Barbara Giamanco

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Authenticity: A Recipe for Success with Marietta Davis, IBM

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

My interview with Marietta focuses on authenticity – being who we really are in all walks of life.

For many women, including me, shedding the mask to be our authentic selves, especially in business, isn’t always easy. Women more than men are taught from an early age to “fit in”. Be nice, include everyone, don’t get too big for your britches.

For those of us who wanted corporate careers for ourselves, we were signaled subliminally or told directly, that to succeed in a man’s world we had to be like the men. That meant dressing like them too! As you’ll hear in Marietta’s interview, in her first stint at IBM early in her career, she wore ladies Brooks Brothers suits, white shirts and wing tips like the guys.

Authenticity is a word thrown around a lot but what does it really mean. There are varying definitions like something proven to be real or legitimate but I like this definition best.

Authenticity is about presence, living in the moment with conviction and confidence and staying true to yourself. An authentic person puts the people around them at ease, like a comforting, old friend who welcomes us in and makes us feel at home.

Being who we are and standing strong in our personal power is tough when faced with pressure to conform. Yet, living and leading authentically, as Marietta does, naturally draws people to you. Authenticity isn’t something you can fake, though many people do try. We can feel it when people are being true to themselves because they exude self-confidence, passion and trustworthiness. As a leader, bringing your whole self to work, inspires your team to follow your lead.

During the interview with Marietta we…

Talked about her passion for non-profits such as the Posse Foundation and why it is important to her to give back to her community.

Her career progression working in high impact roles in major technology companies and what her role at IBM entails.

What Marietta means by authenticity and why it is important, especially as an executive leading teams.

Talked about the “authentic Marietta”. We also talked about whether or not we can learn to “let go” and be our authentic selves if we choose too.

Finally, we wrapped up talking about when Marietta might have tried to lead as someone other than her “real self”, and what happened as a result. Her answer might surprise you!

As we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History month all throughout March, be inspired by women all throughout history who had the courage to live authentically and change our world for the better!

Listen and enjoy the interview!

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About Marietta

My guest today is Marietta Davis, VP North America Communications and CSI, IBM Global Markets. Marietta is a seasoned sales executive with an extensive career in the technology industry holding high impact positions at IBM, Lotus Development, Ameritech, and Tata Consulting. I first met Marietta in her role as Vice President of U.S. Dynamics at Microsoft Corporation. The highest ranking African American in North America, Canada and Latin America, Davis led an organization of more than 400 sales, marketing and technical experts serving Microsoft’s business customers with Dynamics ERP and CRM Solutions. While at Microsoft, Davis successfully managed and grew multiple businesses to $1B and triple digit growth milestones. Her diverse leadership portfolio extends to mentoring strong leaders into key roles and acting in an advisory capacity to incubation and small startups.

Marietta gives back in a number of ways and currently sits on the National Board of Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families. Recently inducted into the Spelman College “Game Changer” Hall of Fame for her work in 2015, Marietta is also a sought after speaker on leadership topics and is a published author, writing for the Huffington Post and Thrive Global.

Feature header blog post photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash

Filed Under: blog, Women In Sales Tagged With: executive, IBM, international women's day, leadership, sales, women, women in sales

Women Who Inspire Me

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

In celebration of International Women’s Day, where the theme is Be Bold for Change, I thought I would write about women whose life stories have had an impact on me. There is a common theme that inspires me. These women had a clear vision, took risks, pushed through barriers to achieve their vision, stood their ground even if it meant their life, and had the courage and fortitude to do what they believed to be right. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are some of my personal heroes.

Joan of Arc – “I am not afraid… I was born to do this.”

Joan of Arc led the resistance to the English invasion of France in the Hundred Years War. Believing it was her divine mission to free her country from the English, she dressed like a man, cut her hair, leading the French troops to victory in the battle of Orleans in 1429. At 19, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for the crime of continuing to dress in men’s clothing while imprisoned. Years later she would be exonerated of those crimes. She was later canonized by the Pope in 1920. This was a woman who believed in her path so fully that she was willing to risk and face death and refused to comprise her beliefs even when it would have saved her life. That’s definitely a bold for change attitude!

Queen Elizabeth I – “Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind.”

Known as the “Virgin Queen”, Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most educated of her time and embodied a strong determination to follow her own path. Her life was not an easy one beginning with being declared illegitimate by her father Henry VIII after the beheading of his wife, and Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn and the subsequent annulment of his marriage to Anne.  Henry VIII did later reinstate both his daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, into the line of royal succession. Throughout her life there was one political machination after another putting her life in jeopardy many times. At age 15, she was implicated in a plot orchestrated by Thomas Seymour to kill his brother Edward, who at the time was the Protector of England. While held captive, at this young age, Elizabeth had to convince her interrogators that she knew nothing of Thomas Seymour’s plan. I admire Queen Elizabeth I, because she was bold for change and lived in a time when being a woman wasn’t easy.

Alice Paul – An American suffragist, Alice Paul cofounded the Congressional Union and then formed the National Woman’s party in 1916. She led numerous demonstrations and was subjected to imprisonment as she sought a voting amendment. She and other women participated in a hunger strike, which then led to prison authorities violently force feeding these protesters for the right to vote. Ultimately, the actions of Alice Paul and others led to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Yes, women have only had the right to vote for the past 97 years!

Eleanor Roosevelt – “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt our 32nd United States President of America. Determined to be a voice for change, she worked for political, racial and social justice and later became a delegate to the United Nations. Eleanor was an outspoken advocate for the rights of African Americans, which didn’t make her stance popular with many in the white community. Rather than buckle to pressure or public criticism, Eleanor had the courage and the tenacity to do what was right.

Rosa Parks – “As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin.”

As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, I remember the practice of expecting black children on the school bus to give up their seats for the white kids. Not raised to think that one person was better than another because of the color of their skin, I didn’t understand why this happened. I’m no Rosa Parks, but I do remember a day when the bus I road to school was crowded. As I boarded the bus, I saw a young black girl a few seats back stand up to give me the seat. I refused. Years later I would learn about Rosa Parks and her infamous stand in Montgomery, Alabama when she refused to give up her seat to a white man. Her action and courage sparked the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Frida Kahlo – “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

I am a passionate art lover, and Frida Kahlo’s work is some of the most amazing of its time. Her early life was anything but easy, as she survived childhood polio and later a bus accident at age 18 that led to multiple operations. Her dreams of becoming a doctor changed as a result of that bus accident, and her body would be racked with pain for the rest of her life. As she healed after the accident and subsequent operations, Frida began to paint as a personal form of escape. She rejected the artistic label of surrealist insisting that what she painted was more a reflection of her reality than her dreams.  Married to Diego Rivera, they had a complicated and tumultuous relationship. Friday Kahlo is a woman who stood her ground and followed her own vision.

Harriet Tubman – “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Born a slave, Harriet Tubman knew the indignities and lack of freedom that life as a slave meant. She would later say that it was a dreadful condition that no one would ever wish to go back too once they escaped the bondage of slavery. Harriet would go on to become a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Designed as a system to help runaway slaves escape to free states in the north, Harriet Tubman was responsible for helping more than 300 slaves to freedom. Despite a bounty on her head, she put her life on the line time and time again, as she returned to the south to help others get to freedom.

Find more women in history who continue to inspire legions of women, including me, here. And here.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: #beboldforchange, #IWD17, international women's day, women

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