Jody Franklin

What is something you wish you had known earlier in your career?

In my early career, I wish I had known more about practicing my own self-truths or authenticity.  I grew up in pharma and in my first six years, I was part of a team of seven and the only female.  I was extremely impressionable, felt embarrassed when I shared ideas, and wanted to fit in even if that meant taking on a persona that was not consistent with my natural or true self.  This affected me as a person and although it didn’t impact my relationships with my family and friends, I believe it may have impacted how colleagues viewed me. After leaving that first company, I made a conscious decision to be and act myself.  Being your true authentic self is much more rewarding, and good for the mind, body, and soul.

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What is the greatest piece of business advice you have received from a mentor/sponsor?

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Oh my gosh, I have more than one. I was lucky enough to have participated in the pilot mentor program with WLP – my mentor taught me to realize that not all of us think the same and that the ideas we have, may not be accepted until the ‘table is set’. Sometimes we need to develop the adoption of ideas, with our audiences, that may be at a slower pace than we’d like or initially planned.

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It seems simple, most of us practice this with our customers/clients.  But do we do this with our colleagues? I did it for some things and not for others.  Sometimes I assumed my colleagues/other departments in my organization thought the same as me.

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I now practice this more when I convey my ideas. I walk colleagues through the background/problem, and present a possible solution but more importantly, I ask them for their input and ideas.

I have learned that when given the opportunity to inquire with others, ‘what do you think?’, ‘what have you seen?’ or ‘what has been tried already?’, we come to a better solution with better outcomes.  When we allow others to be part of the process and work collectively, as a team, across multiple departments, there are few surprises that often translate into better support and greater momentum.

The other greatest piece of business advice was putting myself out there.  Sometimes I assumed colleagues/managers/VPs would share what I was doing and where I wanted to go professionally.  Not the case at all.  You need to speak for yourself and share your career goals.  I shied away from seemingly sounding like a broken record, but realized multiple touch points, with consistency, is a good practice to have.

How do you keep yourself and your team motivated during difficult times?

I have a hard time answering what motivates me in general, I am, to a large extent, self-motivated.  I did however, come across a very thoughtful article about asking your team psychological safety questions to understand what motivates your team. When I reflected, I know I would have wanted any manager/supervisor/leader to ask me these questions – they’re extremely powerful and motivating for me and I like to think I take on leadership with the knowledge of what I would have wanted from any of my leaders. Link to the article.

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My thoughts are that if you make yourself available to openly walk through the difficult scenarios, and help eliminate obstacles/barriers for your team, they will then be able to do the job they were meant to do. Simply asking "how best can I support you so that you are successful in the role?" and then commit to follow-through (within reason). This reflects motivation by support.