For many women in STEM and business, Ginni Rometty is an inspiration and trailblazer. As IBM's first female chairman, president and CEO, she is hailed as one of the most influential women in the world.
After leaving that position three years ago, Rometty wrote: Good Power: Bringing Positive Change to Our Lives, Work, and the World He is also the founder and co-chairman of the charity OneTen, which continues the work he started while at IBM, helping people from disadvantaged backgrounds access employment and training opportunities, and providing employers with new talent. It offers a pool.
Rometty is fully aware of how different his life could have been. Growing up in a single-parent household, she saw her mother as an inspirational person who worked hard to increase her salary and continue her studies while caring for four children.
Relying on the kindness of his community and government assistance, and understanding that education was the path to success, Rometty secured a college scholarship and began his climb to the top. She thrived on her lesson: “Don't let others define who you are.”
“When I was younger, my definition of success, given my childhood, was just surviving and maybe being financially independent.”
I had time to think while writing. good powerShe's in the perfect place to define success when she sits down for an exclusive interview with. CEO Magazine.
“It has changed over time,” she says thoughtfully. “When I was younger, my definition of success, given my childhood, was just surviving and maybe being financially independent. Over time, it became less about myself and more about other people. I realized it was a people problem.
“I would define it as simply having some positive impact. My third circle of influence involves creating better opportunities for more people. I think that’s really progress – me, us, and the big us.”
be a change
Rometty's zest for life is contagious. There is no doubt that Rometty's success has inspired and opened doors for many young women. But she admitted that she sometimes feels uncomfortable with the emphasis on her gender.
“There were times when I didn't want to be recognized as a woman. I just wanted to do my job and see the results,” she says.
However, she has come to realize the importance of uplifting others. She said, “I remember some of the articles I wrote when I became CEO of IBM that said, “Her success or failure could determine the outcome for all women.'' Masu.
“It gave me a sense of responsibility. And that grows over time. It's like, 'You can't be what you can't see.' My view was that once your name is on the power list, you have a responsibility to do something good with it. ”
Not only did Rometty come to embrace her role model status, but she also began to advocate for and bring about systemic change in an industry that had previously been male-dominated. “It's not just that we need more women leaders,” she explains. “I think the 'characteristics of women' – being a listener, a developer, empathetic, yet tough – need to be more appreciated.”
“I think the 'characteristics of women' – being a listener, a developer, empathetic, yet tough – need to be more appreciated.”
Looking back over the past 40 years, Rometty is happy that leaders are expected to uplift and be a force for good. “I definitely believe that more is expected of us. In a way, that's part of being a true leader,” she says.
“I think most people now look to their leaders and expect them to help them become better people themselves. It's my job to make my team better. Gender, Background In this moment of diversity, regardless of beliefs, I think the ability to make everyone feel welcome and want to do their best work is the kind of leader people are looking for.”
This concept of working and skills-first hiring has become a movement she hopes to strengthen and grow. It was her business reasons that led her to consider job applicants without her four-year bachelor's degree. IBM began recruiting students from unique high schools offering community college courses and was able to identify the talent in this pool of people without traditional four-year degrees.
Even if they didn't have traditional qualifications, they were enthusiastic, adaptable, and hard-working learners, and this was the key skill set they needed. By and large, these employees continued to earn what they needed to check that box while on the job.
“It's just a different starting point, but where you start doesn't end there,” Rometty explains.
She is promoting this concept at OneTen. OneTen aims to close the opportunity gap for Black talent and those without a four-year degree by working with coalition member companies to create opportunities to succeed and realize their potential. .
“George Floyd's murder shows that there is an underrepresented group here — 80 percent of black Americans don't have a college degree — and that they have a hard time getting high-potential jobs. “This gave me the opportunity to say that we need a skills approach,” she says. “We felt this approach was important for people to believe that they have a better future in this country.”
A skills-first future for everyone
Rometty acknowledges that developing and accumulating new skills over a lifetime will become even more important, especially with the role played by AI.
“Everyone has to go back to learning because work is changing,” she says. “I think what we're trying to do is be skills-first, and it's going to be a real talent strategy for the entire workforce.”
This is a strategy to increase diversity by including mothers returning to work and people who could not afford traditional education.
Rometty has found that continuous learning allows him to stay at the top of his game. It's also clear that her passion comes from what she calls “constant apprenticeship.”
“Every time people ask me, “I'm an aspiring CEO, what advice do you have?'' I say, “Learn to study the Olympics.''
“I started by learning after the fact what I had to learn to help my clients,” she says. “Also, I am actively interested in different things, because the broader the range of experience, the better the ability to solve people's problems. So we're trying to help connect the dots.'' That's really valuable. ”
Rometty is well aware that this mindset is less encouraged in corporate environments, and that people traditionally view education as “finished” rather than skills that are added over time. But in order to succeed in tomorrow's society, Rometty recommends changing that perspective.
“The willingness to learn is more important, and if you don't do it often, people become reluctant.''Certainly, if you hire someone who has been doing the same job for a long time, what do you tell them? “I found it very difficult to get people to want to learn new things,” she says.
“Every time people ask me, 'I'm an aspiring CEO, what advice do you have?' I say, 'Learn the Olympics.' The only limit is you, because if you keep learning all your life, you can probably do anything.”
Rometty acknowledges that this is outside of many people's comfort zones, but has always advocated pushing forward to grow.
“Another title for this book might have been 'Growth and Comfort Can't Coexist.' That's an easy phrase to remember, but it's about reframing risk. Associating risk with fear. “Associate that discomfort with learning instead of feeling uncomfortable. The more you do this, the more resilient you become. Now you associate that discomfort with learning,” she says.
“I've always been in technology, and this era is moving so fast that more people are being impacted in some way, more people are being put in positions where they have to learn something. I hope they associate it with something good.”
“Since technology exists, we also need to prepare society to have a better future, and that means teaching society new skills.”
in great powerRometty discusses the need for people working in the technology industry to be good stewards of technology, which means emphasizing the positives of new developments as much as mitigating the negatives. means.
“We need to build trust in technology. Do you know how it's trained? Is it explainable? I think we'll get there, but I don't think the answer to the world is two or three companies. “I don't think it's a black box engine of a company. I want innovation to remain open,” she says.
“Also, because technology exists, we must prepare society to have a better future, and that means teaching society new skills. It's going to be a new paradigm for doing education. We're probably going to go through some uncomfortable moments, but in a long arc, we're going to have some great people who want to solve both sides of this problem. I have great confidence that there will be enough.”
Asking for help is a sign of strength
Rometty believes that searching for her next learning experience and asking for help helped her move forward.
“I do a lot of coaching and I see a huge derailment in coaches. They think asking for help is a weakness, when in reality it’s a sign of weakness. “It's a sign of strength to be able to admit what you don't have,” she says.
“It took me a few near-accidents before I learned to ask for help right away. The best leaders are the ones who ask for help. And as a side effect of asking for help, people… , when you get them to work with you to help you, they want you to succeed.”
In addition to asking for help, another important tip is to listen to feedback and incorporate what you can.
“Your role as a leader of people is to believe in them more than they believe in themselves.”
“Listen to the criticism and take something of value from it, but don't let it define you and move forward,” she advises. “Many people don't listen to criticism. I listen, look for the truth, and make changes.
“I can’t tell you how many people tell me they’re a good person when they don’t believe in themselves, or tell me about someone who believed in them. It’s important that the role is to believe in people more than they believe in themselves.”
Looking back on her incredible career, there is much to be proud of.
“The first thing that comes to mind is personal, not professional. I've been married to my husband Mark for 44 wonderful years, and people say this book is a love letter to Mark. “There are,” she says with a smile.
“I am proud to have given IBM the foundation for its next generation, because I believe I was the bridge from IBM's past to its future. I loved the company, but it was time to leave. It's here. I think that's the trick for a lot of leaders to find that moment. A lot of leaders linger too long.”
A chapter in her life has ended, but one that will no doubt become even richer and more impactful.
