March 8, 2022 | Anne Kritzmire
For International Women’s Day, XA Investments would like to recognize Anne Kritzmire. Anne currently serves as Lead Independent Director for Thornburg Closed-end Funds, as well as Managing Partner for Your True Note and a member of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management’s Business Leader Faculty. Previously, Anne held numerous leadership roles at Nuveen in CEFs and multi-asset solution marketing. Anne was also formerly the President of the Closed-End Fund Association (CEFA).
Anne has valued curiosity and learning at every stage of her career. We are pleased to share some of her insights and offer others the opportunity to learn from her.
Advice you might offer women at the beginning of their career?
First – Embrace learning, and stay curious. In addition to conventional ways of learning, I recommend getting curious about how things and people work. For example, what are the guiding principles that an organization lives by? How do different groups and systems interact and collaborate? What drives success? When did failure occur and what can you learn from it? Early in my career, I thought I was going to solve engineering problems. My team designed a hard disk drive that was as big as 4 loaves of bread and stored less than 1/4 the amount of data a single photo on my phone now requires. My career has since evolved to focus on helping people design communications and connecting dots as a board member. Things change. They always will. But, seeking to understand causes and drivers of success or failure – at work or for one’s own happiness – has been a long-term asset.
Second – Don’t be too cautious, and lean into failure. As the eldest daughter of a midwestern religious family, a recovering engineer and a mother, the quest for perfection runs in my blood. Early on in my career, being too cautious in the pursuit of perfection kept me from both fun and reward, so I began to embrace failure and learn from it. Perhaps find something small you might fail at, then learn and challenge yourself to expand from there. It may be messy, but it will definitely be more rewarding than not trying.
Third – Engage with people and connections at work and beyond, and make it a two-way street. I loved a recent HBR article on women and office politics. I used to be in the “my work should speak for itself” camp. My intentions were good – I assumed everyone around me was smart and could figure things out. They were, but most were also time-starved. I had more success when I learned to proactively help people understand, even if I became known for using food analogies to do so. Always be grateful for and gracious to the people you get to interact with, and you will go much further than you can on your own.
Recommendations on resources for women looking to advance their careers?
I love learning from any resource. I am a lifelong reader, a podcast listener during daily walks, and I am motivated by great speakers at conferences – live or virtual. However, the most valuable resource is your network of people, particularly other women. Years ago at Wharton’s Securities Industry Institute, I was first introduced to the psychology behind the words “Please help”. Human beings are wired to help others, and women generally more than men. For instance, the women who attend the Barron’s Top Women Advisors’ conference are at the very top of their profession, yet they regularly come together with strong appetites to teach and learn.
Many find networking to be uncomfortable or superficial. It’s a conversation I’ve had with my grown daughter. If you genuinely dislike people, that’s another story, but sharing insights, help, enthusiasm, and concerns can be quite meaningful, even over a Zoom happy hour. If you are looking for a place to start, there are groups organized to connect busy peers – whether that’s entrepreneurs, CEOs, accountants, financial marketers, or business majors from your alma mater. Ask around. And, career insights need not be just from professional contacts. A connection made through my volunteer work with the Boy Scouts is helping me sharpen up my next career chapter. The board of a non-profit I’m passionate about has taught me plenty about governance and executive management when we decided to replace the CEO.
Finally, I would recommend proactively cultivating a network that includes as much diversity as you can make time for (and more). Seek out people of diverse ages, diverse backgrounds and diverse cultures. The bigger your career aspirations are, the wider the group you’ll want to consider, understand, and travel that two-way street with.
I am lucky to now be in a place where, through both volunteer and paid work, I can help people – especially women and girls – become their best selves. Many thanks to my own network, including XAI’s Kim Flynn, whom I’ve long respected and am honored to call a friend.
Trivia question: Did you know that Cards Against Humanity funds a full tuition scholarship for women majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math?
