Niloufar Molavi – Chief Diversity Officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Revolution Survival to Business Success

By Caroline Cox

Niloufar Molavi probably didn’t think she’d end up here. A native of Iran, Molavi grew up during the Iranian Revolution and U.S. hostage crisis. She witnesses shootings in the street and bombs going off, all before age 12, when she moved to France, then the U.S.

Now, as Chief Diversity Office for PricewaterhouseCoopers and mother of two, Molavi sees the good that came out of her difficult childhood, and how it got her to where she is today. Through hardship, she’s cultivated confidence, learned to adapt to change and maintained a respect for different points of view while rising to a top rank at the global tax, assurance and services organization.

Here, Molavi talks to PINK about traveling the globe, what is takes to be a great leader and surviving a revolution.

PINK: What’s your top success secret?

Niloufar Molavi: I’ve been comfortable with change. In the professional services industry, change is a constant. We’re always reacting to changes in the economy, in our client base and in different industries. Getting out of my comfort zone and taking risks has been a significant factor in my success at PwC. The other secret is having very strong sponsors and advocates throughout my career. They put their reputations on the line because they believed in me and wanted to give me a chance to achieve and have the opportunity to demonstrate my skills and abilities.

PINK: How has that brought you success?

NM: When I was a relatively new partner, in my fourth year or so, I was asked to lead our energy tax practice. I was certainly the youngest partner at that time, from an experience and age perspective. I was asked to lead my mentors and partners. It was an uncomfortable position and, given my years of experience, I was doubting myself and my abilities. I had a great sponsor who said, “I know you can do this, and I’m going make sure you’re successful in this role.” So the fact that I had his support and I knew he would be there for me when I needed help was exactly what I needed from a sponsor. The fact that I did it, loved it and enjoyed it before I came into the role I have now opened up more opportunities for me within the firm.

PINK: What’s the biggest issue for career women today?

NM: The biggest issue continues to center around [Life/Work] balance and women opting out too early in their careers because they feel that they can’t have both. Women often reassess their ambitions when they become mothers, and they may feel like they can’t be passionate about being a mother while being ambitious in their career, because they think there will be conflicts. The professional world is losing too many women too early in their careers. Those who do continue and understand they can have both realize it just won’t be easy.

PINK: How do you manage the Life/Work balance?

NM: I think it’s vital to put together a plan at the beginning of each year. You put milestones and goals in there, then you start attacking that plan from a professional perspective. I do the same thing on a personal level, so as I’m evolving my professional plan and thinking about what I want to accomplish, I do the same thing for my personal life. I plan it out, put it on my calendar, and treat it no different than any work activity, meeting, or event. I have a 12-year-old daughter [Tara] and a 16-year-old son [Darya], and every year there are new changes and stages, and what they need has evolved. Putting a plan together and making sure it’s integrated into my professional career plan has been the way I’ve been able to find balance and be happy.

PINK: Can you recall a time when you had to make a tough call, in terms of Life/Work balance?

NM: We had an important meeting with our leadership team around partner talents for one of our business units, and I play a significant role in these talent reviews. The meeting had to be changed due to conflicts with some of our other leaders’ schedules, and it got moved to [the same week as my kids’ spring break]. We had plans to go to Puerto Rico. When the meeting got moved, I had to make a tough call. I told them I couldn’t be there. I said, “Here’s what I think needs to happen, here are the things I would have wanted to cover,” and I had a great vacation with my family. Those are tough decisions people have to make all the time. I’ve made them going the other way as well, depending on the urgency and importance of what’s happening at work.

PINK: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

NM: That I need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, with taking risks and embracing change. If you’re too comfortable with what you’re doing, it’s time for a change because you’re not learning anymore, and you’re probably not evolving in the manner you should to continue to move up the ladder.

PINK: What’s your leadership style?

NM: It’s a very collaborative style. I start by making sure we define our shared values as a team. I share power and influence so that the team members in the decision-making process feel empowered and contribute fully. I want to solicit different people with different perspectives. Having lived in different countries around the world, I appreciate the fact that everyone will see a situation through a different lens, and being able to get all of those perspectives is really important before you make a decision. At the same time, as a leader, you have to be ready to make a decision and move forward, knowing that your decision may not always align with the input and the perspectives you’ve gotten from everyone.

PINK: What’s your biggest weakness as a leader?

NM: Early on my career, one thing I got feedback on was that I needed to get more comfortable delegating to others, knowing that it may take a little bit longer and it may not be exactly as I would have done it. If we get to the same end result, someone else is getting the experience and more importantly, it’s freeing up my time to be more strategic rather than tactical. From a personal point of view, a lot of women are comfortable negotiating on behalf of everyone else, but not their own behalf. I do a great job when negotiating new roles or opportunities for female partners, but I’m not as comfortable doing that for myself. That’s something I’m continuing to work on.

PINK: How big is your team, and how you do communicate effectively with them?

NM: My team is about 26 people. It’s very decentralized because a number of those individuals work directly with our markets, and we have offices in about 70 different cities and primary markets around the country. We have two meetings a year where we all physically get together and talk about strategies, address issues or concerns and make sure everyone’s on the same page. We do a mid-year meeting where we discuss where we stand, best practices, what’s working and what’s not. We also have weekly and monthly calls where we highlight the most significant diversity innovations. Then we have a newsletter every month with more detail as well.

PINK: You grew up in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution and the U.S. hostage crisis. How has that impacted your career?

NM: Hindsight is 20/20. I moved to France during the revolution and lived there for a couple of years before moving to the U.S. At the time, it just felt like I was going through a difficult childhood and it wasn’t fair. In hindsight, it forced me to adapt to new environments multiple times. That’s helped me be comfortable with change and view it as an opportunity to learn and work with new people rather than being negative. I lived in countries with different cultures, and that has helped me be more comfortable and cautious of different perspectives people bring to the table. Having experience being the majority and minority has given me better appreciation of why cultural dexterity is so important for organizations. That is what will define the success of the organization, especially in today’s global environment.

PINK: How did these experiences improve your confidence?

NM: When I moved to France, I didn’t speak a word of French. I went to a French school where the only person who spoke English was the principal, and I didn’t plan on spending any time in the principal’s office. Having to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture meant I had to make different friends in a different environment, then do it all over again when I moved from France to Houston, TX. The fact that I’ve had to learn and adapt over and over has given me the confidence that I can do it. I used to have this fear of not being able to learn and adapt, but I know I’ve been able to do it and am now comfortable trying and knowing I can be successful.

PINK: How do you relax and rejuvenate yourself?

NM: I love to travel. I do quite a bit of it through work, though I don’t count that as real travel. I love to see different places around the world, so that’s what [my family and I] spend most of our vacations doing – trying to expose our children to different cultures and places. I also love to take pictures to capture those memories with my family. My great grandfather, Khan Baba Motazedi, actually introduced photography to Iran. Maybe it’s just in my blood. One day I hope to take some classes so I can take better pictures.

PINK: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

NM: I’m a pretty open person. The only thing people probably don’t know about would be the experience of living through a revolution. Today, we see the fighting and everything that’s happening in Egypt and Libya. I lived through that as a 12-year-old. We had people shooting guns in the streets, bombs going off, and watching all of that wasn’t a pleasant experience. It’s not something I like to recall. But every now and then, especially lately, a lot of people have been asking for my opinions about what’s going on in Egypt, Libya, Syria and other places. I’ve probably talked about it more in the past month than I ever have before. A lot of people just don’t know what that experience was like.

PINK: What goal have you not yet achieved?

NM: I’m very interested in charitable organizations. I sit on the board of Dress for Success in Houston, which helps underprivileged women get clothing to go on a job interview and, more importantly, gives them confidence and support to help them be successful. I haven’t had time to do more of those types of things in my community and from a global perspective. I would like to be able to devote more personal time to things like that – not just give money, but actually be involved as well.

PINK: How do you define success?

NM: Professional success to me means having clients who believe I can bring value to their organizations, and to be able to mentor, develop and sponsor individuals from the time they come in all the way to helping them become successful partners in the firm. I’ve served as a mentor to at least a dozen individuals since I’ve joined the firm. Last year one of those individuals was admitted to the partnership. Personal success means enjoying what I do, making sure I’m continuing to learn new skills and gain new perspectives. If I’ve been able to do all that, I’m going to look back at the end of the day and say I’ve been successful.