publive-imageRBC Personal & Commercial Banking is part of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) - a leading provider of financial services. Operating since 1869, RBC is one of the largest banks in the world and the fifth-largest in North America, as measured by market capitalization. RBC Personal and Commercial Banking brings together Canadian, Caribbean and US Banking. In Canada, RBC has the strongest retail banking franchise and has one of the key market positions in business financial services. RBC complements this leadership with an impressive retail offering in the US, providing access to specialized cross-border banking services for Canadian clients who travel frequently or work in the US. In the Caribbean, RBC is the leading provider of a full range of personal and commercial banking, including wealth management. 

 

Passionate Leadership that Inspires 

Nazia Shahrin is the Senior Director of Regulatory Strategy & Delivery at RCB. As an influential leader in Personal & Commercial Banking, Nazia delivers strategic solutions to ensure all regulatory expectations are met. She works with internal and external technology partners to find innovative solutions using automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform in-house capabilities. In addition to her work with RBC, Nazia recently joined the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, where she teaches two graduate courses in Digital Transformation and Data Governance in the Masters of Information Degree program. 

 

Piloting With a Strong Foundational Background 

Nazia recollects that her journey with technology started when she was 12 years old, making websites for others. Looking back, she realizes her deep love of learning something new has always been one of her core qualities, and it has kept her going all these years.  

Nazia was one of 4 female students in her Computer Science undergraduate class. She was the only female developer in her department when she was hired at RBC Capital Markets at the beginning of her career. These early experiences forced her to become aware of her presence very early on and that she represented something different in a field that has been male-dominated for many years. 

One of her key achievements was becoming the first female Director in the Enterprise Architecture function at RBC. Nazia's experiences have made her much more passionate about bringing awareness to biases and building a supportive network for future female leaders.  

She currently sits on the Board for Social Planning Toronto, an organization committed to diversity, social and economic justice, and active citizen participation in all aspects of community life, including driving changes for affordable housing within Toronto. Nazia also co-chairs the Diversity & Inclusion Committee for one of the P&CB functions at RBC. She embraced both of these roles to help change the narrative for challenges she has faced in her life. 

Traversing Beyond the Shackles of Prejudices  

Speaking of the challenges faced, Nazia says, "One of the major struggles for me was the lack of clarity in the path that takes a woman to a leadership position." There is unconscious bias prevailing in corporations that can be demotivating at the start of an individuals' career. In addition to corporate challenges, many women face cultural and societal challenges when pursuing leadership roles. As a South Asian female, a leadership path was never encouraged by Nazia's family or community as either viewed her role as a wife and mother to be of higher importance. Nazia explains that a woman's journey to a leadership role is like going through a labyrinth – it is not a simple, straightforward path. However, it requires persistence, mindfulness of one's progress, and careful analysis of future steps.  

Distinguished Tenets of a Transformational Leader 

Nazia believes that transformational leaders have the power to challenge the status quo, and this is very audacious at large organizations. Often, organizations step into transformation programs, assuming bringing in new technology will result in transformation. "If this is not done right, the end product will be a version of a faster caterpillar, not a butterfly," she exclaims. Therefore, Nazia cautions that transformation has to be thought of holistically with people, process, data and technology at its heart, and transformation leaders have to lead differently than traditional leaders.  

According to Nazia, first and foremost, these leaders must possess the ability to take risks. She says, "When trying to transform an organization, it is a risk. You may have to change things that work in its current form, but may not be sustainable in the future for the organization." There is a risk in changing such functions and processes, but as a leader, one has to be comfortable with taking risks. 

Moreover, Nazia reiterates that transformation leaders should have the ability to make difficult decisions. Transformations are not easy, out of the box type of projects. They are often big, complicated and involve lots of stakeholders. The ability to make difficult decisions with a clear focus on the values, vision, objectives, and goals of the organization is a critical trait of a strong transformation leader. 

Finally, Nazia adds that such leaders lead with a vision. They set a realistic and attainable vision for the organization. They can then inspire others to follow them on this transformation journey and build trust, commitment, and purpose for the organization.  

Understanding the Know-How and Demands of a Dynamic Industry 

Nazia reveals that one of the keys to creating a unique niche in the industry is by going beyond one's organization and learning from other countries and sectors. As technology is highly versatile, learning from the top performers in other countries and sectors enabled Nazia to bring forth ideas relevant to her function and responsibilities at RBC. 

She is aware that the experiences consumers are getting from the retail sector and entertainment sector will only increase their expectations from the financial sector. And understanding the client experiences that are most successful in each sector allows Nazia to bring forth ideas that already have data to support them. 

The Future of Banking is Digital 

Nazia remarks that after COVID-19, it has become clear that digital experiences are headed towards becoming the norm in most sectors. As all our daily experiences become available to us through our phones, tablets, and watches, she is confident that the future is 'Digital' for banking.  

Progressing Under the Guidance of a Trusted Advisor 

Nazia advises emerging leaders to focus on mentorship and building a network.  She cites a famous African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child.” Nazia suggests that just like the importance of bringing up a child through community support, female leaders need the support of mentors and a strong network to help them through the difficult path that awaits them to get to the senior positions.