TLP099: The Best Advice from Unassuming Places

Jeannine Woodyear is the President of the Seattle Chapter of Women in Wireless, and the Global Marketing & Channel Partner Enablement Leader at Microsoft. Jeannine shares her wisdom on why development is important in the all aspects of the mind, body and speech, and not just the boardroom. She also speaks about her work to connect women to a community that supports them. Key Takeaways [5:06] Women in Wireless takes a holistic approach to connect, ignite and empower women in all levels of their career. They host events for free headshots, speaker development training, online profile mentorship, and access to a community of women that will help them along their journey to success. [12:23] Women in Wireless looks at the unique challenges of the individual women. [13:38] Jeannine's approach to mentorship is more situational. She draws upon a wide community of people both in and out her organization. [14:55] A pivotal experience on the roadside in China influenced Jeannine's approach to business and mentorship to connect with the rhythm and go with the flow. [19:47] Jeannine knows she is in the flow as a leader when things feel natural and instinctive. [23:04] There are many ways to lead, and Jeannine cites flexibility and the ability to tap into their own skills as one of a leader's most important quality. [25:10] Understanding the skillsets players of your team and dedicating time to get to know them on a personal level is a crucial part of leveraging the sum of the team to achieve the desired outcome. [31:16] It is the job of the leader and the community to make sure their team feels safe and supported so they are aligned with the vision. [34:08] Jeannine has found innovation to occur more frequently when she gives people the latitude and guidelines of the outcome, but then lets them go to have freedom in making their own decision. Website: womeninwireless.org Twitter: @JMWoodyear Twitter: @WomeninWireless Quotable Quotes The individual, the employee, the personal is as important as the customer and the profits. Challenges become opportunities. We are not leading an organization, we are leading people The best advice can come from unassuming places Every situation creates a need to tap a pool of resources and individuals It's about identifying the core of justice, and empowering people to draw upon their flexibility and unique skills Understand who your players are You can't assume the view of one answer is the truth Some of the best outcomes are through unconventional mechanisms Diversity is not about conformity, it's about allowing different perspective to respectfully get to the outcome. Bio Jeanine's passion and drive are instigated by a simple curiosity and imagining 'what if'...paired with the pursuit of understanding what makes things tick. This restless energy lead Jeannine from Madison Avenue where she got her start as a media planner to a stint as a National Planning Director at Zenith Media for Procter & Gamble's health and beauty care brands in China before it was cool. Jeannine's favorite opportunities have involved developing high performance teams, fostering community, innovating product marketing, and solving problems customers care about. Creating personalized experiences and learner journeys for cybersecurity, desktop productivity, and business applications to help channel partners build and sustain profitable cloud practices through skills attainment and meaningful engagement is at the heart of the work Jeannine is driving at Microsoft today. Passionate about mentorship and water, in her free time Jeannine can be found volunteering her time as the President of the Seattle Chapter of Women in Wireless and racing her sailboat around the Puget Sound with her family in tow.