Jennifer Thorne is an investment advisor and associate portfolio manager with Odlum Brown Limited. Before that, she practised law in Kelowna for almost a decade.

She sat down with NowMedia to talk about how she got to where she is now, and what kind of advice she has for women looking to move up in their careers.

How did you get started in your career? 

I came to my present role as a second profession. Prior to my involvement with Odlum Brown, I practised law for nearly a decade before deciding to broaden my professional horizons.

I worked with an executive coach to refine what I was looking for, which gave me a framework to evaluate new opportunities as they came along. One day, as it often works in Kelowna, a friend of a friend got wind of what I was thinking, and introduced me to the team at Odlum Brown. I ultimately decided to join the firm, and it’s been an opportunity I’ve been really thankful for. 

What would you say is your style of leadership? 

My style of leadership is really about honesty and being real. As a classic Type A personality, I struggle with perfectionism and high performance. But, I think that if we are all going to be successful in this world we have to acknowledge our limitations and understand our skill sets. 

Most of the success that I have had in my life comes from a combination of hard work, identifying smart opportunities, and also a little bit of failure. I try to lead by being approachable, honest, and making people feel like it’s okay to struggle through. 

What has been the biggest challenge for you in your career? 

Thankfully, I’ve faced very few challenges where being a woman has been a detriment. At times people have specifically sought me out because of that slightly softer side or different perspective.

The biggest challenge that I face as a woman is really about balancing family, career, marriage, friendship and all of the different components of a rich and full life. Men and women both struggle to balance those things, but as women we tend to carry a lot of guilt about having a successful career while still being present as a parent and spouse, and still having friends and interests and time for ourselves. When you’re in a high-performing, high-demand career, that challenge becomes a bit more acute. But I do believe that if we’re just honest about it and open about it, it’s certainly not insurmountable. 

Do you think in our community there are enough female leaders? 

There’s always room for more women in leadership. As more women take on executive and leadership roles, one thing that I find encouraging is that for the first time the conversation is not just about a leader being a woman

I like that we’re starting to focus less on gender and more on recognizing peoples’ skills and encouraging them because they are simply good at what they do. For me, that’s the evolution of equality.

We’re lucky to have so many great leaders and business people in our community, including many who happen to be female, and that’s a trend I’d like to see continue. 

Do you have any advice that you would give to other women, or people in general, who want to make progress in their career? 

My best advice is: don’t be too hard on yourself! It’s natural to want the appearance of success, of having it all together, of doing everything and being everything. But that’s a myth.

I am good at many things in my life, just don’t look at the inside of my car! What life looks like on the surface is not always a good reflection of reality, so give yourself a break.

You’ll get there. If you’re genuinely interested in achieving success, ask a lot of questions, be engaged, and allow yourself to fall into it without beating yourself up along the way.