24 Apr Power Suit: Self-Awareness That Inspires
CVS Health’s Tanya Clark Robinson is shaping culture and driving change
By Lydia T. Blanco
In a society where, as management consultant Peter Drucker said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Tanya Clark Robinson is invested in fostering equitable environments where people can thrive through intentional connections. Clark Robinson, CVS Health’s SVP of Human Resources, joined the company in 2021 after earning a reputation as a trusted advisor in the HR field who transformed organizations with her thoughtful approach. At CVS Health, she acts as the senior talent partner to C-suite leaders and is accountable for designing and executing people strategies that result in organizational success, enhance colleagues’ engagement, and foster an innovative and inclusive culture. Additionally, she drives workforce solutions for the enterprise. With her strong foundation in equity and people management, Clark Robinson has prioritized multigenerational partnerships, sponsoring and mentoring many others along the way, over a 30-year career in human resources. That outreach corresponds with the fact that, as a leader, she specializes in executive coaching, talent development, organizational design, and colleague relations.
After graduating from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Clark Robinson spent the first decade of her career as an attorney, before shifting into HR and policy. She served in increasingly larger leadership roles for 13 years at Aetna, then as a consultant. During her tenured career, she developed expertise in senior executive coaching, strategic organizational design, M&A, talent management, diversity and inclusion, labor and employee relations, and employment law.
Clark Robinson lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family and is the proud mother of two young adult daughters. When she’s not supporting organizations like Girls Inc., where she formerly served as a board member, she enjoys volunteering in her community, cycling, and spending quality time with her loved ones. She is also an active and esteemed member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Diversity Woman: To what factors do you attribute your success?
Tanya Clark Robinson: It starts with work ethic. You work hard, and you play hard. That started early on in life, and it continued to build throughout my
educational journey—then led ultimately to my professional journey.
That has been what allowed me to go from being an individual contributor to the leader of a small team to, now, an executive at a Fortune six company. It’s about working hard, giving your best—maybe not always succeeding, but acknowledging the setbacks, learning from them, and continuing to grow.
The second factor is surrounding myself with good people—not just the individuals who will tell you what you want to hear, but the ones who will tell you what you need to know.
DW: Are there women in your life to whom you can attribute some of that success, through the guidance they gave you?
TCR: For many of us, it started at home. It’s the mothers, the grandmothers, the aunts, and the “aunties”—who aren’t necessarily blood related—women who help to shape you from the beginning. They give you the unabashedly honest advice and direction that you need to survive in this crazy thing we call life.
I have known many people who didn’t have the same educational or professional opportunities that I’ve had, but the wisdom they imparted far exceeded anything else I could have received. They have been shapers in a way that I never could have imagined.
I’ve been receptive to learning from anyone regardless of where they are in their career. There’s this misnomer that if there is a younger woman with less experience, you can’t learn something from them.
You must be open to learning and receiving insights from everyone within your universe who allows you to grow and learn—and then impart that to the next person so they too can achieve the same type of success.
DW:What excites you most about your work as a human resources leader at CVS Health?
TCR: One of the things that excites me is my ability to work with more than 300,000 colleagues who are focused on our purpose. We are in a tremendous industry—and we are about transforming health care. It doesn’t get much better than that because health care touches all of us.
What also excites me is having a hand in shaping the culture driving the change. Culture eats strategy every single day. As an HR professional, I partner with our leaders on what we want to be and why people want to work and stay here. We have a tremendous opportunity to leave fingerprints on culture because our culture attracts people to our organization and lets colleagues drive change collectively.
Finally, what excites is that the work I am doing at CVS Health is purpose driven.
DW: What does equity for women in the workplace mean to you? And how does CVS Health help women advance into leadership positions?
TCR: Equity in the workplace looks like opportunities for all women, from all walks of life, to advance their careers.
We are doing all the conventional things you would expect a company like CVS Health to do. We have our mentoring, networking, and leadership development programs. One of the initiatives we started was to expand the dialogue around inclusion and belonging. When people feel heard and seen, they feel like they belong.
DW: What advice would you give to women managers who aspire to become executives?
TCR: You can have all the best intentions in the world, but there is an acknowledgment that you must learn how to work differently.
Your first job is being the team leader. That means providing air cover, coaching, developing, creating opportunities, being a good listener to a team of individuals, and ensuring their success. Your success hinges on their success. For any leader to be successful, they must surround themselves with individuals who are equally committed and able to achieve whatever they are accountable for.
What’s not talked about enough is the tremendous sacrifice of self. The higher you climb that ladder, the more you give of your time. You must recognize that it’s not always 50/50. Sometimes, it’s 80/20. Other times, it’s 90/10. And that doesn’t work for everyone. There is the sacrifice of time—weekends, holidays, and kids’ birthdays.
Ask yourself, are you ready to take on this role?
DW: How important is having allies in one’s career?
TCR: I have been fortunate to be surrounded by individuals who have supported me, in my current industry and at other companies. I could not have been as successful without that universe around me. When it comes to allyship, it’s critical to how you can deliver in your current role and in your future roles. You become an ally; you have allies. There is reciprocity of goodness that comes out of it, and learnings. They are invaluable intangibles in your career that you can’t really put a dollar sign or a title on. Allies are paramount to being able to show up and be that much better.
DW: Can you share your thoughts on how women can upskill to remain a force in their industry?
TCR: It’s about being curious and open to learning at every stage of your professional journey. I was working on a data acquisition with a lawyer who had been practicing for decades. She was a mergers and acquisitions lawyer—but the project was in a space she had not worked in previously. And she said, ‘Tanya, I never thought at this stage in my career I would still be learning, growing, and excited about it.’
Now and then throughout your career, someone will say something that sticks with you and becomes life-changing. If you want to stay relevant, continue to keep your mind open. Think about the pace with which technology is advancing today. It may outpace us at some point, but do your darndest to stay on top of and relevant in your space.
When something needs to get done, be the one who keeps your head up and raises your hand, even if it’s a stretch.
DW: If you could advise your early-career self, what would you share with that version of Tanya Clark Robinson?
TCR: Be bold! Life is too short to have any “what if” moments. A friend and I say,
“I can do anything on a short-term basis.” I learn a lot, and it’s better than I think. Life is about not having regrets. DW
Lydia T. Blanco, a business journalist working on the intersections of equity and culture, is passionate about building community through storytelling.
