#66: Ginni Rometty, IBM Former Chairman & CEO—You Only Grow When You're Uncomfortable

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2022

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is Ginni Rometty, the Former Chairman, President and CEO of IBM and current Co-Chairman of the OneTen Initiative. Rising through the ranks from systems engineer to CEO, Ginni has learned to be comfortable with situations outside her comfort zone, because that’s where she grew the most in her journey as a leader. While leading IBM, Ginni learned what was essential about IBM that must endure before making changes that set the company up for future growth in new industries. And so what you're about to hear from Ginni, and what you'll learn from her journey to become CEO of IBM, is that great leaders are comfortable being uncomfortable. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to mentally process a promotion to the top job - especially as a woman How Ginni’s mother modelled the courage and leadership Ginni needed to succeed Why propensity to learn is more important than a college degree in a job candidate Why women don’t put themselves forward for new assignments and how to help them go the distance Why preparing for the next job might actually a bad idea How to make the leap from being an individual contributor to a leader who coordinates other people effectively How to focus on the long-term with conviction and a thick skin Why Ginni’s favorite IBM achievement is employee engagement How the hybrid cloud works and the future of artificial intelligence at IBM and around the world How the OneTen Initiative intends to tap hidden pools of talent by changing priorities in hiring PLUS, Ginni’s single biggest piece of advice for reinventing yourself and your company Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the best leaders in the world.
0:10.3	I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader.
0:18.4	That's what this podcast is all about.
0:23.0	Today's guest is Jenny Rometty,
0:29.6	the former chairman and CEO of IBM. Now, I've got a question for you. Have you ever felt uncomfortable at work? I'm talking about that feeling when you're offered a new leadership
0:34.7	opportunity, or when your boss wants you to give that big
0:38.2	presentation in front of the team, or whatever moment where you're being asked to swim out past
0:44.6	the breakers. Well, our guest today, Jenny Rometti says, you will only grow when you're
0:50.8	uncomfortable. So that feeling, that pit in your stomach in those situations,
0:56.1	let me tell you, those are the moments when you have the opportunity to grow as a leader.
1:01.5	Before Jenny was appointed CEO, she had risen through the ranks at IBM, a company she had
1:06.8	worked at for 40 years. And so what you're about to hear from Jenny, and what you'll learn from her journey to
1:13.8	become CEO of IBM, is that great leaders are comfortable being uncomfortable.
1:20.6	There's a lot for us to learn here, so let's get right to it.
1:24.5	Here's my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Ginny Remedy,
1:29.6	the former chairman and CEO of IBM.
1:38.5	Jenny, thanks so much for taking the time for being on the show.
1:42.5	My pleasure, Dave. Pleasure to do this with you.
1:44.9	First off, happy New Year. Have you made any New Year's resolutions you're not going to keep? You know, it's funny. We had a little New Year's gathering and I had hats for everyone to write in their New Year's resolution. I think people are so tired. Nobody wanted to write anything. So we're done. No, no, nothing. You know, Jenny, I want to start out with the obvious.
2:02.1	She were the
2:02.5	first female CEO for IBM. That's a company that you worked for for 40 years. Where were you when you got the
2:09.2	call? And how did it feel to get that invitation to head such an iconic company? It was,
	...

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