You want to get promoted in Financial Technology. What sets you apart from your peers?

What drives you forward is energy. It is generated by your interest, curiosity, desire to learn or do things differently. This is not unique to financial technology and in all professions these days, there is no quiet moment to stay still. It is more so in the FinTech area. We all need to keep watchig with curiosity, absorbing and proactively making information ours to use.

Curiosity and Proactiveness is the key trait for any successful professional. One can go no where without knowing the inside out of any project, task or business. One has to ask a lot of questions to understand everything. Once you understand everything about the thing you have taken the responsibility to improve, explore the new possibilities, and challenge yourself to break the status quo. Come up with new ideas to accomplish the work assigned to you. It is key to be proactive to remain ahead of every one to achieve the new heights.

In Financial Technology, being curious and productive can set you apart from your peers. Curiosity helps you stay updated, while productivity helps you demonstrate your value. Combining the two can increase your chances of getting promoted.

Curiosity is often confused with "random" learning, but curiosity should have a focused intent. Be curious with the goal of assimilating knowledge from multiple domains and applying those new learnings to your current environment. Can domains like consumer goods or health tech inspire creativity in fintech? Of course. Innovators who rise quickly in their organizations are able to see the applicability of unrelated concepts to their current environment. Many of the most novel and creative innovations in fintech came from outside financial services. Be curious about yourself—how you work, how you think, and what you want to do next. Career paths are not linear, and being curious about your own next steps can open new opportunities.

Stay informed about industry trends and developments. Continuously learn through courses and workshops. Network with professionals and industry experts. Experiment with new ideas and technologies. Identify and solve industry challenges. Get involved in industry initiatives and projects. Explore entrepreneurial opportunities. Understand regulatory requirements and compliance standards. Focus on customer needs and preferences. Consider ethical implications in your work. By embracing these principles, you can effectively navigate the fintech landscape and drive innovation and positive change within the industry.

from quick experience in such filed I would recommend to do the following to be adaptable and resilient in the fintech industry: 1. Foster a flexible mindset and embrace change. 2. Continuously learn and stay updated on industry trends. 3. Encourage innovation and experimentation. 4. Develop resilience to overcome challenges and setbacks. 5. Adapt strategies to meet evolving market demands. 6. Collaborate and network with peers and stakeholders. 7. Leverage technology to enhance efficiency and innovation. 8. Stay compliant with regulatory changes and manage risks. 9. Prioritize customer needs and feedback. 10. Prepare for uncertainties and economic fluctuations.

Another quality to be a leader is to be flexible and adaptable. The technology is changing very fast on daily basis. No one can survive with adopting the change and being flexible. One has to be resilient to flow with the waves of constant change. Only open minded leaders succeed in the current ever changing landscape. Show everyone that you are not afraid to adopt anything new, you are rather welcoming and see it a chance to grow and improve.

You must be creative and innovative in your profession. You must not just be a follower rather lead through your creativeness. Don't be afraid to test yourself in difficult times. That is the time which makes you a leader. It is the key to identify the weakness and gaps and fix those through creativeness and innovation. To keep waiting for someone else to guide you is no an option if you want to see your organization leading in the market.

It is very important to bring an innovative mindset to the table. No two minds are the same. This will distinguish you from your peers in the industry.

In every position I've ever had I have been able to excel above the others by using a method that I call discovering the unknown. I'm sure you've all heard the term "the road less travelled". I lhunt for that road and look to find opening that others haven't. For instance in my early career I went to work as a facilities based carrier that was selling prepaid phone cards to retail stores and distributors. The salesmen already working at the company were cold calling retail stores trying to get them to purchase. I started mailing postcards to some stores that I had designed and printed. The owner saw what I was doing and got behind the project. The phones started ringing off the hook, we hired more salespeople and I was promoted to marketing

As a legal counsel in the fintech space some countries do not have legal and regulatory frameworks; or advanced / sophisticated frameworks. Advising fintechs in this landscape calls for nuanced thinking and providing edgy solutions and workarounds. These may not be straightforward or straight-line but you still have to have the foresight to see big picture and long term how future changes in the legal and regulatory landscape will require being creative in the changed landscape and agile enough to pivot.

I think that innovation and creation come from difficult situations that one has experienced and one's desire to overcome the challenges. In my cases, they are often constraints such as outdated IT systems and organisational inflexible governance. I have demonstrated workable and practical solutions through collaboration with other experts.

While I believe many young entrepreneurs may disagree with this post, as a more seasoned professional in FinTech, you have to ask yourself what are your motives and values when you define “success”. Is it just money? Or do you value connecting and building products and/or businesses? I’ve met many myopic entrepreneurs in FinTech and do not believe they see the full picture of how true excellence in a company is designed and then built. Most are not good communicators and tend to rule their company based on fear and that they are the smartest person in the room. True leaders seek collaboration and understand that communication is essential for building teams, growing your customer base, etc. Go for radical transparency if you can.

It is labelled as "collaboration" to work well with others in a multidisciplinary and cross-funcdtional field. Just like a foreign language, not all the words have direct and identical equivalent in your language. Those who studied foreign language well have flexible mindset to explain something differently, using different set of words. This skill definitely helps to increase success ratio to be collaborative and communicative. we need to convey the concept to others in a different eco-system to work together. My mother's tangue is Japanese. More often than not, there is no directly identical word or expression in English. I think about one concept, and practice to use many different ways to express or convey the essence in English.

Previous work in cross functional and multinational teams add value to fintech projects, working groups and companies. As fintech is ever-evolving and even now blossoming in some parts of the world, you have to be able to balance adding value while still listening and learning from your peers on the team, particularly if they are in countries with more advanced fintech industries. As a legal mind in a fintech team, I find it useful in being able to yield to the technical voices on the team for the technical aspects while still being able to understand, simply and cogently translate and align the technical components of a product and service to comport with legal and regulatory requirements.

Just be an open to builds new relation with other profession in the filed with focusing in Practice active listening by giving your full attention to others during conversations. Seek to understand their perspectives, concerns, and ideas before expressing.

Being a Chief Compliance Officer, I have provided many training sessions on non-financial misconduct, Conduct & culture, Diversity & Inclusion in addition to what Law and Regulation say. "What would you do when no one is watching." You cannot deceive yourself. Afterall, you want to feel good by doing the right thing, by setting a good example/standard for others to follow, and by earning trust/respect by doing so from others. it is not just law and regulation that dictate your action, but it is integrity in youself that drives your right action.

I think apart from speed which is very essential to possess, one's take on compliance is to be at the top. without it the mountain of cards just falls flat.

Your dedication to ethical and responsible progress distinguishes you in the fast-paced world of Fintech. You have the technical expertise and know-how to succeed, while also emphasising the importance of establishing trust and security in financial systems. It is essential to stay updated on data privacy regulations and make user security a top priority. You must actively seek out potential risks and advocate for solutions that are advantageous for both the company and its clients. You promote a collaborative environment that encourages open communication and ensures that all parties are informed about possible ethical concerns.

As a legal mind in a fintech team, while you have to advance the goals, mission and vision of the fintech business, the fintech industry is highly regulated around the world. As such, in advising on business decisions you have to stay clear of counselling fintechs to take business decisions that flagrantly flout laws and regulations in the quest for growth/expansion and profit maximisation. So, sometimes it may call for taking off your business hat to strictly wear your legal hat. Particularly if laws and regulations are clear, there are no shades of grey and no opportunities for workarounds. As a fintech attorney, like any other attorney, I am bound by the law and also my respective legal professional/ethical codes where I practice.

In Fintech Always remember: Data Privacy and Security Fairness and Non-Discrimination Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection

Look beyond your present scope of work. Fintech is broad and ever evolving. Understand new trends, learn new domains, network with peers and industry to gain new perspectives. Apply these learns, where relevant, to your job to create new revenue opportunities and/or operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and impress upon your boss on your out of box thinking drawing from these perspectives.

Know what unique perspectives you bring and what value that brings in the space you want to move into. And then network and make yourself known.

Consider the last time you enrolled in a technical course—no excuses! With the abundance of resources available today, learning has never been more accessible. From YouTube tutorials and Udemy courses to in-person workshops, the opportunities to enhance your skills are vast. To differentiate yourself from the competition, it's crucial to continuously improve your financial technology skills, and to do so more rapidly than your peers. This is where the power of the 1% rule becomes evident. Embracing the concept of making incremental, consistent improvements can lead to remarkable compounded achievements over time.