By Ling-Ling Nie
Ling-Ling.Nie@us.panasonic.com
It’s no secret that I have a special condition that enhances my skills as a compliance professional. It’s called Middle Child Syndrome. And if you’re like me, we’ve had it since the day we were born. Fortunately, we’re in good company. Over half of the U.S. Presidents were middle children, in addition to many notable people, like Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, and (my personal favorite) Jan Brady.
It’s widely believed that birth order can significantly shape how people interact with others, and I’ve found this to be particularly true in the compliance profession. Convincing management to provide sufficient funding for program activities and resources requires adept persuasion and negotiation skills. These are communication tools that all middle children learn to master as they manipulate…ahem, I mean mediate, disputes between their siblings and secure their position as the empathetic family member who can successfully resolve problems and think outside of the box.
Compliance professionals also share the challenge of demonstrating to all levels of employees the many benefits of complying with the law and company policies. This task calls for flexible communication styles, innovative outreach strategies, and an approachable and cooperative demeanor—talents that are consistently found in middle children who often receive less attention from their parents and must employ creative ways for their voices to be heard.
And contrary to popular belief, the most effective compliance professionals are those who add value to the business by helping it take more risks, but in an environment protected by appropriate controls. Middle children are well-suited to perform in this role as they have learned to fulfill the demands of the siblings who sandwich them by understanding their various view points and establishing a common ground.
Don’t get me wrong. There are a plethora of successful compliance professionals who are first-borns or last-borns. Some of you are reading this blog post right now! I’ve just come to realize that being a middle child has blessed me with so much more than wearing my big sister’s hand-me-downs and hours playing Scrabble—by myself. We middle-children have had to blaze our own trails to distinguish ourselves amongst our siblings, and that journey has cultivated the valuable skills needed to be an effective member of our corporate families. Take that, Marcia Brady!
[clickToTweet tweet=”In the Middle of Compliance” quote=”In the Middle of Compliance” theme=”style3″]
Nice post! 100% on point! This is one reason the CCO is the hardest job on the corporate landscape! Now with #Compliance2.0, the focus is on collaboration,not subordination(To Legal). Untethered from Legal, the next gen of Compliance will be positioned to succeed!!
Thanks!
Couldn’t agree more about being untethered to Legal. This gives Compliance a lot more opportunity to offer practical, but compliant solutions to front-line leaders. They appreciate that.
Thanks!
Good post. You nicely tied in the importance of using one’s communication and negotiation talents most effectively to foster collaboration, understanding, and cooperation in the compliance field as a way to combat typically negative or resistant responses to suggestions on how to improve compliance and mitigate risks for the business. As a first- born, I have to admit the middle child does possess certain “charms” and tenaciousness that benefit them well.
Comments are closed.