August Member Spotlight

Kim Shaw Elliott

What 3 pieces of advice would you give women in this industry?

Remember the Golden Rule. Being cheerful and polite is a choice, as is assuming the best in others. No good comes from absorbing another’s negativity and making it your own. Poor results have followed the times I have forgotten this.

Never burn any bridges. All bridges cross to a place to which you may wish to travel in the future.

Commit to life-long learning. As recent events make apparent, those who cannot be flexible or who fail to improve their skills and knowledge cannot excel.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

I established a new line of business for a large life insurance company while also enrolled in a full-time Executive MBA program, with a Kindergartner at home. Having first been trained as a lawyer, I felt that I was missing the quantitative drivers behind the decisions executives make. That education opened a huge window of insight. I developed a sense for what requires further exploration, and the confidence to require that non-legal professionals like accountants and finance managers explain their conclusions in words that are not mystical but in terms I can understand.

What has been your greatest professional challenge?

Forty-plus years after graduation from law school, I passed the Florida bar in February. At the beginning of my studies, I thought, “I have been a good lawyer, have already passed two other bar exams, how hard can this be?” Studying was grueling and left me with great admiration for the new graduates who do so well with little real-life experience to guide them. While I believe my experience has earned me some wisdom, I am reminded that all professionals, at all levels, have intellectual capital that brings value. See above, commit to life-long learning.

A working group within the Senior Issues/Diminished Capacity Committee of the North America Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) published findings in connection with its research on issues of diminished capacity and cognitive impairment among financial professionals. SWIFS Member Joelle Simms discusses these findings in her recent article.