Alice Milligan left home at 19 to escape a dysfunctional family life. Her peers went to college right out of high school. Meanwhile, Alice spent ten years getting her college degree while working full-time to support herself. She had no choice but to be resilient, independent, and patient. Decades later, and faced with choosing between a dream job or staying near her husband awaiting a liver transplant, Alice shares how the patience she cultivated as a young woman guided her choice.
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alice shares:
Her deep cut bagel order (cinnamon raisin fans, rejoice)
The strong women in her life who helped her get through leaving home
Why working in HR in her early career served her well throughout her career
How she rationalized her choice of remaining close to her family or taking on her dream job
How Morgan Stanley prioritizes women feeling financially empowered – and how the company’s new marketing initiatives reflect that
On the Benefit of Sampling Different Parts of the Business
Alice: Thinking about that experimentation, sampling different areas of the business and understanding what I was good at, what I was passionate about – when those two things come together, I think it really creates success for you and for the firm that you work for…It's sort of the way I moved through that time period. Then, I didn't put a timeline on things. I wasn't saying, “within this period of time, I need to do X.” I just said, “I need to focus on this and to be successful, I need to put in the work.”
On How She’s Become Less of a Perfectionist
Alice: Being in the industry that I'm in, we tend to be a lot of type A people, right? Perfectionists, really focused, driven, getting things done. I would say there was a period of time where I really focused on saying, “is this the most important thing in life?” We're all sitting around this room spending two hours potentially wordsmithing one sentence that's going to go in a brochure. In the scheme of things, is that really something to die on the sword for?
On Hiring Teams with Diverse Skillsets
Alice: Don't hire a bunch of people that are exactly like you. Hire people who are complementary and different to you that have the strengths that you don't, so that the collective group makes a powerhouse team. And then don't be afraid to let them shine. If we're going to be in a presentation that's going to go deep into all of the financials, I'm going to bring my finance teammate with me and let them take it. I'll add the strategic insights. And so I think that element of being confident enough to have a great team around you, people who are better than you in certain areas, allowing them to shine, and taking that moment makes everybody better. And it doesn't take away from you. It actually makes you more successful because people start to recognize one: she's somebody who can collaborate and work with others, and two: the people who are working with you want to do it and want to do it more because you're giving them the credit for the things that they do.
Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device: Apple podcasts | Spotify
Live Smarter
Sign up for the Daily Skimm email newsletter. Delivered to your inbox every morning and prepares you for your day in minutes.