Connecting with Alison Taylor

Alison Taylor is a clinical associate professor at 美国纽约大学 - 斯特恩商学院 and the executive director of Ethical Systems . Alison is the author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World , which is an indispensable?guide to help companies navigate the new era of ethical challenges and risks.

How have relationships influenced your professional development and leadership style?

I was helped and mentored very little in my early career. I can think of only one boss who was seriously interested in my development, ambitions and job satisfaction, and she was not my direct boss! This has made me enormously interested in helping young people to navigate the hazards and pitfalls I faced alone. I worked in very male dominated leadership teams in my mid career, and this taught me a lot about the double bind women find themselves in in particular.

Do you have any tips for maintaining and building strong relationships?

Admit fallibility. Ask the least powerful person in the room to speak first. Manage for the good of the team, not the individual: if you need time off or accommodation that's fine, but understand someone else needs to pick up your work, and be thoughtful about this. Pay particular attention to the challenges of middle management, where you often have to navigate contradictory pressures from both above and below, combined with a very heavy workload. Overall, the key is to balance performance and psychological safety.?

How have you intentionally built inclusiveness into your circles?

I am blessed to have a geographically diffuse network and I look for global perspectives to support or challenge my understanding. When I post on social media, I invite comments and ask questions, rather than seeking to project authority. I prioritize helping my students build relationships: if you take one of my classes, I'll help you as much as i can, whenever I can.?

What community or communities are you proud to be a part of?

Proud to be part of the 美国纽约大学 - 斯特恩商学院 community, the Financial Times Moral Money Advisory Board, and on the faculty of The Boardroom Africa, which helps women board directors in Africa on ESG and leadership issues.?

Who’s a Connector that's made a difference in your life??

Konstantinos Apostolatos is an amazing leader and creative connector. In the ethics world, Anna Romberg , Richard Bistrong , Guido Palazzo and Dr. Bettina Palazzo all inspire me every day.?

It's an honor to feature inspiring change-makers across industries who share their stories and words of wisdom about how to build meaningful relationships. Catch up on #CONNECTED with our previous guests, including Julia Boorstin , Helle Bank J?rgensen, GCB.D, CCB.D and NACD.DC , Kara Goldin , and more!

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, seasoned communicator and founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies , a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. She is the author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships.

Follow Susan on LinkedIn , Twitter and Instagram and order her new book, The Lost Art of Connecting , also available on Kindle and Audiobook.