Catherine Hayes

Catherine Hayes
Director
SCRA

What leadership traits have served you well? And on the flip side, what have you learned that tends to hold women leaders back?

As a leader, I have built my personal brand and professional career on my integrity – being honest, trustworthy, and delivering results to both internal and external customers. I am genuinely curious and passionate about learning, embracing change, and adapting quickly. I try to lead by example, empower my team, and support their growth, expressing gratitude for their work and giving credit when due. 

Throughout my career, I have embraced a participative leadership style, hiring professionals with complementary strengths and leveraging their expertise to gain buy-in and reach an informed decision more likely to succeed.

Women struggle when they adopt a leadership style that isn’t authentic to themselves. Although it’s important to adapt your communication style to your audience, successful women leaders uphold their own principles and stay true to their vision despite organizational pressures.

What are some key strategies to help others achieve a more prominent role in their organization or career?

Go where your values and skillsets are celebrated, not tolerated. Start building your professional network and personal brand early in your career to curate business relationships and expand your sphere of influence. What you lack in knowledge and skill, make up for in attitude and a commitment to learn. Seek opportunities for thought leadership and accept increasing responsibility. Demonstrate your leadership capabilities regardless of your title – lead from where you are. Keep a journal – when you’re in a position of power and influence, implement positive change. Plan your course, but be open to unforeseen opportunities.

What valuable career lessons or lessons would you like to share with others?

Lead decisively and communicate and implement change with conviction. Women who tend to overanalyze and doubt their decisions waste energy and distance themselves professionally from strong (men) leaders. Institute a statute of limitations on frustration, anger, or regret – indulge your emotions privately for a specified period and then let them go and accept the situation. 

What advice would you give the next generation of female leaders?

Build a highly effective team that accomplishes its objectives, demonstrating your leadership and strategic value to the organization. Be a people leader – develop your team to seek new career opportunities and encourage movement while being attentive to developing your succession plan. Authentically embrace diverse backgrounds, education, age perspectives, and ideas to empower your associates and to find more holistic solutions to business challenges. Foster the intrapreneurial spirit to attract and retain women innovators and encourage experimentation and risk among your colleagues to investigate new approaches and implement novel solutions. Embrace technological advances that provide value to your customers, improve operations, and/or reduce costs to impact the organization favorably.

Mentorship is so important to women in the workforce these days. Do you mentor other women through a specific program? Or did you have a mentor that was inspirational to you?

Mentoring and coaching women provide an opportunity to share tribal knowledge and to develop valuable capabilities of future leaders. But I’m a strong believer in reciprocal mentoring, where women early in their careers can exchange their ideas, talents, and technology savvy with more seasoned women leaders who, in turn, impart their organizational strategy, career choices, and lessons learned. This provides a more balanced relationship and taps into the strengths of professionals across their career journey.