Carla Harris, a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley and a powerhouse in the finance industry, shares invaluable insights from her 35-year career. She discusses the importance of authentic self-presentation and taking calculated risks in navigating your career. Carla also delves into diversity initiatives in asset management and emphasizes the power of storytelling in leadership. Listeners are treated to personal anecdotes and "Carla’s Pearls" that inspire resilience and drive, making it a treasure trove of career wisdom.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Carla's Upbringing and Education
Carla Harris grew up in Jacksonville, Florida with strict parents who encouraged excellence.
Despite initial aspirations to attend UCLA, she ended up at Harvard, working three jobs to afford it and graduating magna cum laude.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Path to Wall Street
Carla Harris's career path shifted towards Wall Street after a summer internship with SEO, where she discovered her passion for business.
The lack of diversity further motivated her to pursue a career in investment banking.
insights INSIGHT
Early Career Insights
Early career lessons taught Carla Harris the importance of perception management and relationship building.
Success isn't solely about hard work, but understanding the nuances of workplace dynamics.
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In 'Lead to Win', Carla A. Harris explores the journey from individual contributor to leader, emphasizing skills like risk-taking, vision creation, and leveraging relationships. The book highlights eight key qualities—authenticity, trust, creating leaders, clarity, diversity, innovation, inclusivity, and voice—that are crucial for effective leadership. Harris also discusses traits of transformational leadership, addressing gaps that can impede leadership effectiveness.
Strategize to Win
Carla Harris
Strategize to Win provides readers with practical advice on navigating their careers effectively. It offers strategies for identifying work profiles, preparing for career changes, and developing essential skills. The book emphasizes the importance of authenticity, goal-setting, networking, and continuous learning in achieving career success.
Carla Harris is a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, the most recent of many posts in her 35-year career at the firm that included serving as Vice Chairman of Wealth Management, heading the Emerging Manager platform, and running deals for decades as an investment banker and capital markets professional. She is the author of three books about navigating careers and leadership, Expect to Win, Strategize to Win, and the upcoming Lead to Win, each of which contains lessons she dubs “Carla’s Pearls.” In the last few years, Carla added Board seats to her professional portfolio and currently serves on a host of Boards including SEO, Harvard University, Walmart, and MetLife. She’s also an accomplished gospel singer who has sold out shows in Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theatre. Our conversation offers Carla’s pearls of wisdom in navigating a career from her earliest days on the Street. We cover her background, path to Wall Street, framing a personal narrative, learning what’s important to an organization, being authentic, taking career risks, and evolving multicultural opportunities in asset management. We then turn to lessons from Carla’s new book, from sitting in the Boardroom, and from a letter to her 25-year-old self. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership Show Notes
(3:38) Carla’s background (10:56) Early career lessons (12:51) Expecting to win (15:16) Adjectives of success (19:11) Learning from relationships (22:21) Being yourself (27:41) Client dynamics in banking (30:28) Engaging with ESG trends (33:32) “Pearls” from Carla’s book (35:21) Creating trust and leaders (38:47) Experiences from the boardroom (41:06) Growing communication abilities (41:55) Closing questions
Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry 
