17 minute read
Jillian Weston
Jillian Weston
Owner/Founder Jillian's Circus
Advertisement
An Astute Digital Marketer Leading with Relatability and Empathy
The effectiveness of the leaders is mainly figured out by their ability to cooperatively work with their team and lead that team effectively to deliver great results. Learning how to teach and motivate people who have different values, goals, and motivations than you do, is tough. Leaders need to deal with a variety of people in the team. They need to have good soft skills to relate with all the people in the team. They need to empathize with people and bring out the best in them to drive organizational success.
Leaders who relate to the people in their team deliver remarkable results for the organizations as well as their clients. One such leader who has cultivated the art of relating to the people is Jillian Weston. Understanding people and becoming more empathetic has made her a better leader. She is the Owner/Founder of Jillian's Circus. The company’s finely-honed balancing act identifies its clients’ goals and achieves them utilizing a wide array of online marketing tools.
Inspiring Employees to Meet Needs of the Clients
Jillian believes that as the owner of a digital marketing agency, it is important to create a strong foundation with the right pricing and service offering, hire motivated people with positive attitudes and natural skills, teach them how to do their specific job, and finally continue to teach, check-in and motivate each person in her company. On-going encouragement and education keep her employees current with their clients’ needs.
Being Competitive by Maintaining Solid Online Presence
Talking about the significance of digital marketing, Jillian mentions that it is impossible to reach your company’s full potential without digital marketing. The return on investment is insane. Digital marketing saves an incredible amount of time and money because the internet provides a place for people to do business anywhere in the world at any time without the expense of an office, staff, etc. For example, a boutique might spend $10,000 on their online website, but that isn’t even close to what they would spend on rent, utilities, and staffing in just one year at a brick and motor location. And their website will last at least 3-5 years.
Another example she gives is of coaching. A coach can put their lessons online as videos or host them virtually, allowing more people to view/ attend each lesson and raising the amount of money they could earn. Scheduling individual appointments or having a physical classroom limits both your time and the number of people who attend each lesson.
Jillian states, “Even if you cannot sell your products/ services online, it must be said that maintaining a solid online presence is still relevant. The presence alone increases your opportunity to gain new business, increases customer loyalty, repeat business, and referrals; and allows you to stay competitive. Few business owners achieve success without a digital marketing strategy.”
Being Adaptable in Unprecedented Times
Everyone can agree that the Spring of 2020 was a difficult time for everyone due to the pandemic. However, it forced many businesses to realize that their business needs to adapt to this digital era. Jillian opines that if entrepreneurs did not know before, the pandemic showed them that they needed to energetically sell their goods and services online.
In any disaster, some industries suffer, and others benefit. Jillian’s Circus adapted by having employees work from home/ remotely and working with current and new clients on getting their business online as quickly as possible. Jillian states, “That’s all part of business- sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down and must find a way to adapt.”
Celebrating Success of Each Other
When it comes to driving an organization’s success, maintaining a positive work culture is essential. Jillian’s Circus strives for a positive work environment. Its training manual goes beyond basic skills/rules. It stresses interoffice relationships and collaborative strategies by encouraging a non-competitive environment, offering ongoing training/team meetings, and hosting several parties every year for all employees and clients. Jillian’s Circus celebrates one another’s successes and provides incentives to reward excellence.
Besides, Jillian expresses, “If there is even one negative Ned/Nancy in your office- get them out!!! Like right now- stop reading and fire them. If you’re the person who is negative, then you need to stop because it’s killing your business.”
One Desired Change
If given a chance, one change that Jillian would bring in the way brands and people connect is to remove people's skepticism when it comes to sales. She states, “Every business is in business because it fills a need. If there is something you need or want, and you hear about someone who has or can do it, then book a meeting with them to see if what they offer makes sense. If it does, move forward. If it doesn’t, let them know and thank them for their time.”
Creating Strong Base and Building on that
Jillian advises aspiring businesswomen to start by creating a strong base. She instructs, “Think about your client’s journey from hearing about your business to working with you for 10 years. Think about what they will see, what they will hear, what they will receive, etc. when they interact with your business and employees. Will they see a professional website? When they call how does someone answer? What does follow-up look like? If they walk into your office, is it comfortable? Then create a consistent, professional, branded flow every customer will experience.”
Creating Authority in Digital Marketing Space and Growing Like a Wildfire
Over the next 5 years, Jillian’s vision is to establish Jillian’s Circus as an authority in the digital marketing space, work on digital advocacy, and grow like wildfire.
Karina Tiwana
An Ardent Legal Professional Exemplifying Passionate Leadership
I“ t takes dedication and laser focus to find success, not to mention rolled-up sleeves and dirt under your finger nails”, states an ardent leader, Karina Tiwana. As the GeneralCounsel, Vice President and Corporate Secretary of ALE USA – the U.S. entity name of AlcatelLucent Enterprise - Tiwana has been an integral part of the success of the company. Her passion for the business side of law and sheer dedication has led Tiwana to where she is today.
After spending almost 15 years at Alcatel-Lucent, first as a Contract Manager for five years, Tiwana moved up through the ranks of the legal department, where she landed a corporate counsel position supporting the most innovative business divisions of the company. Eventually, became a primary legal resource to one of these divisions, the Enterprise division, in 2006. Thereafter, she was tapped to support one of the highest revenue-producing divisions in the company. She did that up until 2014 when she was invited to support the planned divestiture of the Enterprise division as General Counsel in the United States. Tiwana would be charged with building a department to support all the legal needs of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, the new stand-alone company, in North America. This was no small feat but, she said, “many talented and professional people carried my torch.”
Reflecting on the experience, Tiwana recognizes she’s grateful for the men and women along her path that buoyed her up when she felt she might be drowning. Helping a new company be born is a daunting task. The Enterprise Business Division, turned Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, contains a close-knit group with many employees boasting long tenures with the company.
Let’s know more about Tiwana and her contribution to the industry through an interview conducted between her and Insights Success. Below are the highlights of the interview:
As a business leader, what is your opinion on the impact of the current pandemic on the telecommunications industry?
The pandemic’s impact on people, in some cases, has been horrifying and deadly. I will in no way minimize my feelings of empathy toward families that have lost loved ones and those who have fallen ill from the virus. And, of course, to parents trying to cope with both at-home working and at-home teaching of children ripped from schools and their friends. This at-home working and teaching has created an increase in the need for tools like the AlcatelLucent Enterprise Rainbow Unified Communication Platform, as well as infrastructure solutions, such as the company’s OmniAccess Stellar wireless LAN and the OmniSwitch network switches that make everything connect to support the increased communication needs spawned by the crisis. In this way, many telecom industry segments are reaping the benefits of the “new normal”. It’s a shift from in-office to home working and from in-person school to home school. Even events and what used to be live entertainment have gone online as we all try to cope with the restrictions required to keep all of us safe through the pandemic. I hear through news reports that many companies will continue the work-from-home options in some form or other so, it looks like the need for telecom industry tools, solutions and infrastructure is going to continue to grow.
What is your opinion on the necessity for businesses to align their offerings with newer technological developments, especially when it comes to Digital Transformation?
I think that when it comes to digital transformation, businesses that align their offerings to advances in technology further drive the evolution. Technology
continues to be instrumental in our lives and the growth of business. In particular, I think, as a strategy, aligning business infrastructure with Cloud technology builds a mindset that pushes innovation, agility and problemsolving. Our company’s Cloud technology products and services have helped our customers push beyond digital transformation plans and overcome the challenges of working through a pandemic. It’s clear to me that Cloud delivers the benefit of scale and adapts to opportunities, while being reliable and secure. It just makes sense to me how flexible technology enables businesses to adapt the work environment, ensure efficient operations and manage costs.
If given a chance, what change would you bring in providing growth opportunities to Women?
How do you bring your General Counsel skills in establishing strategic direction and delivering results globally?
I do this in many ways, but one of my greatest pleasures in the recent past has been contributing legal advice to our team of women and men that have created the Diversity and Inclusion Employee Resource Group (ESG) under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. With the executive sponsorship of Rukmini Glanard, our Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Services and Marketing, the ESG hosted our second global online summit to highlight that diversity and equality are life issues and, definitely, a business issue impacting financial results. An equal world in business results in an enabled and better world for business. We need all of our minds and all of our hands, as a company, to compete and succeed. Diversity and inclusion – across gender, ethnicity, age, religion, etc. – enable a better, balanced environment for economies and communities to thrive.
In what ways have you contributed to the community?
In my community, as a woman Veteran, I am very active in our American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. This “American Legion Family” provides support to local Veterans, their families and the general community where Veterans live and work. One example of a recent project in 2020, we recognized the needs of so many children in our community around Christmas time. We sponsored, locally, Toys for Tots supported by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. We served over 300 children and all of them received gifts and a food donation for their families. Supporting this kind of “all-volunteer” community event brings me great joy because I saw the power of giving in action. College students, home for the holidays, stood alongside their Parents, Grandmothers and Grandfathers to
participate in the toy and food distribution portion of the event. I strongly believe in the empowerment provided by serving a cause much greater than yourself. I get this empowerment through working within our American Legion Family. I currently serve on the Executive Board as Sergeant-at-Arms and have served in the past as Post Commander. At the time I served as Commander, I was the very first woman everto serve as Commander in the Post’s 77-year history.Today, I’m proud to say, as other notable “first women” leaders are saying more and more, “I may have been the first, but I won’t be the last.” I am very lucky to have been given the chance at AlcatelLucent Enterprise to effect real change in my role as General Counsel at ALE USA. I hired student interns in 2014 as a creative way to augment my staff. We showed so much success with training and utilizing student interns in our legal department that it inspired the company to adopt an Internship Program and now, many departments are hiring student interns. In fact, a recent hire is going to supplement our global CSR endeavors. She will be graduating from college soon with a degree in Ethnic Studies. I think these internship programs are vital to creating opportunities and success for everyone, especially ‘ Step-up and lead from the front. ‘ ‘‘ ‘‘ March 2022 | 44 | insightssuccess.com
for women. In my case, all of my interns moved on to become practicing lawyers and have secured positions in law firms. I’m very proud of all of them.
As an established business leader, what would be your advice for the buddingwomen entrepreneurs?
Make sure you know a good lawyer! Not a shameless plug. No, seriously, it’s very important to build a strong network of diversely talented individuals that can be asked for the help you need along the way. Be yourself because your authentic self is your best face. Have a clear picture of what your authentic self is. Remember, there will be roadblocks on your journey to success and some may be related to your gender, your age or any number of things but the roadblocks are just hills to climb and there are plenty of people to give you a helpful push so you can keep going. Leverage your mentors and allies. These are your friends, your classmates, your teachers, your family, your ‘ ‘ colleagues, and your professional network. They will help you navigate. But, above all, do what you love. Do it a lot. If you do what you love and you do it a lot, you will get really good at it. If you get good at it, you will likely make money at it and you will be wealthy. Wealth is not money alone. Wealth includes not only professional success but also self-fulfillment and realizing your dreams.
Karina Tiwana,
General Counsel, Vice President, and Corporate Secretary,
ALE USA Inc.
There is a tremendous amount of potential in every living entity. Untapped potential should be trapped for the welfare of the world. Where women are empowered that place flourishes in abundance. Empowered women leads to the prosperity of families, societies, nations and the world. Deep down, every person likes to live with dignity by contributing something to the world according to one’s capabilities and potential. Therefore, that potential should be nurtured in everyone and especially in the girls and women. Nothing can dim the light in every person that shines from within. All girls and women has to do is to be aware of their own inner potential and they can contribute to any field of their choice. The world is currently going through the unprecedented times due to the ongoing pandemic. This is certainly challenging time for many people but some exceptional women leaders see the positive opportunity even in such unprecedented time and actually that is the hallmark of good women leadership. Exceptional women leaders are always aware and they understand that the unprecedented times always call for unprecedented actions, innovative, thoughtful, and win-win solutions. The world may be filled with lot of negativity due to inevitable challenges and causes, but exceptional women leaders call upon their inner light and they use such unprecedented time to develop and nourish their skillsets so that they can be an instrument of positive contribution to the world in the coming times. Now more than ever, women and girls need to call on their inner light to utilize the toughest times to tune into their conscience, learn new things by using virtual platforms and make themselves competent. In the difficult times of pandemic it is essential for women leaders to be detached from the negativity around themselves. Unless and until one is detached from the negativity, it is very difficult to focus on the positive and to make the most out of that positive. Exceptional women leaders prefer to be courageous to confront issues more diligently and deal with people with empathy and due consideration. Exceptional women leaders choose to think deliberately and act on the conclusion of logical, rational, analytical, systematic, and cognitive-intensive thought process. That is really the most important part of exceptional women leadership. Leaders are supposed to think deliberately and act on the basis of logical conclusion for delivering the efficient results. Educating and empowering a girl child creates a ripple effect and it creates a positive influence in the community. Empowered women invest time and energy in creating the stronger next generations. The future leaders of tomorrow can be more talented, dynamic, and competent to deliver maximum contribution for the welfare of the world if they are raised by the empowered women. Empowering women is beneficial in so many ways and their contribution play a very important role in creating the genuinely exemplary future leaders.
Gender equality is beneficial for the whole world. Promoting gender equality is not just responsibility of women leaders or women issue but it is a societal issue and everyone should support in promoting the purpose of gender equality. United nations is again and again promoting the empowerment of women. That’s very crucial. The greater number of women in every field is a sign of growth and evolved culture. The empowered women are boon to the world. That is the reason ‘Gender Equality’ is one of the most important sustainable development goals. Empowering women is essential for the sustainable development of the world. Empowered women become great asset for businesses, families, societies, communities, nations, and that is ultimately beneficial for whole world. There are plenty of fields where women have opportunities and they can contribute immensely. The world is in desperate need of genuinely exemplary women leaders to make a difference through businesses, science, research, technology etc. Women can become the leaders in the field of businesses, science, research, technology and in any choice of their field if they are willing to be bold and courageous enough to pursue their career in such fields relentlessly. They have the potential to make a difference in the choice of field they go and therefore women should not shy away from utilizing their best capabilities and they should deny the world of their valuable contribution. Empowered women are the secret weapon of creating a positive change in the society and the world at large. Empowering and enhancing women and investing in them unlocks a tremendous potential for the world. Empowered women are the most important weapon and resource in the fight against the global poverty. The untapped resource of women has the tremendous potential and that should be recognized by the people in the world especially by the people who have the opportunity to create awareness related to this.
The empowered women have the potential to significantly improve livelihoods, productivity, economic outputs, and the overall human life itself. The basic longing to live with dignity, the fundamental desire to have control of one’s lives and one’s future and to be part of determining the course of our communities and our nations are very much universal in the empowered women. These longings burn in the women and girls, and with these longings they can be a great dynamic force in the world to be an agent of change and make a significant contribution for the welfare of the world with their talents, skills, and abilities and that will lead to the ultimate welfare of the world.
