathryn Heath and I co-authored the book, I Wish I’d Known This: 6 Career-Accelerating Secrets for Women Leaders. The book came about by collecting themes from the hundreds of women leaders we’ve coached over the years. We put those patterns together, along with strategies for overcoming career obstacles, to help women be much more aware of what helps them or holds them back, and what to do about it.

You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?

Yes, there were really two and they are interrelated. One was to stay and one was to go. First, I made a key decision to create some longevity in financial services to enjoy the benefits that only a long-tenured working relationship can give you, through experiences. Essentially, I stayed in financial services even though I felt the urge to try new things. The decision to stay and create longevity allowed me to be versatile and take opportunities to expand to new roles within the organization and gain new skills. This created a platform for me to really build my career afterwards. My second key decision was to leave and try some new things. This included going to London to work with Barclay’s and jumping into federal government work with the U.S. Department of Education. Some might say it’s a good pattern: Create and establish things and then move on. Take on a new opportunity and go.

What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?

In recent years it’s been working to stand up the Leadership Acceleration practice at Bravanti and create a niche for the organization in women’s leadership. We have served tens of thousands of women over the years, and we are so proud of the women we coach. We love to see their advancement, their promotions, their accomplishments. I’m also very proud of our new book — it’s the culmination of all that work. For people who can’t get a coach or go to workshops, they can still benefit from the work we’ve done. They can recognize where they’re stuck, how they can get ahead of it, and skills to build in order to accelerate. We offer strategies that will give them lift and a positive outlook.

How about a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away?

There was a specific situation I think of where I failed to be proactive about navigating and influencing a complex initiative that I ultimately had to recover from. It was a political situation that I didn’t handle with the influencing skills that I now know I should have leveraged. As a result, I got out-maneuvered and out-influenced. I wasn’t proactive and wasn’t astute with influencing skills that I had that I just didn’t apply. It was a mistake and no one got hurt, but my outcome could have been different or better if I’d handled it differently. I would have been smarter about it.

How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?

Mentorship has played a huge role. Of course, I’ve coached and mentored many women over the course of my career. And I have always proactively sought out people I could learn from. Keeping those relationships alive and fresh is why I am doing what I am today. Kathryn Heath was one of those people for me. I stayed in touch with her over the years and eventually we got to work together. You have to be active about finding mentors — they’re not going to land in your lap. You have to seek it out — who do you know and admire, and what do you want to learn from them?

Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?

I think of myself as an amalgamation of a lot of people I’ve learned from. I learned from one leader how to treat people. I learned from another exactly how NOT to treat people. Another taught me how to navigate really difficult decisions. Yet another leader showed me how to influence and how to have difficult conversations. I developed my style from what I learned that worked, put it all together and it’s worked its way into my DNA.

The character traits that I emulate are staying calm under pressure, positivity, and optimism. These things don’t always come naturally. Sometimes you have to make a conscious decision, “I’m going to be positive,” and not push your stress out to other people.

Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s change paths a little bit. With the Great Resignation/ Reconsideration in full swing, many job seekers are reevaluating their priorities in selecting a role and an employer.

How do you think this will influence companies’ approaches to hiring, talent management, and continuous learning?

One thing we’ve heard from women for years is they need flexibility — they need it, they want it, and they’re looking for it. They’re asking, “What allows me to live the kind of life I’m trying to create?” They’re looking for the autonomy to design a day or a week or a month the way they need to. Whether they’re raising children, caring for aging parents, or anything in between. The pandemic opened the door for the possibilities to creep in. It’s been harder on women than on some of our male colleagues, but it’s also opened everyone’s eyes — men and women — to the possibilities brick & mortar vs. remote. Employers will have a competitive advantage if they talk about opportunities for flexibility. Hybrid approaches will help attract the talent they need.

Also, younger talent is looking for ways to develop. If they’re choosing between two employers, they’re saying, “If one of them will help me learn and grow, and develop myself and my leadership skills, I’m choosing them.” Not everyone is a lifelong learner, but what do you have to offer talent who does want to develop and experience new things?

Super, thank you for sharing all of that. Next, let’s turn to the main focus of our discussion about hiring the right person. As you know, hiring can be very time consuming and difficult.

Can you share 5 techniques that you use to identify the talent that would be best suited for the job you want to fill? Please share an example for each idea.

Culture fit — It does you no good to hire someone you know does not have the outlook, values, or style that matches the organization. It will be bad for them and for me. I remember a hire back in financial services who was recruited over from a competitor and he never could adjust to the difference in the culture from one organization to the other. He was gone in four months. The style and approach of the organization he came from matched his style a lot better. He didn’t fit well in a matrixed, collegial culture. And he was at a pretty senior level, so it was a big waste of time and money.

Growth potential — What else can they do? Are they fungible, can they be a utility player vs. a specialist? I always hire for potential, for what else is possible. Do they have the kind of intellectual curiosity and strength to grow and take on additional roles? At ED, I hired a woman to help me in marketing for federal student aid because of her background in non-profit. But I knew she could do not only the function I hired her for, but she could run other parts of the organization and she could succeed me when I left. That’s exactly what happened.

Odds for success — Beyond credibility and credentials, I want a team player. Can I work with them, are they proactive, are they a good colleague, is everyone else going to be able to work with them? It’s both skill set and personal fit. I once hired a newcomer and my reservation was whether she could be a good colleague, or would she outshine my team? I wanted to make sure they didn’t view her as competition, so I made sure she interviewed with all of them on a personal level. They came back to me and said, yes, we like her, bring her on. If I’d hired her in without socializing her it might not have worked, but they bought into her. We forget we’re getting ready to put this person into a system and we need to give key colleagues a voice in the decision. Can this person survive in this smaller group and am I setting myself up for diminishing returns if I put someone in the system who isn’t a fit?

Values — I like to know what’s important to them, what they value outside of work. Is this a job that’s going to be demanding in a way they’re not set up to handle or is it going to be a good fit? I once hired a woman to handle some of our merchandising and marketing and she had small children, which would prevent her from traveling. It could have been an issue, but as we talked about what she valued and what she could contribute, we were able to negotiate and work around her personal needs at that time. We identified what was important and worked out some flexibility.

Economics of the role — Are we in alignment in the compensation piece of this? Is there anything outside the base compensation that would be meaningful, especially if the salary and bonus aren’t exactly competitive or negotiable? For example, maybe we could help with graduate school or a certification. Look at the economics of the deal and whether it’s doable. There’s a lot more than just base compensation and bonus. Younger talent are very much interested in how an employer can help them make an impact on the world. At the ED, a man I hired had an opportunity that came up at the Gates Foundation at about the same time. I didn’t want to lose him but I also didn’t want to stand in his way. I called the person who was trying to hire him and said, “I have a long-term future for him. You pay his salary for a year, I’ll hold the job for him. If he wants to stay at Gates for the long term, that’s okay. Either way I have a friend at Gates, or you have a friend at ED.” We even had to make a policy change at the Department, but the deal gave us political allies. What can you do to make the job most economical for the candidate? How do you find a value-add, how do you find a win for everyone? My employee did his stint at Gates and came back to the ED and is now two years from retirement in federal government.

In contrast, what are a few red flags that should warn you away from hiring someone?

#1 — They’re all about themselves, what’s in it for them, what are they going to make, when are they going to get promoted, etc.

#2 — Lack of desire to grow and expand. Do I need someone who’s going to sit in this seat for 10 years? Or does this person see the possibilities? What’s the propensity and outlook?

Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.

If I had a magic wand, I would want to create a groundswell of support for women and people on the margins and pull them into the mainstream of innovation, ideas, leadership, and thinking. The world will be a better place when we have more women leaders, and more people who represent the population of the world at large. It’s changing organizations to be more inclusive. It’s already well-documented that this is the way to go. If I could light a fire under that locally or globally — that’s what I’m counting on to change the world.

This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!