Breaking Barriers: The Empowerment Blueprint with Clara Sierra

Join the movement of empowerment with "The Power of the Ask" podcast, where women are encouraged to embrace their voices. Hosted by Savvy Ladies Lisa Zeiderman and Precious Williams, this episode features an insightful conversation with Clara Sierra, a trailblazing figure in the financial industry.

Clara Sierra, a Dominican American working mom, shares her journey from humble beginnings to senior director of business development at Moody’s Analytics. Through her story, listeners will be inspired to break free from societal norms, embrace their authenticity, and build strong networks that elevate themselves and others.

The episode delves into the importance of networking, authenticity, and asking for what you’re worth in both personal and professional spheres. With practical advice and powerful insights, Clara encourages women of diverse backgrounds to step into their power and create meaningful change in their lives and communities.

Listeners are reminded that success is not a solo journey but a collective effort, and by lifting each other up and advocating for themselves, women can redefine the narrative and achieve their fullest potential. Join the movement of empowerment today and unleash the power of asking.

About Clara Sierra:
Clara Sierra is a seasoned leader with a distinguished career spanning executive management roles at renowned financial institutions. Known for her exceptional professional relationships, passion for sales and marketing, and commitment to achieving optimal results, Clara has left an indelible mark in the industry. As Senior Director, Industry Practice Lead for the Asset Management Segment at Moody’s Analytics, she spearheads C-Suite client conversations and drives strategic plans for sales and marketing, expanding the company's brand and sales efforts in the financial services sector. With prior roles at Amundi Pioneer, Sentinel Investments, and AIG Advisor Group, Clara brings extensive expertise in business development, strategic alliances, and advisory services, making her a trailblazer in her field.

Important Links:

Savvy Ladies
Lisa Zeiderman, Esq., CDFA, CFL - Forbes Business Council | LinkedIn
Precious L. Williams - Perfect Pitch Group | LinkedIn
Clara Sierra | LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:00 Tell Us About Yourself
• 6:13 Building Your Network
• 12:39 Connecting Diversity in the Financial Industry
• 17:59 What Do You Take the Most Pride In?
• 22:09 Impactful Change

Transcript

Lisa Zeiderman

(00:03):

Hey ladies, welcome to the Power of the Ask the podcast where we ditch the waiting and embrace the asking for what we truly deserve.

Precious Williams  (00:10):

That's right, Lisa. No more settling for crumbs. No more plans small and no more empty seats at the negotiating table. This is our space, our space to ask the right questions on every room and become the best version of ourselves.

Lisa Zeiderman (00:26):

We're your savvy Ladies Guides, Lisa Zeiderman, managing partner Miller Zeman, LLP and Chair of the Savvy Ladies Board.

Precious Williams (00:33):

And I'm Precious Williams, founder and CEO of the Perfect Pitch Group and proud member of the Savvy Ladies Board of Directors.

Lisa Zeiderman(00:40):

And we're here to empower you to unlock your full potential.

Precious Williams (00:43):

One powerful question at a time. Welcome to the Power of the Ask.

Lisa Zeiderman(00:51):

Welcome to the Power of the Ask. This is the podcast that helps you get what you want financially and personally. Welcome Precious Williams, my co-host for the Power of the Ask.

Precious Williams (01:07):

As you all know, every episode is going to be focused on a powerful woman who overcame the odds. So we only bring you the dopest, the most amazing women to share their stories and how the power of the ask really transformed their life Before our guest comes on. Lemme give you a little background on this queen. Lemme just give you a little background. Throughout a distinctive career earning her executive management positions in some of the world's largest financial services institutions, Clara Sierra has always stood apart for extraordinary professional relationships, her remarkable passion for sales and marketing, her unique personal background, and most of all for her unrelenting desire to achieve the best possible results for her employees, employers, and clients. As senior director business development for Moody's Analytics, Ms. Sierra leads the firm c-Suite. Y'all heard that c-Suite client conversations, a proven leader in strategic plans, sales and marketing. Ms. Sierra builds upon existing client relationships to expand Moody's Analytics brand and sales efforts within financial service yacht. You ever hear those names Moody? Did y'all hear that? Did y'all hear that? And so Queen Ms. Clara Sierra, please tell us more about yourself.

Clara Sierra(02:22):

Thank you so much, precious. I love that introduction. It's a pleasure to be with you and Lisa today. I am Clara Sierra. I'm a working mom. I am Dominican American. My parents came to this country to give their four kids a better life. And you will tell very quickly in this conversation, I am a middle child. There have been some dark parts in this career, but there've also been some amazing, spectacular parts of this career and I'm so happy to talk with both of you today. Thank you for putting this podcast together. I'm thrilled to be one of your guests.

Lisa Zedierman (02:59):

Thank you so much, Clara, and we're so excited to have you talk to us about the impact of how building relationships and extending your network has actually elevated you and helped you elevate others actually who are surrounding you.

Clara Sierra (03:18):

Lisa, a brilliant question. When I started in financial services on Wall Street, first of all, lemme take a step back again. Immigrant parents, born and raised in North New Jersey. They came to this country to give their children a better life. English was not my first language. I do have a jersey accent. You can tell that I do have a jersey accent. Born and raised in New Jersey, went to college, had no idea what I wanted to do. And by the luck of the draw, went to work for a company on Wall Street in customer service in my twenties as a good daughter, very strict parents, middle child. I didn't want any drama. I wanted to work very, very hard and earn a paycheck to help my family. But I quickly learned that keeping my nose to the grindstone, minding my P's and Q's was not going to get me to the levels that I dreamed about.

(04:17):

Success is not an individual sport. Let me say that one more time. You can be very successful carrying all of that all by yourself, but success is not an individual sport. So to your question, Lisa, it was incredibly, once I lifted up my head from my desk and looked around as folks, mostly men were networking, water cooler conversation, branding themselves, I realized that working hard was just one part of it. Working hard was just one very important part of it. You needed mentors, mentees, sponsors. You needed a community of allies and cheerleaders, and most importantly, you needed good people around you to go, Hey, hey, hey, you may think you're great but you're not. You're going down the wrong path. Hey, hey, hey, you're talking too much. You have two ears and one mouth. You need to listen more. It is critically important to have solid people around you and continue to build a network so that you know when you're going down the right path and do more of, or you're going down a dead end street and you need to turn around. It's critically important. Women, male men, young people, veterans to have a good community. You know that phrase, Lisa. It takes a village.

Lisa Zedierman (05:51):

I know it.

Clara Sierra(05:52):

It's not just about children, human beings. We're a species. We can't do it on our own forever. So I would say to everyone that's listening to this podcast, take a look at your network. It's like a garden, right? If you don't water it, if you don't talk to it, if you don't grow it, it's not going to grow back for you.

Lisa Zedierman(06:13):

Let me ask a question. How did you go about building that network? What steps did you take to

Clara Sierra(06:19):

Actually build it? I had a couple of starts and stops. I thought I'd be the life of the party and go to every cocktail reception and meet everyone and be a good time. Charlie, and no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's exhausting. And you're going to get branded the wrong way. There's that art and a science to building your network. We'll take the art second, we'll take the science first. You have to have way back. When I started, you had to have a very strong resume. Now, years later, you have to have a strong online presence, a brand that you're proud of, your LinkedIn page. If you don't have a LinkedIn page, before you get that interview, everyone's going to your LinkedIn page to see who you are. You want a strong three dimensional online presence, your work, your experience, but also how are you paying it forward?

(07:17):

What charity work? What else tells the story about you? When you are not there to tell the story about yourself, there's a science to that. That's number one. Number two, you want to be detailed oriented and organized. There's a science to building your brand. And then there's the art, right? There's the art. You want to be part of BRGs business resource groups within your own organization. You want to demonstrate value to your contact. So we all met at the Savvy Ladies Charity, and right after that, what did I do? I sent both of you thank you notes. And then after that, what did I do? I connected with both of you on LinkedIn, right? That's the mechanical science. But then the art is when something positive comes up for Precious on LinkedIn, I'm one of the first people commenting and giving you a thumbs up and a round of applause, right? When something comes up for you, Lisa, on LinkedIn, I'm doing the same thing. It is so incredibly important and guys do this naturally. I think women are more sheepish to go. I don't really want to talk about myself. I don't want to be braggadocious ladies and gentlemen who are listening to the podcast. It is an art and a science to grow your network and build your brand.

Precious Williams (08:46):

To everyone watching the Happy Ladies Power of the As Podcast with this queen right here. I hope you hear truth bombs. I hope you are hearing hot fire. That hashtag true tea because you are methodical in really showing the way. This isn't some pie in the sky type thing. And so Queen, what's coming up for me in hearing what you're saying with these practical tips is by your very presence in being in these spaces, your very presence, your very confidence, you're understanding the art and science with community building and networking, what is your secret sauce in your opinion on yourself? What is your secret sauce? By you showing up, by you being there, by you being selected, what was your secret sauce that got you selected? And how does that help you?

Clara Sierra (09:40)

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I really wanted to help others. You said something before pie in the sky. Early on, I had no blueprint. I had no math. So I thought it was pie in the sky. I thought it was, if I'm the loudest, I'll be taken seriously. If I'm the flashiest, I'll get the best jobs or the best projects. There was no roadmap for me and no one looked like me. So my mistakes taught me more than my successes. And what is the secret sauce? What is the superpower?

(10:17):

I am very curious, and maybe that came from because I was a middle child. Who knows? That's a different podcast on unpacking my childhood traumas. That's a different podcast. And I didn't have traumas. I love my family. My family's been amazing. But as a middle child, I was very curious why, how? And while society globally tries to stuff that or erase that for women, you want to be seen and not heard. Silence is gracefulness. My secret sauce is that I was always curious. And while there were many, many times that I lost that curiosity, I remembered how much I enjoyed it. I remembered I much I enjoyed to learn and be curious. That's part of the secret sauce, the other part of the secret sauce. And you said truth bombs. I want everybody to lean in. When I say the second thing, empathy. Empathy is my secret sauce. But that's not a bumper sticker. And I'm going to unpack that statement. Anyone who has suffered injustices, microaggressions, macroaggressions, not having a seat at the table, being embarrassed, being talked over, that's trauma, that's painful. But you learn from that, right? And you don't throw in the towel. And the byproduct of that is empathy.

(11:59):

My secret sauce, my superpower is being curious and being empathetic. If I've walked through this career that I'm very proud of and all of the flames and all of the broken glass and all of the tears in the bathroom at work not in front of anyone. If I've been able to survive that, then it is my responsibility to lift while I climb. Clear a path for every man and woman who are coming up behind me so that they suffer less. That's my secret sauce. That's my secret sauce. I'm curious and I'm empathetic.

Lisa Zedierman (12:39):

So Clara, you talked about a few things. You talked about lifting while you climb. You talked about charity work and how it is part of someone's makeup essentially. And I think that's so important because I think the charities and the help that you give to other people and this empathetic approach to life is so important because it also shows who you are as a person and how people can connect with you. How do you connect in the financial industry? And you're definitely knee deep in this financial industry. How do you connect with other women of diverse backgrounds? You're Dominican American, you are a woman who has really made an impact. How do you move up women in other communities to give them actually that push forward?

Clara Sierra (13:30):

Yeah, thank you for asking that question. It is so important. All boats rise when the tide is coming in and you have 20 boats, right? It's not just one boat that's rising. All boats are rising, right? I'm a cheerleader as precious. And Lisa, you are. I'm a cheerleader of success. I want the queens to win. Now, I will say, I don't want this to be vaporware. When I started out, I thought I had to be. At first, I thought I had to assimilate, be quiet and blend in. Precious. Do you think I can blend in? No, not at all. And I love it. And when that wasn't working, I thought I had to be a maverick. And then when that wasn't working, I found my voice. I built my community. And then I found great joy watching other women be successful as well. So Lisa, you asked the question, how do I do it?

(14:30):

I make space. I make space, and I am the one. If I go into a meeting and it's all men, I go, I'm sorry. Did someone not get a memo or did someone not send out the memo? I call it out. I call it out. And I also am very inviting to other women in other areas of the financial services industry to come watch me do what I do and make it a safe space for them in the hopes that they invite me to go watch what they do I want. I also very tactically speaking in my role of business development, of relationship management, of sales, I bring together competitors. There's no shame in that game. There's no shame in that. I want all of us to get better. I am not a hoarder of success. I may be a hoarder of books, but I am not a hoarder of success.

(15:34):

What good is that going to do me? I'm not learning from my own preaching. I'm learning from listening to you, Lisa, and from listening to you, precious, right? So how am I doing it? I do it every single day. If I hear a great sales idea, I'm sending that out to a bunch of industry colleagues. If an industry colleague sent me a great news item on their success, I'm sending that out to a bunch of people. I am the epitome of hype because I learned that being silent wasn't fun and wasn't getting me to the level of success that I dreamed of for myself. And I'm going to say that one more time. We're all in college. We go to grad school and we're dreaming about success. We're dreaming about our dream life, and it's natural to think that we have to crawl and just grab and scrape and get beat up all by ourselves. But I'm telling you that Felix and Clara's daughter, the middle child, born in Newark, New Jersey, was not going to get to this level of her career all by herself, even though she thought she would. She thought she would, and she could, but not by myself.

Precious Williams(17:04):

Lady ladies, are you ready to take control of your future? Do you dream of financial stability, freedom, and a life that truly deserves you?

Speaker 1 (17:13):

For over 20 years, savvy Ladies has empowered women from all walks of life to make smart financial choices achieve our goals and build a brighter future.

Precious Williams (17:24):

We build savvy ladies as a community of women supporting women. We offer free financial educational programs, a trusted helpline and guidance and advice from America's top financial professionals.

Lisa Zedierman (17:36):

You can access the financial helpline@savvyladies.org or where you get your apps under Savvy Ladies. Savvy Ladies equips you with the knowledge, confidence, and support you need to thrive. So don't wait. Join Savvy ladies today and start building your financial confidence and wellbeing. Now,

Precious Williams  (17:59):

What do you take most pride in? 

Clara Sierra:

Oh, the first natural answer that comes right to my heart and out my mouth is my family, my ancestors, my mom and dad as young people to want to give their kids a better life. I'm so proud of my children. I'm so proud of all of the women that have moved me forward. It's not just me, right? I stand on the shoulders of greatness and the women and the men who had grace to go, she belongs. And I'm also proud of the fact that over time and over my career that I truly understand the value of paying it forward, of making space. I'm so proud that the arrogant 20-year-old got knocked around, cried her heart out and learned from that instead of becoming a victim, right? We learn more from our mistakes than we learn from our successes. But life is hard and it's so easy to go. The world is against me and the man is against me and no other woman wants me to succeed. But I learned to mature through that and be here with you guys today to share my story. Very proud of that. Very proud of that.

Lisa Zedierman (19:33):

Great. And you have so much to be proud of, Clara. You really do. So, okay, I know that Monday is a tough day for me every Monday. So I'm going to ask you on Monday, what motivates you on Mondays to get up and start that week each week?

Clara Sierra: (19:53):

What a great question, and I applaud you guys for thinking of that question. I don't want to be funny. I don't want to be funny, but it's going to sound funny. Bills have to be paid, food has to be put on the table, lights have to be turned on. So I think the first motivator is the work's got to get done. What was Elvis's statement? Taking care of business gets me out of bed. That's number one. Number two, I'm very spiritual and I'm very grateful. And there's another statement, not that I walk around with all these statements and all these bumper stickers, but I do live them to whom much is given, much is expected. And the other thing that motivates me is I want the future generations of children that I touch to be proud and to be unafraid and to be creative and fearless.

(21:02):

So that motivates me. On a Monday morning, our listeners are going to be like, damn, I don't think about that. I think about brushing my teeth on a Monday morning, but what gets me out of bed, responsibilities, gratitude. And there's a statement that goes, if you can see it, you can be it. And I want every person that sees me, who looks like me to go, wow, if she's doing it, then I can do it. And your listeners might be saying, what is she? Does she think she's Mother Teresa? She's a girl from Jersey? What is this about? But I truly believe that had I seeing someone or heard someone that looked like me early on in my career, what else would I have done? Wow. What else could I have been? And so that's what motivates me. That's what gets me out of bed.

Precious Williams (22:09):

I feel you've given a whole masterclass on purposely creating lasting impact and change for our watchers and our listeners. What are a couple of questions they can ask themselves to make sure that as they succeed, what can they be doing to create impactful change?

Clara Sierra: (22:38)

Ask yourself, are other people's definitions of you overwhelming you? Are you giving credence? Be honest. Do you care way too much about what other people think? Now there's a balance. There's a balance and there's a norm. You can't go to work in a professional setting, in a bathing suit. There's a balance and there's a norm. There are rules to the gate. If you're a football player, you have to wear a helmet. If you're in business, you want to have a professional positive image. Okay? But are you overwhelmed by what everybody thinks? Ask yourself that question because other people's definitions of you definit, do not define who you are. That's number one. Ask yourself, are you worried so much about what other people think of you? That's number one. The second question I would want you to ask yourself, player, are you playing? Are you faking it until you make it? Because that is not sustainable. If you are dreaming of the big, yet the big client, it's not the grand slam home runs that are going to make you successful. Those are nice, those are really nice, but it's the singles and the doubles. Are you truly honest with yourself that you are committing to your craft and you are committing to your career separately?

(24:28):

Have I done enough? Have I done enough to make myself better? I'm not saying, are you enough because you, have you done enough for your brand, your career, your life? And you know the truth? You don't have to answer, you don't have to tell us. But in those quiet moments, you always know the truth. Those are the questions that I would love for everyone to ask themselves. So

Speaker 3 (25:01):

I'm going to ask you as a woman, and particularly as a Dominican American woman, what do you think are the most important qualities that women of diversity should be looking for to build a network and to extend outside of their own group and their own comfort zone? What should they be looking to do

Speaker 5 (25:28):

First and foremost, as an Afro-Latina, as a bilingual woman, as a working mother, I don't look like most, we don't look like most stop handicapping yourself. I had a mentor say to me, Clara, he was of Hawaiian descent, a beautiful Hawaiian man with olive skin color. Beautiful man. And he said to me, Clara, we are different. We are memorable. Use that to your advantage. It's not an egotistical braggadocious thing, but there's no shame in diversity. Use it. People will remember us. So to your question, Lisa, what should women do? First of all, I know going to the podcast is the power to ask, but stop handicapping yourself because you have some perceived image that society continues to push on you that you should conform. There are rules, like I said before, if you're going to play football, you need a helmet. If you're going to be professional, you're not going to come in a bathing suit, right? But stop handicapping yourself and lean into your authenticity and bring your realness to building networks. You have a value and a story that the three of us want to hear about. Everyone else wants to hear about it as well. And when you share your authentic self, folks are going to share their authentic self with you, and you are going to collaborate and build and be successful together.

Lisa Zedierman (27:14):

Love that. I think being your authentic self is what it's really all about, and I think that I try to bring that all the time to the table. I can't be someone else, frankly, too old to do that,

Clara Sierra (27:28):

Right? Also, I've had other discussions with folks. When I say, be your authentic self, people want to riff and go off into like crazy land, and I have to come back and go, hold on a minute, hold on a minute. If you're going to be a doctor, you have to have a medical license. There are norms that we have to follow, and if you want to be successful, you know the work. There are humans out there that ask for things that they have not earned because they don't have the medical license, right? There are people out there, but that's not the long game because time will catch up to those people. You have to do the work. You have to do the work on your craft and on yourself.

Precious Williams(28:18):

I used to be a 20 some year old who thought I knew everything. It's funny, when the right people come to school you and tell you, you don't have to be the loudest to be the most powerful. Sit back and observe sometimes, and people see that your quietness will bring people to you because they're expecting you to act a certain way, and when you don't, not, they intrigued. Now they want to know the mystery

Clara Sierra (28:47):

Preach.

Precious Williams  (28:47):

And so when I tell you, queen Sierra, thank you. Thank you for what you brought, but here is my thing. Why is the power of the ask so important to women, especially financially, and why is it so critical?

Clara Sierra(29:06):

It is Precious. I mean, mic drop with this question. I was so excited to be on this podcast. To answer that specific question, I'm going to go back to something I said earlier. Society globally has created this environment and narrative that women are more graceful, silent, and in the back burner, financially speaking, society and corporations have created an environment where you should not be talking about compensation, and you should not ask another person about compensation. You have the next generation. They're breaking those norms. You have young people in their twenties going, how much does the job pay? Right out of the gate in the interview and saying, this is the reins that I'm looking for. We must learn from the next generation. We will not and should never suffer in silence across the spectrum of our lives, and that includes finances and compensation. We must speak up because the society that we've grown up in, the norms that we've grown up in have confused our circuit breakers that I should never ask. I was in an interview one time,

(30:33):

Interview was going phenomenal, and we were talking about charity work, and we were talking about all the things that I love, and the interviewer shared the compensation. I said, oh, oh, no, no, no, no, no. My range is X. And in a passive aggressive way. He said, wow, we were just talking about the underprivileged and that's your range. And I was stunned, hurt and stunned, and I said, I'm sorry. The value of my work and contribution is priced at this. I'm sorry that you're confused by the conversation of charity and philanthropic work and want to bring the two things together. But I will tell you, I sweated through that statement. I was mortified that he tried to shame me on what my work was valued, and I was trembling inside that I spoke up for myself, and I will share this with your audience. You must speak up and not suffer in silence and not let anyone shame you for speaking about the economics, about your worth, about your value, because we've been conditioned not to take a page out of the Young People's book and all of the 20 year olds that are coming up going, no, I'm not taking that job because that's not the compensation I want.

Lisa Zedierman (32:15):

Fabulous. Clara Sierra, you are an amazing woman. You are a role model. I am so blessed to have met you, and I'm going to say that we are so happy. I'm going to speak for Precious and myself. So happy that you joined us for what is our second podcast, and we would love to have you back again to continue our conversation.

Clara Sierra (32:43):

Ladies, it is an honor and a privilege to be part of the Savvy Ladies ecosystem and honor and a privilege to be part of this podcast. You had me at. Hello. Anytime you want me back, I will race into your arms. It's been a pleasure and congratulations to both of you for just leading the way for me and so many others. Congratulations. It's been an honor. It's really been an honor.

Precious Willaims(33:12):

Thank you. Thanks for joining us on this episode of The Power of the Ask. Ladies,

Lisa Zedierman  (33:21):

Remember, the power is in your hands. Don't be afraid to ask those tough questions, advocate for yourself, and go after your dreams.

Precious Williams (33:29):

We'll be back next month with more tips, motivation, and inspiration. Until then, go out there and own your power,

Lisa Zedierman (33:39):

And don't forget to review and subscribe to Spread the Love with #PoweroftheAsk.