Rebecca Braitling of UpSpiral Leadership interviews Elaine Rocha, the Chief of Staff to the President and Global Chief Operating Officer of AIG, a multinational insurance and finance company. While at AIG, Elaine previously served as the Global Chief Operating Officer for their Investments business, and previously as Associate General Counsel and Vice President for several lines of business in General Insurance. She has been recognized throughout her career for her strong leadership and advocacy for diversity and inclusion.

[00:30] Introducing Elaine

[04:07] How Elaine Became a Bold and Authentic Advocate

[09:13]  Dealing with People’s Mistakes as a Leader

[14:01] How to Navigate Career Uncertainty and Changes

[16:16] How to Activate Positive Change

[21:05] Elaine’s Proudest Achievements

[23:10] How to Be a Good Mentor

[25:43] Lightning Round: A Series of Brief Questions

Ever since she was young, Elaine has been driven to advocate for those who cannot defend themselves. During her senior year in high school, Elaine recalls writing a letter to the Superintendent and Board of Education to advocate for her friend who got kicked off the wrestling team for punching someone to defend his sister’s honor. She then attended the Board of Education meeting, and successfully won her first case for her first client, despite not having been to law school at the time. Years later, her friend is still grateful that she took the initiative to step in.

Law and finance are fields with very high expectations. As a leader in these fields, Elaine encourages her subordinates to strive for excellence, she wants them to trust her and to be comfortable. If subordinates make a mistake, she expects them to let her know, so that they can figure out a solution together. Leaders must provide psychological safety and support. She walks in humility and welcomes constructive disagreement from her colleagues, knowing that the best decisions come from making the most of everybody’s strengths and expertise.

Elaine consistently chases and embraces disruption. She cites her transition from legal into investments as an illustration of this attitude of welcoming change. She did not know much about investments, but she took the time to figure it out. She encourages us to ask ourselves, “What is the worst that could happen?” Disruption enables us to learn.

Although she embraces uncertainty, Elaine does not condone nor embrace a lack of preparedness. If you have a passion, and want to invoke change, that is great! But building on this passion, you need to know your stuff, and to be able to “yell with data” to the naysayers and eye rollers.

According to Elaine, to be a great mentor, you need to be willing to be mentored. Using this humility and willingness to learn, you can plant this same posture in your mentees. Mentoring is amongst Elaine’s proudest accomplishments, and she enjoys building trust and shaping change in the lives of others, especially women.

Elaine’s greatest wish for the world is that we stop judging a book by its cover. After some time, we might decide that someone is not worth it. However, never make this decision prematurely. You never know what is going on, and you may risk missing the opportunity to know a wonderful person.

For more information on becoming an excellent leader, do visit the Upspiral Leadership website, and do remember to tune in to our next episode! Check out Elaine’s LinkedIn profile.