Page 8 - CCCA 239285 Magazine_Fall 2015

{ Diversity }

stAYing the Course—But with A plAn

By Kirby Chown and Carrie Mandel

In the two years since our book, Breaking Through: Tales from ued to hold that view, and as a result, has
the Top Canadian Women General Counsel, was released, we’ve never felt the need to change companies
to achieve her career goals.
heard from women across Canada who are looking for career
advice, specifcally how to advance in-house to the GC role. the plan
Although Kristine denies having a for-
mal plan for career advancement, she
hile some of the GCs we profled the move in-house was savvy enough to realize she needed
went directly from private practice Kristine describes her move in-house as to broaden her experience to avoid being
winto this lead role, most worked “happenstance.” She is Canadian but was pigeonholed as simply a regulatory lawyer
their way to the top over many years. working in Washington, DC, as a regu- at TransCanada. So what did she do?
So now, in 2015, we are following up latory lawyer at a big law frm when she Learn how to work effectively with your team.
with talented women lawyers who have and her husband decided they wanted to Kristine was immediately faced with man-
made their way to the top level of promi- move back home in 1995 to raise their
nent Canadian companies. We are in- children. She was approached by Trans- aging a team when she joined TransCana-
da—something she had never done in pri-
terested in both women who moved up Canada about an in-house job in Calgary.
vate practice. She quickly assessed her new
through the ranks in several companies Despite never having lived in that city and situation and realized she had to demon-
and those who remained with one com- having no family or friends close by, she
pany throughout. saw the job as an opportunity to be seized, strate strong leadership in order to inspire
confdence in her team that now consists of
Progress from the in-house counsel describing it as “an adventure.”
role to the role of GC is not linear. It re- According to Kristine, choosing the over 200 people, not all of whom are law-
yers. She had to pull the team together so
quires learning the business, taking risks right company is crucially important for
it could become more productive. She was
and seeking opportunities outside of your in-house counsel. Understand yourself and respectful of their opinions, encouraged an
comfort zone. As Betty DelBianco, Chief your style, and make sure the organization
Legal and Administrative Offcer at Celes- you choose is a good ft. If you fnd out af- open-door policy and tried to lead by ex-
ample. Her efforts were successful.
tica, told us, “It always amazes me where ter you join it is not the right place for you,
following unlikely leads can end up taking do not be afraid to move on. But, on the Find your voice.
you. Like getting involved in something other hand, if the company is right for you, Kristine understood early on that doing
outside of your core function or a compa- do not make a change for change’s sake. good work does not automatically trans-
ny that seemingly goes nowhere, until fve Speaking about her own journey, Kris- late into a promotion. She knew she had to
connections later, it turns into something tine refects that she is someone who likes demonstrate a wider range of talents and
you would have never expected.” change and has a low tolerance for the actively seek out opportunities. Whenever
Kristine Delkus is an inspiring ex- routine. She needs constant challenge and she heard about interesting roles at Trans-
ample of someone who stayed the course the opportunity to be involved in a variety Canada, she was the one who took the
at one company but always had a plan of areas. It is also important for her to re- initiative to follow up on them, position-
to advance her role and become the GC. spect the values of the company for which ing herself as the ideal candidate. It took
After 20 years with the company, she was she works. She checked out all aspects of courage but this strategy proved successful
named Executive Vice-President and GC TransCanada thoroughly before joining, a number of times—“I think it was instru-
of TransCanada in 2014. She also serves as and found a close alignment between her- mental in my ability to move up through
the Chief Compliance Offcer. self and the organization. She has contin- the ranks.”

8 CCCa MaGazIne | FaLL 2015 auTOMne