Women Of The C-Suite: Marian Evans On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive C-Suite
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Better Reputation. Reputation is the most valuable commodity for a business. Diversity within your team always boosts its reputation and helps you attract better and brighter top talent with fresh thinking. Businesses that are seen to build and promote diversity in the workplace are viewed as more exciting, dynamic, modern, ethical and socially responsible, making it easier for many people to relate to the businesses and share and champion their updates online, opening doors to new markets, customers, referral partners and indeed business partners.
As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite” , we had the pleasure of interviewing Marian Evans.
To describe Marian Evans in three words, I would choose honest, supportive and inspiring. She was recently awarded inspirational businesswoman of the decade, with a whole host of success in her career, her businesses and her investment portfolio. She is an extraordinary individual and one of the most decorated leadership coaches I have met in terms of qualifications and certifications, however that’s not why you might know her name.
She recently became known when media and press published the secret purchase of her childhood dream home; the prestigious Llansteffan castle in Wales, United Kingdom. Marian Evans is sought after globally within the C-Suite and Executives lounge for her ability to unlock people’s A-game and remove the limits they have set for themselves, whilst also giving them a clear roadmap on how to get there.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My name is Marian Evans, and I am the founder of Elevate BC. Elevate BC offers Business Consultancy, Facilitation, Executive Coaching and Mentoring, Leadership Training and Development to support individuals and businesses to maximize their potential and return on investment. This year, I was recognized of one of the Top 20 Business Coaches across the globe to watch in 2021, however I didn’t start out as a business coach specializing in creating limitless leaders. I was brought up on the family farm and spent much of my childhood covered in muck and straw in my socks.
My background is a mix of Financial Services and Property Investment and in many respects I started early . I used to watch how my my father, a farmer would handle the farm with finances and push to grow his business against the odds. I learnt that understanding money and how to make it work for you and working hard would unlock the door for my own goals and most importantly, a way for me to escape the farm and build my own financial freedom! These early lessons as a young child gave me confidence to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and to be brave.
I climbed the ranks to become both one of the industries youngest and only individuals to be both a Chartered Insurer and Chartered Broker and within a few years I was responsible for a book of business of £58million.
For me, my career in financial services and the side hustle in property investment went hand in hand. It may seem odd to have juggled 2 demanding jobs but it didn’t feel like it at the time. My parents had taught me to invest in bricks and mortar so as soon as I could afford to, so I kept building my property portfolio with astute purchases. By taking regular but calculated risks, I learned quickly and was always watching, listening and learning from those around me.
Believe it or not I had been plagued with impostor syndrome all my life and fought hard to ensure it didn’t hold me back. This often surprises people. I share this fact because I want to help other people to realise that it doesn’t have to define you. You can manage it and overcome the limitations it can It was and still is a constant challenge for me
Throughout my career the greatest buzz I had was when I helped other people in achieving their goals and I knew I wanted to do this as much as I could. That has become one of my key purposes. There are few things more fulfilling professionally than to empower someone to go on to achieve their biggest aspirations in life. I help them to avoid the pit falls and to develop their mindset. Having walked the walk allows me to share my experience and expertise with conviction. I also studied and gained the top coaching qualifications in the UK to ensure that all my clients were in the safest hands.
As word of mouth spread about my results for clients and demand grew, I knew I had to create something bigger to meet these needs, which is when I founded Elevate BC. Elevate Business Consultancy works with some of the UK’s top organizations.
My team have many years of business experience and are also highly qualified and accredited, with expertise in executive coaching and leadership. We all pride ourselves on establishing strong and lasting relationships with our clients. Whether they have sought our support for business advice, strategic consultation, executive coaching, executive mentoring, leadership development or board and meeting facilitation, our aim is to support, challenge and inspire individuals, teams and boards of executives. The feedback we provide is always honest and open with the intention to help clients positively shape their future and the sustainability of their business.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I love making a difference in my clients lives and helping them create positive transformational change.. I make it my business to help give them the tools to get to where they want to be. If they are committed to our sessions and doing the work to create change, it’s always just a matter of when (not if) they will reach their goals.
What I find most interesting though is the domino effect or ripple effect of what we do when we work with leaders that manage big teams in an organisation. The impact of an individual’s transformational change impacts an entire workforce and stakeholders. We underestimate the influence we have. .
When you are working with leaders on transformational change, its not one person that benefits, but the entire company. Whether that’s through clearly sharing strategy, better communications, enhancing culture within the workforce or passing on skills, that domino / ripple effect is mighty powerful.
This is a great example of some feedback we had last week
‘So many of the skills you shared with me I’ve been able to pass on to other colleagues. It’s been lovely to see them flourish.
You have really made me feel it’s ok to believe in myself.
I see those who I haven’t had great experiences with, in a different light with their own challenges.
I’ve learned not to carry the baggage about past issues and to not worry too much about the current ones I can’t have an impact on’.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I have made plenty of mistakes. Some funny and some less so. One event that stands out in my mind is when I decided on the spur of the moment to buy a property at an auction. I hadn’t seen the property and it was in an area I was not familiar but it was going for a good price and I was convinced I had got a bargain.
It was my husband and my wedding anniversary and so that evening I of course couldn’t wait to tell him over dinner about the latest purchase. Lets just say I should have waiting until he didn’t have a mouth full!
He was a lot less excited about it than me and I learned that I need to suss the lay of the ground with anniversary presents before buying! That was 12 years ago and we’re still married so I think I am forgiven now.
It was a very run-down property and not a very desirable area, but in my defense, we did wonders to that property and made a good profit in the process.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am most grateful to my husband Rob. Honestly without Rob’s consistency of love, trust and support, I couldn’t keep stretching and setting my sights on bigger and bolder horizons. Even when I bought the Castle, he didn’t appear overly shocked (which I appreciate surprises many). In fact, I don’t think anything would surprise him after all these years. He trusts my judgment — there’s never a dull moment in our house!
The Castle is breath-taking in its statue! It was built by Norman invaders right on the edge of the West Wales coast, standing at the end of what Wales online journalist Laura Clements described as “at the end of a never-ending pathway to the heavens.” It’s impossible not to fall in love with the castle, the community, the horizon and awe of the breath-taking location
In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?
I know now that you should always work from rest, not the other way around (easier said than done). For that reason, I focus on the things that allow me to unwind and feel at my best and I bring these into my routine as non-negotiables such as exercise, a beach walk, a relaxing moment of coffee and breakfast, time to set aside my intentions for the day on how I want to show up and the impact I want to make. I have drawn up my own wellness chart that I use 😊
Before moments of high impact where I am in my stretch zone, pushing limits or indeed, just wanting to show up as my best self — this is often when I can feel my imposter syndrome kicking in or my perfectionist tendencies trying to distract and self-sabotage me. I see this as a signal to try to get to sleep earlier, swap screen time for a walk around the grounds or to the sea or spend time playing games with family by the fire. The morning of any major activity, I make sure I am up early, showered, and ready to face the world (and I wear a pair of heels — even if it’s a virtual meeting). I also listen to some empowering music as it always steadies me ready for what the day will bring, which is always better than what I initially think.
As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?
“Great minds think unalike.” Marian Evans, Thought Leader — Elevate BC
Workplace diversity is not just a politically correct fad or the ‘tick boxes exercise’. It infuriates me that people do not accept that it is an intrinsic part to business success, giving companies a serious competitive advantage. Businesses that are more diverse and inclusive support their teams to achieve greater goals with engagement, creativity, and success.
I have always been a firm believer in cognitive diversity to get to the next level in business, as it takes next level thinking. The strategy and team you had in place to reach the first 5 million turnover are often not the same to take you to the next 10 million. Fresh thinking and drive only comes from diverse minds with not just different skills and talents, but also different life experiences. The more diverse the team will often mean the more profitable the company. New tech start-ups show this year on year.
Unfortunately, there is still archaic thinking of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ and this mentality is where some organisations still hire executives who think alike. Perhaps they want to hire an exact replica of “Ted” from head of finance because he was so good at his job. Or there are directors that want to hire people that graduated from the same university as them or have a similar upbringing so that they ‘fit in’. The level or unconscious bias in business is quite mind-blowing. We all know growth only happens outside of comfort zones and where there is challenge comes true expansion of the realms of team thinking and opportunities.
Unfortunately, when you get more of the same thinking in a team of Csuite executives, it’s a magnet to give you the same as what you always had.
Creativity is the most sought-after skillset in 2022 and beyond. A lack of innovation can lead to a slow and sadly painful death of any business corporation. The Sigmoid curve is a great model to use to describe this pattern and I see it over and over again.
Sara Canaday writes in a recent article on the subject for Psychology Today: “A culture that encourages (explicitly or implicitly) conformity of thought breeds stagnation and imperils a company.”
If you want to surround yourself with ‘yes people’ that just want to fit in, then your future success will be a no go zone.
I’m very passionate in that we must all find diversity of people (in all its forms!) as this equates to depth and breadth of insight, perspective, communication, and life experiences.
We must all play our part to reduce groupthink and reflect the real world we live in and what’s going on outside of the board room. All businesses globally need this. Executive teams need to develop over-arching strategies with long term objectives, managing high risks, being accountable and overseeing finances. They should constantly be looking for ways to improve. new gaps in the market to move fast in and always with an eye on the opportunities. This requires a broad understanding and an exciting “hive mind” way of working
I also strongly believe that the younger generations need relevant role models in positions of power in business. This is crucial to creating the future we all want where there are no outsiders.
All businesses aiming to be truly diverse need to go way beyond targets and laws relating to equality. This is not a ‘tick box system’ — this is about something far more important.
Smart businesses know they need diversity of backgrounds, life experiences and viewpoints at every level of their organisation so that they can attract, retain and make the most of people’s abilities.
Five key points that diversity brings with your executive team are as follows:
- Increased Creativity and Innovation. Create a melting pot of fresh ideas in your C-Suite, enhancing the golden skill for forward motion and breaking into new markets, which is creativity of your team and in turn, boosts its capacity for innovation. A study last year by Boston Consulting Group, which looked at 1,700 companies across eight countries, found that organizations with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.
- Better Problem-solving and Decision Making. Top level executives with diverse backgrounds will bring diverse solutions to the table, which leads to a much more informed decision-making process that reflects the world outside of the board room and improves results. Diverse hive mind over groupthink every time! A white paper from online decision-making platform Cloverpop found that when diverse teams made a business decision, they outperformed individual decision-makers up to 87% of the time.
- Increased Profits. For clearly striding out with competitive advantage and delivering solutions that fit the clients and customer’s needs, you need diverse executives. Executive teams that are better at solving problems and making decisions generate a competitive advantage — and make more money for their organization. The stats speak for themselves. In 2018, a study of 2,000 companies across 12 countries by McKinsey & Co found that companies in the top quarter for gender diversity were actually 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. Meanwhile, ethnic and cultural diversity resulted in a 33% increase in performance.
- Higher Employee Engagement. When executives feel included, they are more likely to be engaged in the details of strategy execution and implementation. Research from Deloitte Australia found that executive teams that are focused, fundamentally diversity and inclusion tend to deliver the highest levels of engagement. When executives feel accepted, seen, heard, involved, valued and empowered, they are also happier, more motivated, more productive and much easier to retain. This is a really important point with record numbers of executives leaving companies to set up their own businesses and to become self-employed. It has been proven time and time again that companies with greater diversity tend to have lower attrition and turnover rates — meaning reduced recruitment and training costs.
- Better Reputation. Reputation is the most valuable commodity for a business. Diversity within your team always boosts its reputation and helps you attract better and brighter top talent with fresh thinking. Businesses that are seen to build and promote diversity in the workplace are viewed as more exciting, dynamic, modern, ethical and socially responsible, making it easier for many people to relate to the businesses and share and champion their updates online, opening doors to new markets, customers, referral partners and indeed business partners. In another survey, by PwC, more than 80% of participants said an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and inclusion is an important factor when deciding whether or not to work for them.
In summary, Diversity in C-suite means greater depth and breadth of experience and perspective, which in turn allows for a greater ability to relate to employees, customers, clients and prospective clients, referral partners, distributors and suppliers. Experience, perspective and relatability facilitate innovation, which is critical to capturing and maintaining and, in many cases, dominating market share and success.
Diverse executive teams are quicker solution finders, more productive and perform better. As discussed above, many studies have found that diverse corporate leadership is associated with higher revenues and profitability. According to the Federal Office of Personnel Management, diversity contributes to creativity, leading to more innovation and creating opportunities for both growth and profile and that innovation can be the biggest driver in revenue gains. As 2020 and 2021 has shown us all, the businesses and corporations that were the most agile and adaptable pivoted using creativity to deliver solutions that were warmly welcomed and became in demand.
As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.
I would first read the book Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed for a better understanding. I would then mirror the best practice I have seen of creating an inclusive, representative and equitable society by Jacinda Ardern. Always look for global best practice and experts in this arena and follow suit.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
Executive leadership requires the ability to inspire, influence, develop and guide. As identified, leadership traits such as empathy, willingness to collaborate and the ability to listen are especially valuable to successful executive leaders.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?
Leadership success is not a function of unwavering traits or unattainable pedigree. Neither is there anything exciting, exotic or unobtainable about the key ingredients: decisiveness, the ability to engage stakeholders, adaptability, and reliability are key. Whilst there is certainly not a “one size fits all” approach, Harvard Business Review suggests focusing on trusting your instincts, engaging with impact and being agile will 100% improve your leadership. These, to me are all linked with EQ. Focusing on these four CEO essential behaviors are game changers.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
- Being underestimated. This is a challenge but often can also be an advantage
- Not being included in all decision making and out of hours socialising
- Being overlooked for promotion
- Being feared for fertility and at an age where they might need maternity support
- Sexism in the workplace — yes it still exists!
- Advocating on their own behalf
Ambition in men is considered a sign of strength, but women cannot rely on their ambition being perceived as a positive attribute. - Building alliances
Men learn to “play the game” through longstanding business conventions that help them build alliances and influence others. Women may need to find alternate routes to building mutually beneficial alliances and strategic relationships. Females not backing females within the workforce. - Impostor syndrome
When faced with systemic gender bias and inequality, women often have difficulty forming an accurate self-assessment, a situation also called “impostor syndrome,” which can interfere with their ability to stand confidently in their accomplishment
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
I am a strong believer in Sheryl Sanbergs definition of leadership:
‘’Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence”
I run my own days and every choice I make, which calls upon my leadership skills. As Simon Sinek says, “Leadership is a choice, not a rank. Anyone in a business can be a leader. It’s choosing to look out for the person on your left and to look out for the person on your right.”
Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
No, I don’t believe everyone is cut out to be an executive. I believe it requires a good level of EQ. Afterall, business is about people and leading people is all about respecting and managing healthy relationships. The centre to successful relationships is empathy and understanding.
If you have an issue with another human being, there’s some point of ignorance on either side.
If you are willing to focus on what you can do to recalibrate expectations and diffuse, it opens new avenues of understanding. Connection and compromise are always solutions you can create.
My life has been about learning to be agile and exploring my mind and then learning how to change it from life limiting beliefs and expanding new frontiers. To uproot core beliefs and implant those that are in opposition, to choose again and to challenge my thinking. Neuroplasticity is phenomenal with both professional and indeed, personal development.
I believe great executives make people feel seen, heard and valued. These are the leaders that no-one forgets.
In my opinion, to be an effective impactful executive, you need the following aptitudes:
- The ability to inspire others to action
- The ability to be 100% yourself within the workplace
- The ability to empathize with others (I believe a high EQ is more important than a high IQ alone)
- The ability to self-validate your own vision and clearly communicate this
- The ability to ask great questions
- The ability to ‘actively’ listen i.e. to really concentrate on what is being said
- The ability to stay agile and always embrace cognitive diversity at every opportunity
- The readiness to be wrong and to accept others support and skills to bridge knowledge gaps
- Accountability and the ability to make mistakes, own them and not let them hold you back
- The commitment to your own personal resilience development in leadership
- A clear understanding and respect of boundaries with internal staff and clients
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
The psychology of success in the C-suite often comes down to a handful of key points.
I honestly believe that if someone has a high IQ and very little EQ, the chances are they will not be right as an Executive and they won’t meet their true potential.
- Attitude and Effort directly affect Success, regardless of how you define success
- The true mark of character is how we chose to respond when things don’t go our way
- Learning to look for the opportunity in every challenge is the ultimate springboard
- Our strengths can also be our weakness
- Self-awareness and accepting responsibility for our behaviour is a key part of developing Emotional Intelligence
For all leaders to thrive, they must be dedicated to their own personal development of working on their own personal resilience.
Balance is always at the root of resilience. I developed a Personal Resilience model (see below) 18 months ago to support my clients. It highlights some of the key elements which impact our resilience as a leader. We must invest in these to perform at our best.
The great thing we can build is resilience. A great place to start is to take a helicopter view of the value we place on these elements, and which we may be neglecting.
If you feel you would like to learn more and develop your personal resilience further you can contact Marian via Elevate BC link here: https://www.elevatebc.co.uk
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
This is a great question. I have a strong set of values and I have always kept them at my core. I am honest and want to help and support as many people as I can. Nothing brings me greater reward than making someone’s day a little better. This has come in several forms over the years, but perhaps most notably as a volunteer, speaker and Mentor, in addition to fundraising for many great causes over the years (not least Cancer Care, for which we raised £7K last month). As an ambassador for Women On Boards UK, I enjoy nothing more than supporting and challenging women into board roles and co-hosting the “Getting Started” sessions. I am also on the UK mentoring panel. I mentored the winner of the Business Wales Start-Up of the Year Award and was proud to be recognised as the UK ‘Mentor of the Year’ in the national Women in Financial Advice Awards. In addition to this, I regularly speak at events, business clubs, and Youth initiatives. More recently, I have begun to share valuable info on social media (outside my comfort zone!) when time allows.
I am passionate about education and the vital role it plays in society. As a School Governor, I was asked to help arrange a “Dragons Den’ initiative for primary schools, an opportunity to call on a range of skills and teamwork. I was blown away by the business acumen and team work the children demonstrated. I have sponsored many events like this across different sectors, from STEM to the arts and sports.
I also see Environmental sustainability as a shared responsibility. Few people know that I did my degree in Geography and Environmental Management, it has always concerned me the devastating impact we are having on the planet.). I are passionate about this in each of my businesses and at home. My companies are all, at the very least carbon neutral and for every new client we plant trees through a fabulous scheme called Offset Earth.
Purchasing Llansteffan Castle has helped to safeguard the incredible piece of history for future generations. Investing in a website, etc., has increased people’s awareness and understanding of its historical importance and significance over the millennia.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Five leadership lessons I’ve learned in my 20 years that I wish someone had told me before I started and elevated the C-suite are as follows:
1. You can’t control people’s behaviour; you have to inspire it.
2. Don’t make yourself smaller to make yourself fit in. Expand your environment to match your potential and growth.
3. Empathy is key to effective leadership.
4. You will get things wrong. But it doesn’t need to hold you back.
5. The sooner you can self-validate your vision, the quicker you can share it with others and see it become a reality.
And I’m still learning. That’s an attitude central to any kind of growth; an acceptance that you will never know it all.
I love listening to and speaking with other like-minded leaders. Exchanging knowledge and experience is what keeps me thinking differently and reviewing my perspectives or approaches.
As an advisor and coach to top executives and a multiple business owner, I owe it to clients to stay agile and open in my thinking.
What about you; who are you learning from as you build your career or business?
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would like to create a movent where children are taught in school how to look inward for validation and to trust in their own instincts and intuition above all else.
Social media teaches children to compare themselves with others and to look outside of themselves for validation. This often leads to a lack of self-worth. I understand the value in social media, communications and marketing and I don’t believe in avoidance. I do however believe we must help nurture resilience and give our future generations the tools they need to believe in themselves, look inward for validation (not externally) and to trust their instinct over anything else.
We should never look at someone else’s reaction as a barometer for success. Someone’s reaction is theirs; your action is yours. Your definition of success is yours. Compete only with yourself if you do better today than you did yesterday and learn from your mistakes and you will do well.
It’s crazy when you think about it!
We are seeking the approval of others for our self-esteem but self-esteem is about you. The clue is in the word SELF- ESTEEM. We all have a duty to shine a light on this
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The only thing you can truly trust in life is your instinct. Don’t look outside of yourself for the answers, you know them already.” Marian Evans Founder of Elevate BC
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Women Of The C-Suite: Marian Evans On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
