by Marianne Biangardi and Jennifer Bardot
When you began your career did you ever imagine you would have a leadership role like you have now? What advice would you give your younger self?
I went for my MBA right after receiving my BA degree, so I had an early view that I wanted to have the education and skills for leadership. At that time there were few women in top jobs and the women in my work level were pushing the glass ceiling up with every promotion, so we never saw women in the top roles like young women do now. So while I imagined having a top leadership role, there were no top women mentors in my organization for me to access. I kept working on my business results and skills, and kept seeking higher roles. My advice to my younger self would to have faith that over a long career my goals would be met, but not always on the faster timetable I envisioned for myself.
Who inspires you and why? What is your most valued attribute in the leaders you respect or mentors you have had?
What inspires me is to see leaders, both men and women, who have both the business brilliance and the people skills to bring others forward with them. And, I admire those who pivot in their careers to make their work and personal lives fit at different stages of life. As a mature business and civic leader, I value those leaders who take the long view and play to win over time. I also realize each of us has many chapters and we need to work hard to make each chapter meaningful, from the early career wins to the longer term goals we may have that include family, community and business milestones.
What did it take in order to trust yourself to step into leadership?
I read a lot of books on leadership in addition to my MBA, and got advice from other women and men who were slightly ahead of me in my upward career progression in corporate life. I had many good bosses, all men, who gave me coaching and support. And, I had a women’s network outside work, with women leaders across the USA, that I met with annually at a conference. This group had women who had reached higher levels of success and they mentored me through challenging times in my career path. The gave me trust in myself that I could advance further.
Have you experienced any hardships and how did you overcome the obstacles. When did you know, the business was going to make it?
One hardship was learning patience while advancing in a large organization. There were many talented people and the senior leaders managed many different careers. So, my own career path was not as fast as I might have hoped. Another was the challenge of managing having two children, having two short maternity leaves of 7 weeks each, and then coordinating my work with childcare issues. While I have the benefit of a wonderful husband, his work hours did not allow him to do the childcare driving and management so that fell to me. There was a period of time I was on an acquisition team with a business out of town and I had to live out of town during the week for three months. We had a daytime nanny and an evening nanny for that period of time as my husband had late hours. I knew that if I could get through that window by managing my business life and personal life, I could continue to make my business career a success and hit the goals for my business team. And, be a good mother and wife as well.
What do you attribute your success to? Secret to your success…
Both my mother and my mother-in-law were working mothers who had been widowed (and remarried). They both encouraged me and my husband to make our two careers work and were always positive toward my career. That was a big secret to my success. In addition, I am a continuous learner and was always reading and taking new trainings/courses to learn what was needed in my next chapter. I set goals for myself for each new life chapter. Another secret is that when doors open to me, I find a way to say “Yes!” even if I do not know what the door will lead to. With new people and new technologies always on the horizon, this has yielded good benefits to me. I am an early adopter of new ideas, which has added to staying relevant and advanced in a changing world for both my business and nonprofit/governmental leadership roles.
What advice would you give other local women leaders?
My advice would be to make personal connections with women and men across the region so you have those relationships that will build your business and civic goals. Get to know people from different cultures and backgrounds. Show up in person for events and meetings. Take the time to get to know people on a personal level- drop that person a note when you see someone’s success or sadness. At a time where technology and AI will replace more of the “pain points” and facts in our work, relationships will be more important to build new ideas and creativity. In addition, have a vision for your work that you are comfortable sharing quickly and often, so others know what your organization is striving to accomplish and they can help you get there- and you can listen and see how to add your knowledge and connections to make success for others. Listen to your mentor and then be a mentor to those leaders coming behind you. And seek out new mentors as your goals change and your life stage changes.
Join the GRIT Community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8987243/
Jennifer Bardot (ownyourgrit@gmail.com, or
314-630-1451) is CEO and Founder of G.R.I.T. Community For Women.
Marianne Biangardi (mbiangardi@uhy-us.com or 314-322-4871) is Sr. Associate, Marketing and Business Development, at UHY LLP.