Episode 178: Striving for Greatness with Ares Management’s Indhira Arrington

What does career success look like? That can be a difficult question to answer if you haven’t stepped back to understand how to actually measure your success. Or understand what success looks like in the environment or organization to which you currently belong.

Our guest, Indhira Arrington, Managing Director and Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Ares Management, shares with us the three critical things she identified to be present in all the successful people she encountered. Indhira describes success as a 3-legged stool. The first leg is all about honing your talent. The second is refining your executive presence and the third comes as a result of the other two legs – gaining sponsorship from senior leaders.

In her role at Ares, Indhira partners with the firm's DEI Council to advance Ares' strategy to attract, develop, engage and advance diverse talent within an inclusive, welcoming environment, along with advancing equity in the broader alternative asset management industry. She also serves as an advisor to support DEI initiatives at portfolio companies across Ares' investment strategies.

In this episode, Indhira also shares her methodology for success, how to refine your executive presence, and why it’s important to cultivate your personal group of advocates and sponsors.

Visit https://www.iambeyondbarriers.com where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with Indhira.

 

Highlights:

[02:52] Indhira’s journey

[10:56] Indhira’s methodology for success

[15:01] Staying ahead of the curve

[20:37] Managing your manager

[28:23] How to gain sponsorship

[30:35] The art of self-promotion

[35:22] Cultivating your group of advocates

[40:17] Always be in the service of others

 

Quotes:

“I truly believe in the saying, ‘Good is the enemy of great.’ I don't want things to just be good enough. It’s helpful in some scenarios but good enough can also hurt you and others.” – Indhira Arrington

“Success is like a 3-legged stool. The first leg is all about honing your talent. The second is refining your executive presence and the third comes as a result of the other two legs – gaining sponsorship from senior leaders.” - Indhira Arrington

“Sponsorship is what's going to make a differential impact in your ability to move up within organizations.” – Indhira Arrington

“It’s important to understand how your role impacts the broader strategy because once you know that you can start to expand that impact.” – Indhira Arrington

“When you approach everything with the mindset of ‘how can you be in service to others’, the universe ensures that everything comes back two-fold for you.” - Indhira Arrington

About Indhira Arrington:

Mrs. Arrington is a Managing Director and Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ("DEI") Officer in the Ares Human Resources Department, and partners with the firm's DEI Council to advance Ares' strategy to attract, develop, engage and advance diverse talent within an inclusive, welcoming environment, along with advance equity in the broader alternative asset management industry. Mrs. Arrington also serves as an advisor to support DEI initiatives at portfolio companies across Ares' investment strategies. Prior to joining Ares in 2021, Mrs. Arrington served as a Senior Vice President and Head of Targeted Sourcing at Wells Fargo & Company, where she provided leadership in the strategic planning and execution of diversity sourcing initiatives and programs for the firm. Previously, Mrs. Arrington held several senior roles at The Bank of America Corporation within the Global Diversity and Inclusion Organization. In addition, she was an Equity Derivatives Sales Trader at Morgan Stanley. Mrs. Arrington began her career as a Financial Analyst at CIT Group. She serves on the Board of Directors of Poly Prep, the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families and the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP). Mrs. Arrington holds a B.A., summa cum laude, from Rutgers University in Economics and an M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business. Mrs. Arrington is a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow, a Toigo Fellow and an INROADS alum. She is a Cornell University Certified Diversity Professional/Advanced Practitioner (CCDP/AP) and a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Beta Kappa, Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), PRIMER Network and the Council of Urban Professionals.

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indhiraarrington/