Lorraine R. Salvo, CFP®, CDFA®
Managing Director, Private Wealth Management & Head of Financial Planning
Palisade Capital Management, LP

Women and men tend to lead differently. What are some valuable traits we can learn from each gender?

The majority of men I worked with in my earlier working years were inherently more confident in their abilities and ideas than I was.  It took me well into my thirties and forties to feel comfortable enough in my own skin to speak up at meetings, lead presentations, and take a stance – even if others had differing opinions.

Women are generally more empathetic and self-critical. I have definitely gotten in my own way far too frequently. Accepting and sharing my authentic self, as I continue to learn and improve upon myself (flaws and all), has allowed me to connect with colleagues and clients in a very real and vulnerable way that helps to strengthen relationships and trust.

What valuable career lesson or lessons would you like to share with others?

It’s ok to pivot, pause, or take a U-turn: My family really sacrificed to send me to college so I was under a lot of pressure to do well in school and get a job right away so I could begin paying back my student loans. I found that job, but it was not in the field I ultimately fell in love with. After a few years feeling like I was treading water, I took a risk and made a lateral move that ended up placing me on the trajectory in wealth management which led to where I am today. In college, I wasn’t a finance major, so the field of financial planning was completely foreign to me. However, the more I learned, the more I loved it. I especially loved having an opportunity to build relationships with clients and help families work towards financial goals over time.

I am so grateful that I took that risk and jumped into a new field that was totally out of my comfort zone. We can only do our best with the information we have at the time, but we also have to trust our gut.

Over the past two years, what as a woman have you learned regarding work/life balance? 

How much time do we have (ha ha)? In addition to the pandemic, I was going through a divorce, so that definitely added some complexity. I think we all just did our best during that time period. I am incredibly grateful for all the companies (including Palisade Capital Management) that recognized employees can be just as (or more) productive working remotely as they can be in the office. Remote work normalized things like kids or pets walking in the background on Zoom calls so some of the pressure to keep home life completely separated from work life was lifted. I personally learned how to work more efficiently with a hybrid schedule. My compartmentalized home and work buckets overlapped in some incredibly positive and permanent ways. This post-pandemic period has forced us all to think about what is truly important – and what isn’t. I feel more focused than ever on my professional, as well as my personal, goals.

What is one quote or phrase you refer to when you need inspiration?

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!  Live the life you’ve imagined.
– Thoreau

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