Meet Diana Godfrey, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at Fidelity Canada

We recently had the privilege to sit down with Diana Godfrey. Diana is Head of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs for Fidelity Canada and a member of Fidelity Investments Canada’s Senior Executive Team. Diana Godfrey joined Fidelity in 1995.

Since 1987, Fidelity Canada has been an industry-leading manufacturer of Mutual Funds and ETFs. Fidelity has grown to more than 1,400 employees dedicated to delivering world-class investment solutions and services for Canadian investors. Fidelity’s clients have entrusted them with $200 billion in assets under management (as at February 28, 2022), including individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more. Fidelity’s mission is to help drive Canadians to reach their goals faster than they ever thought possible.

Read below to hear more about how Diana navigated her career, adapted to change, and advice for women entering the workforce:

Diana, can you please tell us about your current role at Fidelity?

‘I subscribe to the jungle gym philosophy, instead of a ladder’

I joined Fidelity as an HR manager when we were only at $5 billion in Assets under Management (AUM). I had a friend who worked at the firm, and I really wanted to get back into financial services.

We had just over 200 employees and 125 vacancies. I was the fifth person in HR. There was a ton of growth going on and we had multiple lines of business operating in Canada.

While I was always in HR, I had different reporting lines and experiences.  I recognize that my growth didn’t come from changing jobs, it came from experience. I never focused too much on my title or who I reported to, I focused more on ‘am I learning new things?’ I subscribe to the jungle gym philosophy instead of a ladder - you might not always be moving to the position directly above you, but you can get there in other ways.

Our corporate affairs group later joined HR, and I learned a ton from the team and the experiences. This has created new opportunities for everyone on our team and a better partnership between the two groups.

Can you tell us about your past work experience and how you got to your current position?

When I graduated from school, I worked for an automotive magazine in marketing. I worked there as I had gone to school for marketing, and I have a love for cars. I didn’t love working there, but it taught me resilience in a big way.

I later worked for Diversey Wyandotte in accounting, then went to The Royal Bank of Canada - because I had worked there through school. This is where I picked up on all the banking courses, and then worked as an accountant for SKF which is part of Sandvik (a Swedish Multi-National Company).

Some of my accounting course overlapped with people in an HR program and those were the courses that I enjoyed the most. 

I then had the opportunity to move into HR at Sandvik and went back to school again to complete my HR designation. There was a lot of trying to decide what I like, however all the skills and those experiences, negative or positive, help you grow and help me in my current role.

As the head of HR for a large organization, what do you think other companies should do to support women in business (either in general or in their own workforce)?

‘We’re stronger individually if we’re stronger together. Don’t expect what worked 10 years ago to work today’

It’s hard to differentiate because everybody’s different and I don’t like drawing stereotypes. I would say that women need to support women. We’re stronger individually if we’re stronger together. I’ve spoken a lot about the difference between mentors and sponsors, and one of my topics within this presentation is that girls compete, and women help each other. The difference between being a competitive person vs one who empowers people is important.

I think that’s true whether you’re a woman or not, but given that women have had different battles in the workplace to have a voice, why do you want to fight with each other too? There’s room for everybody and we’re stronger if we can do things together, regardless of the industry you’re in. Compete with yourself and compete for the job, but don’t do it at the expense of people that you could be helping.

Organizations need to recognize that no matter what gender you identify as, different things motivate and attract different people to work with them. They need to spend time listening and adapting. Don’t expect what worked 10 years ago to work today.

Do you have any advice for young women entering the workforce right now?

‘Find a mentor first, so you can cultivate a sponsor. Recognize when your strength is your strength but also when it’s getting in the way’

A mentor is always helpful, somebody you can turn to for advice who can help you manage self-doubt. It’s nice to have a confidant.

Overtime, you want to grow a sponsor. This must be earned, they have to trust you and know you’re capable because they’re going to advocate for you. Find a mentor first, so you can cultivate a sponsor in the future. Being self-aware is important. We talk a lot about the voice in our head, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome, which we all suffer from, including me sometimes. What we need to do is be self-aware and recognize when to listen to that voice. When you aren’t as good at something, find a way to be better at it.

Seek to learn, grow, and develop. No one else owns your career but you. Don’t let the naysayers get you down but be aware because sometimes those naysayers are telling you things you need to know.

In some cases, your greatest strengths might be your greatest weaknesses. As an example, I am outspoken, and I don’t mind having a contrarian view which I consider a strength. However, it can also be a weakness when I do it at the wrong time. This is what I mean about self-awareness. Recognize when your strength is your strength, but also when it’s getting in the way.

Is there any piece of advice you received in your career that you wish you knew when first starting out?

I wish I had a mentor. I’ve always been independent and self-sufficient, but I was mistaken in thinking that a mentor made me weaker. I still turn to people today that I trust who aren’t necessarily senior to me.

Mentors don’t have to be senior to you, they just need to be experts in what you’re asking about or well-rounded people who can give logical advice and help you come to your own conclusions by provoking thought. Find the right people and accept that one person might not be the right person in every circumstance.

What advice would you give to people entering the workforce about dealing with uncomfortable situations of inappropriate behaviour?

The good news is we can talk about it now. Generally, when you’re working, you’re with other people that you know.

People can have a signal that means you might need help. Something that tells somebody that you need them to come into the conversation. You don’t necessarily need someone to come riding in and take over for you which might unintentionally belittle your position.

If you’re the one supporting someone in this situation, don’t go in and fix everything. Go in and ask questions or find a creative way to give them an exit. Afterwards, make sure to talk about it and debrief. It’s important for young women starting out to know what their support network is and create one if you don’t have one.

Fidelity has great female representation on their Senior Executive Team, what kind of benefits have you seen come from this?

It’s not just gender diversity, it’s any kind of diversity, because diversity of people brings diversity of thought. It can be gender, age, ethnic background, experiences, etc. All those things create more awareness. It helps organizations demonstrate to other employees that everyone has a voice. It’s nice to not have a bunch of people that look or think the same. Our experiences getting us where we are might lead us to a conclusion in a different way, cause us to ask different questions or be more thoughtful.

Have you been on the board of an organization that wasn’t so gender-diverse? Did you notice any differences because of that?

I used to be on a not-for-profit board that was predominantly women and very few men. We had to take time to give the men a voice. It was about childcare, so the women were of course very passionate about it but still took a step back to include the men in the conversation. I think it was a good learning opportunity for them too. We didn’t have a lot of diversity from a racial or ethnic background and that was something important for me to address. We didn’t have enough representation of other groups, so that was something we spent a lot of time on: changing composition of the board to reflect the community.