Women Of The C-Suite: Darlene Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation President and Head of Philanthropy & Community Impact on The Five Things You Need to Succeed As A Senior Executive
…Be an inclusive leader. The most successful leaders I know practice inclusive leadership — they’re active listeners, they demonstrate empathy for others, and they go out of their way to elevate underrepresented viewpoints…
As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Darlene Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation President and Head of Philanthropy & Community Impact at Wells Fargo
Darlene Goins is the president of the Wells Fargo Foundation and head of Philanthropy and Community Impact at Wells Fargo. With more than 30 years in the financial sector, she is responsible for the company’s philanthropic strategy in housing access and affordability, financial health, small business growth, and sustainability.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My father, Reverend Robert Smith, was the first African American minister to serve as district superintendent for the San Diego district of the United Methodist Church. Nearly every Sunday, I would accompany him to one of the approximately 60 churches under his jurisdiction, experiencing socio-economic differences between the communities we visited. But our travels didn’t prepare me for what was next. In 1984, my father was chosen to pastor St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Harlem, New York. The coast-to-coast move totaled 2,822 miles, but the distance between what I knew in Southern California and what I’d learn in Harlem was vast.
I grew up in Southern California in areas that lacked diversity. That wasn’t the case when I moved to Harlem in the 1980s. There were dilapidated buildings, and people of all backgrounds in my father’s congregation who were struggling on a number of fronts. That experience left a mark on me as a teenager. I think that’s when it started to click that helping people was my calling. It set me on a career path focused on how I can use data and experiences to help people and businesses make better decisions.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading the Wells Fargo Foundation?
One of the most impactful experiences I have had in this new role was my visit to Indian Country. I had an opportunity to visit Navajo Nation and meet with President Buu Nygren, participate in a roundtable discussion with many Native-led nonprofits working to improve the financial health of Native Americans, and attend a homeownership ceremony on the Laguna Pueblo. Hearing firsthand about the barriers to economic advancement facing tribal communities and then witnessing and celebrating the joy and optimism of the new homeowner, knowing the challenges she and her family had to overcome to achieve homeownership, was life-changing for me.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes, Subriana Pierce was a mentor of mine about a decade ago and her advice really helped get me to where I am today. She said, “Don’t be afraid to say yes to the next opportunity or take risks in your career.” I recall when an executive at a former employer came to me and asked me to take on a new challenging assignment. He said, if we can pull this off, this could be so game changing that it could take you to the White House. Our organization had attempted the work in the past and failed — twice. I was extremely hesitant to take the assignment given the past failures, but Subriana encouraged me to take the risk and say yes. I did, approached the initiative differently, and within six weeks presented to the CEO earning a green light to go make it happen. Taking that risk and saying yes led to FICO® Score Open Access, which gained recognition from the Obama Administration. I had the honor of meeting President Obama at an executive order signing two years after that initial ask. That assignment truly changed the trajectory of my career.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
Within four weeks of being named head of Diverse Customer Segments and the Banking Inclusion Initiative for Consumer, Small and Business Banking at Wells Fargo, I was presented with the opportunity to serve as head of Philanthropy and Community Impact and president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. Both were incredible opportunities for me to sit at the intersection of business impact and social impact, something that is critically important to me at this stage in my career. As the leader of Diverse Customer Segments, meeting the needs of and growing our diverse customers was both essential to our business and will lead to a more inclusive economy for diverse consumers and small businesses. As the leader of the Wells Fargo Foundation, leveraging philanthropic and volunteer resources to catalyze innovation and transformational change for communities can also lead to a more inclusive economy. Choosing which path to take with my career was a difficult one. While I miss my colleagues in that line of business, rejoining the Foundation was like coming home.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
Most people picture a senior executive as the top decisionmaker, but there’s so much more to the job. In my role leading the Wells Fargo Foundation, setting a clear, intentional giving strategy, articulating expectations for our work and community impact, mitigating risk and most importantly, empowering my team to succeed are at the heart of what I do every day.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?
One myth is that we have all the answers. In reality, the job is more about asking the right questions, inspiring your team, and making decisions supported by data, diverse perspectives, and the people and communities you serve. For example, I oversee roughly $300 million in philanthropic giving annually through grants issued to nonprofits. This responsibility requires intentional collaboration — engaging the community and nonprofit partners, requesting input from stakeholders involved, seeking counsel from my team and looking at data to determine whether our priorities align.
Another misconception is that the executive role is glamorous when, in fact, that leader has to be able to evaluate complex risks, handle constant pressure, and make tough, sometimes unpopular decisions. But despite the many challenges, people are drawn to these senior leadership roles because the impact is rewarding. We have the unique opportunity to shape strategic direction, use our influence to give voice to overlooked people or ideas, and leave a lasting impact on employees and communities.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Although there’s been some progress in recent years, women executives often face more pressure to prove their competence in a way that male executives traditionally have not. In my experience, this performance expectation is even more pronounced for women of color. What I have learned is that it’s important to build a track record of results and demonstrate your leadership value early on. I have also found that framing ideas with data wins over skeptics. Because as I always say, you can’t argue with data.
Too many women also deal with imposter syndrome, doubting their capabilities and competencies to take on and succeed at more senior roles. This especially creeps in for women of color who are often “the only” in the room. Early wins help transform that self-doubt into self-confidence. One of my go-to sayings is an African proverb “Where a woman rules, streams run uphill.” Women have a way of making the impossible possible, and we need to cast aside that imposter syndrome and believe in ourselves.
Lastly, women need more sponsors, advocating for them and their career advancement when they aren’t in the room.
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
Perhaps the biggest difference is how much of the role is about people rather than strategy alone. Going in, many executives think their job is about strategizing and planning, but so much of it involves effectively managing relationships. Whether it’s building trust with teams, navigating complex employee issues, or listening to stakeholders, I believe the success of any strategy is contingent on how well you engage and motivate the people behind it.
Is everyone cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
Building resilience, adaptability, and a high tolerance for ambiguity are all critical steps for succeeding in an executive role. Many of the decisions you’ll be faced with require you to be decisive, calm under pressure, and comfortable taking calculated risks. Someone who struggles with indecision, is afraid of failure or expects immediate feedback will quickly find themselves feeling overwhelmed.
What are your “5 Things You Need to Succeed as A Senior Executive” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Establish credibility early. Be intentional about building a track record of success that speaks for itself. The benefit of this is you’ll demonstrate expertise in your field and boost your confidence.
2. Seek out allies, mentors and sponsors. Find people who are willing to share their knowledge, open doors of opportunity, and advocate on your behalf even when you are not in the room.
3. Get comfortable with data. To reach senior levels, operating with data is a must. Your gut and experience can play a role in your decision-making, but making informed choices based on tangible data is part of the ethos of a successful executive.
4. Embrace calculated risks. Being able to calibrate risk is critical for leading an organization. Take time to build your risk-taking muscle over time, including through lessons learned when the outcome isn’t as predicted.
5. Be an inclusive leader. The most successful leaders I know practice inclusive leadership — they’re active listeners, they demonstrate empathy for others, and they go out of their way to elevate underrepresented viewpoints.
Thank you for these great insights!
Women Of The C-Suite: Darlene Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation President and Head of Philanthropy &… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.