Corporate Spotlight: Tracy-Ann Spence, Chief Operating Officer, NCB Capital Markets Limited

TRACY-ANN Spence is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at NCB Capital Markets Limited, which is the wealth management, asset management and investment banking arm of the NCB Financial Group. We had the pleasure of catching up with her to gain some insight on her journey thus far within the FinTech industry to hear her take on navigating challenges and how she continues to grow as a leader.

Q: Your promotion to COO was announced in early March 2020 and the pandemic-related disruptions were in full force later that month. What attributes helped you lead your team successfully through such challenging and uncertain times?

A: This was definitely a challenge. I came into the position with great plans, only to be blindsided by the pandemic, which took us all on a completely different trajectory. I am naturally a driven person, and I am blessed to be with a good organisation. I am also blessed to have an amazing team. This combination has played a significant role in our ability to navigate the many uncertainties posed by the pandemic. If I were to single out some things, I would start with the NCB mindset values which were recently redefined. These include respect, innovation, owner’s mindset, teamwork, trustworthiness, customer obsession, and boldness. These principles have served as a guiding light for me to navigate my team through the pandemic. Mindfulness also played a big part in helping us to appreciate that everyone was also going through a difficult time as various aspects of their lives were impacted by the pandemic. While the company was going through change, so were our team members. So if their output was impacted by whichever circumstances they were facing at the time, I had to be understanding and offer them support where possible. One good thing is that NCB has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to digital transformation. Consequently, when our staff and customers had to pivot to digital channels for service and transactions, it was almost a seamless transition.

Q: What leadership lesson would you have learnt in the past that you hold almost as your guiding principle today as NCBCM’s COO?

A: This one is simple. Be true to yourself and life will be true to you! This is a mantra that I have had from as far back as high school, and it has never failed me. It is important to be honest about our situations, introspect, and be open to constructive feedback. From there, we can make the necessary adjustments for success. I often reflect to see how far I have come so that I can have the necessary conversations about the areas in which I need to improve. I also have the benefit of being employed to an organisation where I am constantly challenged, and I love that! It gives me a lot of opportunities to look at how I am growing as a leader (and as a person), and work at continuous improvement.

Q: What has kept you going in your industry at such a steady rate for almost two decades?

A: I like setting goals for myself (big and small) and when I hit them, there is a lot of joy in identifying and setting new ones to pursue. I shared recently in my annual team meeting that I have been fortunate in the experiences that I would have gathered through working with NCB Capital Markets Limited. I have had the pleasure of having hands-on involvement in a lot of changes in my almost two decades here. In retrospect, I probably would have needed to work with at least four or five institutions to gain the experience I have from working at this organisation. Being involved in the company’s growth strategies and execution over the years has exposed me to amazing opportunities which continue to keep me going.

Q: How do you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

A: I am a big advocate of continuous learning. No matter how far I progress in my career, I never feel as if I know it all, because there is always something to learn. I go about acquiring new knowledge in various ways. I take advantage of various training courses and programmes and actively seek and accept new challenges that are outside of my direct responsibilities at work. The latter has been a key factor in preparing me for my current position. Growth happens outside the comfort zone. Mentorship, whether formal or informal, is also another great way to expand as a leader. Sometimes they are intentionally sought-out or paths just happen to align. Reverse mentorship is also important because I cannot be a leader if I have no one to lead, and that means I will have to be open to learning from my mentees in return. I need their consistent feedback so that I can develop and make the necessary adjustments in the right ways so that I can better support them.

Q: Which three books would you recommend to an aspiring corporate executive?

A: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, especially for women in the corporate world. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Steven R Covey, and Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.

Q: Can you share what you think are the key drivers of success within an organisation and how can a leader hold people accountable to these values?

A: One of the key drivers in my experience is consultative and supportive leadership. A leader’s team needs to be felt and heard. Team members also need to be fully supported. Bold and visionary leadership is also key. I highlight boldness because I am not naturally a bold person, but when I look at a lot of successful CEOs and business people, they are visionary leaders who take bold, but calculated, risks. Being customer-focused is also critical to a successful organisation. At the end of the day, every business is providing some sort of product or service for an end user. It is, therefore, important to have that customer or end user in mind so that the right framework and tools can be put in place to deliver a delightful customer experience and great results. As it relates to holding persons accountable, I first must hold myself accountable. I cannot hold others accountable when I have not done what I need to do as a leader. As a leader, I must create the foundation and framework necessary for growth. Accountability can also be achieved through the usual measures, such as performance appraisals and other such monitoring frameworks.

Q: What growing or emerging investment opportunities and/or trends within the Caribbean are you most excited about at this time?

A: The industry is constantly evolving, especially because it is so connected with what is happening in the micro and macro economies. An emerging area that excites me is alternative investments. These are non-traditional forms of investments, such as real estate, private equity, and infrastructure. To take advantage of growth in alternative investments over the past few years, NCB Capital Markets Limited created its own suite of alternative investment options. We have also incorporated this into our wealth philosophy, aimed at maximising value for our clients. At the end of the day, we cannot truly create wealth with just a traditional portfolio. Investors need to add alternative investments to deliver above-average returns in order to create and maintain wealth. I am really excited about delivering that kind of value for our clients. It makes me fulfilled when I see clients achieve their investment goals.

HR THINK TANK

What Too Many Sales Managers Lack!

ONE of, if not the biggest area in which sales managers are failing is in the coaching of their players. Some teams are not getting any coaching at all. Eighty-seven per cent of sales managers have never been exposed to sales management training. Less than 15 per cent of sales managers are spending 25 per cent of their time in the most important role of the job, coaching.

Coaching is not advising, and it’s not mentoring. Instead, it is about helping team members to access and effectively utilise their own internal resources to achieve improved performance and outcomes. Coaching is as much an opportunity for the personal growth and development of the coach as it is for the coach. Armed with effective coaching skills, the sales manager not only achieves better sales revenues, but also develops the trust and respect of his team for sustained performance.

Keys to Being the Effective Coach

1. The best coaches stand for people and provide inspiration by supporting their team member(s) to articulate a powerful future.

2. The best coaches provide a structure for people to produce results in the game.

3. The best coaches focus on people’s growth and development.

4. The best coaches empower the performance of their team consistent with the team’s own commitments.

5. The best coaches listen more than they speak and ask probing questions to assist their team member(s) to come to their own conclusions; they listen for the gaps in process, strategy, thinking, behaviour, knowledge, and self-awareness and question for reflection and to find more effective methodologies.

6. The best coaches validate effective action and acknowledge growth and development.

7. The best coaches are rigorous with their team members and hold them accountable for their agreed actions.

Sales training courses and programmes are key to developing high-performance sales teams. However, if sales managers do not learn and develop the mindset of successful sales coaches, the investment in sales training will be wasted.