Information Interview — Jennifer Jones, IBM Cloud Director of Worldwide Campaigns and Event Marketing
For this interview of a leader, I chose to interview IBM Cloud Director of Worldwide Campaigns and Event Marketing, Jennifer Jones. Jen has had an expansive career at IBM, crossing multiple disciplines and job roles. I chose to interview Jen as I am currently looking to move into an events role at IBM and Jen would be a potential director that I could work under in the Cloud unit.
The Contact
Name: Jennifer Jones
Title: IBM Cloud Director of Worldwide Campaigns and Events Marketing
Company: IBM
Industry: Information Technology
Questions about the Contact
Career, Company, Industry, Skills, Success
KS: Can you tell me more about your career path and how you became a director?
JJ: When I was a first line manager for an internal IBM agency, my manager approached me with an opportunity to be the executive assistant for the IBM site I worked at and believed that I would be the perfect fit for the role. I interviewed for the position with the executive and I thought it went well. At the end of the interview, the executive said to me “I feel like you need to be in sales or marketing role. Would you mind if I made calls on your behalf?” I, of course, said yes and this ended up leading to my first big marketing role in IBM. I was by far the most junior person on team and my colleagues seemed to have much more experience but I ultimately ended up rising to the top of the team team. I look back on this situation often and think about where I would be right now if I had said no to that interview for the executive assistant position.
KS: What parts of your current role do you find to be the most satisfying?
JJ: The most satisfying parts of my current role is my interaction with the team I work with. When I became a first-line manager, I was the only female and by far the youngest, and it was incredibly intimidating. I moved into management because I truly believed that I could have an impact on people’s lives. As a manager, you have an impact on your subordinate’s daily life, for good or bad. I love that I feel as though I have the capacity to make someone’s life better every day. One story that stands out in particular is of a man that I was managed in a previous role. He was a bit older than I was and had a history of having seizures. One day at work, he had a seizure. He was unmarried and so I was tasked to call his parents who lived across the country to explain the situation. After I shared with them what had happened, his parents spent the next ten minutes raving about how much their son loved me as a manager and what an impact I had made on his life. This left me with an incredible feeling, as I did not realize how much my position as his manager mattered to him and I was incredibly grateful that his parents had shared this with me.
Questions about Communicating for Leadership
Best Practices, Problem-Solving, Motivating Others, Change/Innovation
KS: How would you describe yourself as a leader?
JJ: My motto is to treat people the way I want to be treated and this has brought a large amount of value through my career progression. I also often run into the situation where former people that worked for me and moved on to other roles, have come back and asked to re-join my team. As a leader, you have to be genuine. This does not to elicit better work, but is a piece of my own personal value system. If you treat people well, they will work their hearts out. It simply solicits better work and creates the business benefit of eliciting higher productivity. I had a former senior vice president once say to me “what I have learned is that when you put head on pillow at the end of the day, you have to live with yourself. You live with your own set of integrities and rules. If you can’t live with what you’ve done that day, that is not a good feeling”. I have truly taken this advice to heart and have always done work that I feel good about so that I can sleep with peace at the end of the day.
KS: Could you tell me story about challenge you faced as leader and how did you solve it? How did it change you?
JJ:The biggest challenge that I have faced is having to let people go as part of resource action. These are incredibly painful because they are not a performance-based decision which is the hardest news to deliver. Being put into the situation of telling someone they are no longer employed with the company really gives you a new perspective. I have had weeks of sleepless night and been on the verge of tears many times over these conversations. It is difficult because the individual person being laid off doesn’t understand or doesn’t care to understand the burden that you are feeling although rightfully so.
This experience has fundamentally changed me and given me a new appreciation of being a manager. You truly do have influence on people’s lives, for better or worse. I do not take this responsibility lightly and it has given me a deep appreciation for what it means to be a leader in difficult circumstances.
KS: What has led to your success as a leader?
JJ: I look to surround myself with people who have the right attitude and work ethic. Skills can be trained but attitude and work ethic are natural. Often times, you will inherit people on your team. In these situations, I like to sit down with each individual and share information about my personal style and expectations. I have a complete open door policy. People can message or call about anything at anytime. Nothing is off limits. I find that some leaders create a hierarchal situation and I try hard to eliminate that structure. Having regular 1x1s with my employees is incredibly important. I also host a kickoff for projects and make sure that everyone knows that they are valued. I also try to be open to other points of view and not just thinking that my way is the only way. Different perspectives are great and I try to create environment where people can share their opinions. This generally leads to better project results.
Questions seeking Advice for you
Background, Skills, Resume, Job Search and Interviewing
KS: If you could start all over again, would you change your career path in any way?
JJ: I truly believe that I have done a lot right in my career. The only thing I would have done earlier is had more faith in my knowledge and expertise and taken more risks early on. I believe that the cream always rises to the top in whatever role you are in and I wish I would have put that into practice more earlier on my career and not been hesitant to try new things.
KS: Any other advice before we end the interview?
JJ: Never attach yourself to one person or one manager. I was in a situation where I was very close with one particular manager who ultimately ended up leaving IBM. Although I did have several other great mentors, it took me longer to achieve the next stepping stone in my career than it would have had that manager stayed with the company. You never know what is going to happen so it is good to have lots of networks and options.
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
I am so glad that I chose to interview Jen. What I love about Jen is that she is a strong, talented and female IBM leader and having the opportunity to meet with her and talk more about her career and get her advice was an incredible opportunity. Throughout the interview, I found myself relating often with the Jen’s point of view and holding many of the same values as she has. I truly aspire to be just like her as both a leader and a human being. One of the most interesting parts of our interview was her story about her team member who had the seizure and how overwhelmed she was when she learned how much of an impact she had on his life. This touched me because I have a manager who I have a similar bond with and my mother actually had a similar opportunity to share how much this manager meant to me as happened with Jen’s story. It really opened my eyes to the rewarding side of being manager and the true value that you bring to your team’s lives.
