Jill Glynn

You don’t have to fly halfway around the world to learn about yourself, but this week I was lucky enough to do just that.

At LinkedIn, I am part of the Global Customer Success Organization (CSO). Each year, the team gets together by region: the Global region, the North America region (NAMER), the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America region (EMEA+L) and the Asia Pacific region (APAC). It’s a way for each team to unite in their part of the world to reflect, build new skills and plan for the quarters ahead.

This year, our leadership team did an exchange program and sent a few team members from each region to another region’s summit. I was lucky enough to be selected to represent the Global Programs Team at the APAC summit in Singapore.

I packed my bags, braced myself for the 23-hour journey from New York and planned to learn about the region’s H2 FY’20 operating priorities, cultural nuances in the talent space, customer learning resources and localization needs.

I did all that, but what I did not plan for were the personal awakenings and self-discovery that were to take place. Here’s what I learned during my 96 hours in Singapore.

1. Authenticity = Consistency I’ve worked in a Global capacity for the past 7 years and still every time I travel abroad, I worry I will come across as “too American.” After all, I have been called out by my Dutch colleagues for saying “awesome” and “amazing” multiple times in once sentence... multiple times on one call :).

In LinkedIn's APAC region there are 8 offices across 6 countries and many different cultures represented. In conversations and one-on-one, I am usually able to pick up on nuances and adjust as needed. But during this trip, I was slated to present a TedX talk on Adult Learning and host 2 workshops on Finding Your Currency with my Scottish-decent, Australian colleague Niel Isdale .

At the end of our first prep session, I timidly asked Niel if I was coming across too American. The look he gave me made me feel embarrassed, but lighter.

“No,” he said.

Niel was the one who built the slide deck for our presentation. I read through and practiced the speaker’s notes several times.

Easy enough, I thought – stakeholder management, building trust, building solid relationships, being authentic – I do this every day. I got this.

But, I didn’t quite understand the application of authenticity until that moment in the conference room with Niel.

Here it is: You were hired into the role you are in because of who you are, a.k.a. your authentic self. This is the value you bring to your organization, your currency.

“Nobody can be you the way that you can be you. It is your distinct competitive advantage.” Carla Harris, VP & Chairman, Morgan Stanley, Talent Connect ‘18 If you are authentic, you will always be consistent. 2. Always check in on your beliefs and make sure they’re your own. The first night of the trip the APAC and visiting managers got together for dinner. As the night was winding down, someone brought out a deck of Big Talk cards and we played.

Aarti Thapar pulled the card that asks, “What is one piece of advice you would have given yourself 5 years ago knowing what you know now?”

Aarti explained that 5 years ago, she was a mostly-stay-at-home mom to 3 children and never imagined going back to work full-time and especially never as the type of mother who is always on an airplane.

Then one day, she realized that these were not her own beliefs. She had adopted the beliefs of others and of society. Today she is the Director of APAC Customer Success.

Aarti’s answer spoke so clearly into my life and the struggle I’ve been battling so hard for the past 18 months.

When my son, Parker, was 5 months old, I dropped him off at daycare. Everyone warned me about the tears that would flow as I got back into my car and sat in the parking lot unable to drive.

That didn’t happen. I drove to Target.

My mom called me that night and told me that her heart broke that I had to put my son in daycare. I agreed and that is the narrative I started telling.

Every work trip I went on, I shared with friends and family how guilty I felt and how unfair it was to my husband to have to be primary caretaker for the week. Every time someone asked me who dropped Parker off to daycare or picked him up and I told them it wasn’t me, I paired it with how sad I was.

I really started to feel it and believe it, but it’s not true.

I am proud of my career. I am proud to be in an equal partnership where my husband and I carry the load 50-50. I am proud that I get to travel the world learning new cultures and collaborating with colleagues of all different backgrounds.

But, most of all I am proud to be a great mother to Parker and to be a powerful role-model for him as he grows

3. I am Remarkable The first day of the summit, Alex Jorissen joined us from Google to lead an I am Remarkable workshop. The program was designed at Google to give women and minorities the practice and confidence to share their accomplishments out loud in order to help them get recognized and continue up the corporate ladder.

The presentation was striking, but also not surprising. Alex shared research and data around self-promotion in the workplace and how it is viewed when women do it versus men. She also taught us that if it is data-based, self-promotion is just fact sharing. For example, in Q3 FY'19 the programs I led impacted 97% of accounts in the segment I support.

After the presentation, we each got a blank sheet of paper that we were instructed to fill by writing as may sentences as would fit that started with “ I am remarkable because…” These lines could be personal or professional, fact based or feeling based.

Most people’s papers remained blank for the first couple of minutes, but once pens started moving they moved quickly. Soon, there were 70 ink-filled-pages around the room.

The next step was that every person had to read their page aloud to their table of ~10 people. I went first to get it over with. I read my page and strategically skipped over a few things that felt too personal. When I finished, Alex asked me if I would read my paper to the room.

I stood up with the microphone and read. My hands quickly started to shake.

“I am remarkable because over the past 4 months I became a caretaker to my fiancé who was unexpectedly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I worked hard, interviewed for and received a promotion, I remained a good mother and watched my son grow into a toddler, and I got married to my fiancé.”

Before I could get to my next sentence, everyone started clapping. I let out a sigh of relief and my hands stopped shaking. I looked up, made eye contact with a few colleagues and it started to sink in…

Most of my days, and I suspect many other’s days, are filled with fear, self-doubt and apprehension. I fear that my accomplishments are not that great or important. I get imposter syndrome and self-doubt kicks in. I am apprehensive to share what I am proud of because I don’t want to come off as braggy or boastful.

All of those feelings may never go away, but that’s OK because I am remarkable and I now have the courage to say it out loud.

“I am remarkable.” The theme of the summit was resonance.

At the start of the summit, Aarti shared that the resonance we would feel would be determined by the people we chose to connect with, the experiences we absorbed and the learnings we chose to apply.

Now, back half way around the world, I still feeling the vibrations and hear the hum of APAC.

I hope that by sharing my learnings, they resonate.

Jill Glynn

New York City Metropolitan Area 5K followers 500+ connections

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