Reflections on the Way to Work

The financial services industry is highly regulated and those of us who work in compliance are tasked with developing a compliance program that includes advising the business on rules and regulations, providing interpretative guidance, developing policies and procedures, partnering with the business, overseeing and monitoring to ensure compliance with the applicable rules and regulations.

Compliance is probably one of the least understood positions at a company by all levels of employees and the contributions  the team makes to the organization is rarely acknowledged or appreciated.  It is not the checkbox function that many perceive it to be!  Quite the contrary to the misnomer that compliance is boring, compliance has the distinct position of being involved in and knowledgeable of almost every aspect of an organization.  It is interesting, but not glamorous or sexy.

One day, an analyst a few years into compliance was reviewing emails, (yes, one of the many “privileges” and less interesting responsibilities of compliance) and this analyst reviewed an email of a senior person who was writing to others at the company and he said “No one is here, it is so quiet, I may actually have to go downstairs and have lunch with compliance, risk and finance, how boring is that?”

She was upset by the pre-conceived perception this person had of people that work in compliance and that she was actually included in that characterization.   This compliance analyst is bright, beautiful, contemporary, a  former competitive Irish dancer and fun; for people not to see her for who she is as a person was upsetting to her.  She was being defined by the perceived “fact” that compliance officers have no personality and are boring to be with!

On another day, this same compliance analyst was at a work gathering and some colleagues in a different department said “it’s the statement girl”.  Another function of compliance is to administer the Code of Ethics, which includes making sure that employees are not front-running client orders or trading on inside information.  Again,  it is one aspect of compliance and you would be surprised at the challenges that administering the Code of Ethics includes, from personal  trading to conflicts of interest  to outside business activities – just read the U.S. Securities and Exchange Enforcement actions.   Again, the compliance analyst was really upset by the “statement girl” characterization and rightly so given her many other responsibilities in the department.

There are many other pre-conceived perceptions about the people that work in compliance and I learned long ago to accept that fact.  I no longer let it bother me because I am confident in who I am as a person, what I have done in life, where I have traveled and I have the best knowledge of what my diverse outside interests are which in my opinion are quite interesting and fun.  I don’t let other people’s opinions of who they think I am bother me but it wasn’t always that way. When this young analyst came to speak to me because she was so upset, I tried to mentor her about dealing with the comments but even for the most seasoned of us, it can at times be bothersome.

One day, I organized drinks for our summer interns and I selected a place by Union Square called Bar Jamon (and yes the interns were legal drinking age!) and this same analyst said to me “How do you know this place – its a Hipster Place” and that statement and tonality of the inference really irked me for the same reasons that “statement girl” or the boring compliance stereotype bothered her.

Whether it was said with any intent or not, which I am sure it wasn’t, the statement was perceived by me that as being based on a pre-conceived notion that because I don’t get out much, or don’t dress a certain way, or because I am older., …….whatever triggered the statement it was based on a pre-conceived perception of who I am and who the type of people are that patronize Bar Jamon; which honestly, after going there, for me it was mixed group of patrons, from hipsters, to gays, to business people – it was a well diversified group of people reflecting the true mosaic of New York City, co-existing at a public forum together, respecting each others privacy.

The point is that we all have pre-conceived perceptions of who we think people are and what they are like – we make pre-determinations about their personalities based on their looks, occupations, clothing or how we perceive they spend their free time, ……..

We all do it – rightly or wrongly, myself included.  The problem is when we let these pre-conceptions dictate whether we will respect, speak, or interact with a person.  In most instances, these pre-conceived biases will dictate our behavior towards them, or make comments that offend them.  Whatever one’s perception is, it can at times, prevent one from really getting to know and understand a person or their function.

If you look at the global geopolitical environment so much of the dissension is based on pre-conceived misperceptions people have creating divisive biases towards individuals, races, countries, religions, cultures, and the list goes on.

Each one of us needs to be conscious of our own pre-conceived perceptions and biases that manifest itself inherently in what we say.  It is equally as important to be mindful in how we react and deal with others’ statements made to or about us that reflect their perceptions or misperceptions and biases.  If we all do our part, it will in a small way help to minimize unnecessary conflict or hurt feelings.