Increasing Inclusiveness in the C-Suite

A Q&A with Tenshey founder, Maggie Chan Jones

Maggie Chan Jones found success throughout her corporate career, eventually becoming the first female Chief Marketing Officer of SAP. However, she noted how rare it was for women and people of color to be in such positions. She started Tenshey (Japanese for "angel") to change all that. Maggie's goal, and Tenshey’s mission, is to

"achieve equality and inclusion in the workplace" by giving underrepresented minority leaders the tools they need to move into top management positions.

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You had an incredibly successful career in the corporate world before starting Tenshey. What made you decide to leave and start your own business?

In my book Decoding Sponsorship, I talk about the anchoring of three core focuses throughout my professional life: 1) professional aspirations, 2) financial goals, and 3) personal purpose. Imagine them in a Venn Diagram where the three focuses are overlapping and are not independent of each other. During the first 20 years of my career, I focused primarily on reaching my professional aspirations and financial goals. Once those goals were achieved, I wanted to put my personal purpose as my lead focus, which is to help more women and underrepresented minority leaders accelerate their career growth. That was the motivation behind starting my company Tenshey.

What has been the most challenging aspect of starting Tenshey? The most rewarding? 

My corporate career spanned Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft and SAP, where I led very large-scale initiatives. Going from that to starting a company on my own and wearing all the hats has been the most challenging. The most rewarding aspect has been seeing the direct impact that we’ve made on the careers and lives of so many people. We’ve witnessed many women and underrepresented diverse talent step into their power and accelerate their career growth. We’ve seen 60% of the women in our sponsorship programs get promoted or tapped for expanded roles within a 10-month period. This proves that in addition to working hard, having a sponsor to open doors and create opportunities for visibility for you is crucial to career growth.

How did the idea for your book Decoding Sponsorship come about? 

One of the questions I’m most often asked is how I got to the C-suite, especially in the predominantly male-dominated tech world. I’ve noticed that the framework, practice, and mindset that we deploy at Tenshey, especially as it relates to sponsorship, has been especially beneficial for women and underrepresented diverse talent in the workplace. Writing this book was my way of making a broader impact and paying it forward.

Why do you think there still seems to be some type of glass ceiling once women reach a certain point in their careers, particularly women of color? 

Since McKinsey and LeanIn.org started the Women in the Workplace study seven years ago, the report shed light on how women have been chipped away at every step of the leadership pipeline. Only 24% of C-Suite leaders are women, of which a mere 4% are women of color. This is why Tenshey focuses on sponsorship. We want to increase inclusiveness at an organizational level. I believe sponsorship from higher-level leaders, combined with strong development and a support system, can help increase the number of women in leadership and fostering inclusive culture.

How can an executive coach help someone? And at what point in your career should you consider finding one?

Whenever we work with clients, we often hear them share that they wished they had an executive coach earlier in their careers. In fact, many people often confuse the differences between a coach, mentor, and sponsor. An executive coach is someone who acts as your thought partner, helps you unlock your potential, and helps remove any internal interference (i.e. “I don’t meet 100% of the qualifications and therefore, I shouldn’t apply for that job.”) More practically, you should consider finding an executive coach at the mid-to-senior career levels or when you’ve reached an inflection point like considering a big promotion or transitioning career paths.

Do you think being an Asian woman affected your career in any way? Positive or negative?

Being an Asian woman has affected my career in many ways. I’m very proud to be a Chinese-American woman who is also an immigrant. Culturally, we grew up in a shared community culture, valuing a strong work ethic and “peace” (和). Therefore, working hard and building strong collaboration with others are natural strengths. The negatives may stem from some of our cultural norms, like being less likely to challenge authority, speak up, or advocate for yourself because we don’t want to brag or show off our accomplishments. The important part is to recognize these signs so you can take action accordingly. In my book, I shared some of my leadership hacks to combat the negatives.

Is there one mistake that women seem to make when trying to reach the executive level? 

The most common thing I see is that women tend to be less likely to go for roles when until they are 90-100% qualified, whereas men, in comparison, will go for roles when they are 60-70% qualified. That means women are more likely to potentially miss out on “big” opportunities.

Is it possible to maintain a work-life balance and still reach the C-suite? 

I don’t look at it as work-life balance but more as work-life integration, which is very possible. There are a few things that you can do:

Crystalize your Career North Star and road map. Ask yourself, “Where do you want to go professionally and what are the steps to get there?”

Build a strong support system because you can’t do it all, by yourself.

Commit to prioritizing what’s important to you and set boundaries.

What is a favorite childhood memory that you think shaped who you are today?

My childhood memories are full of strong women: my widowed grandmother, my single mom, and my aunts. In my eyes, there wasn’t anything that they couldn’t do.

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