Secret Sauce: Jenny Dearborn Chief Learning Officer of SAP
I asked Jenny Dearborn, SVP and Chief Learning Officer of SAP, to talk about her secret sauce* – the principles and practices that guide her leadership.
“It’s my deepest responsibility to give purpose, meaning, and joy to the people I lead.”
Purpose:
Jenny said, “The very first thing I think of is purpose. Understand who you are in the world. Know why you exist.”
“My purpose is to serve the greater good.”
“I always had this sense that there was something big and grand that I was part of… I remember my grandmother saying, ‘You’re here to do great things. Don’t waste your talent.’”
“I think about my grandmother every day. The older she got, the happier and more optimistic she became.”
“I try to very purposefully make sure that every day is more open and transparent and positive than the day before.”
Listen to Jenny talk about her grandmother:
Have you always been optimistic?
“No.”
Jenny said that her home life was wonderful, but school was misery. She barely graduated from high school. “I was told that I was stupid and worthless and retarded.”
Jenny didn’t find out that she had several severe learning disabilities until she was 18 years old.
Jenny said that she became angry and bitter at the system that had oppressed her. “It took probably 10 years to come back to equilibrium.”
“I became a very angry person. A raw nerve all the time. All those wasted years being overlooked.”
Jenny gradually climbed out of bitterness and anger. One tipping point came with motherhood at the age of 27. It felt like a fresh start.
“I wanted to be a person who gave joy to other people.”
Jenny talking about overcoming anger and bitterness:
Healing:
“It was healing to me to be good to other people.”
Jenny realized that leadership is not just about getting a project done. “You have such incredible influence over other people’s lives. You can make someone’s life joyful or miserable.”
If you have a crappy boss, it affects families and communities.
What’s the difference between pessimistic and optimistic leaders?
Pessimistic leaders:
- Lead by fear.
- Intimidate.
- Overpower others.
- Need to be the smartest person in the room.
Pessimistic leaders are on a power trip. They serve for the wrong reason.
If I saw you being optimistic, what would I see?
“Optimism doesn’t mean smoke and mirrors.”
Optimistic leaders:
- Listen.
- Connect. Have skip-level meetings. (Skip-level meetings bypass the manager and talk to their direct reports.)
- Stay grounded in realities while working to make the world better.
- Consider the the fears people feel.
- Avoid hyperbole. Get right to solutions. “Let’s look at reality and figure out the best way to move forward.”
- Look at problems and concerns head on.
- Create clarity on how we are going to address issues, problems, and concerns.
“Optimism is not putting a sugarcoat on something.” Optimistic leaders dare to ask, “How do we understand the facts and realities?”
From pessimism to optimism:
It seemed to me that Jenny looked at the dark and chose the light. She said, “I could choose to wallow in anger and bitterness for years of mistreatment or I could ask, How can these experiences be used to help other people?”
Use purpose as the channel to address pessimism.
Reflect on what you are trying to accomplish. Ask, “What is the best way to collect all the energy of everyone involved to achieve the goal? What are you doing that either hinders or accomplishes that goal?”
Jenny suggests that pessimists could, “Engage in self-discovery to recognize the role they have in creating a negative environment.”
From theory to practice:
- Declare purpose.
- Set purpose-driven goals.
- Develop strategies to achieve goals.
- What resources and people enable execution?
How might leaders move from pessimism to optimism?
What’s your personal takeaway from Jenny’s secret sauce?
*I relax my 300 word limit for Secret Sauce Posts.
Jenny Dearborn is the Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Officer at SAP, accountable to drive measurable business impact by designing, aligning and ensuring execution of SAP’s overall learning activities for the company’s 90,000 employees globally.
Purchase Jenny’s latest book: The Data Driven Leader
More from Jenny: I Hung Up the Phone and Just Started Sobbing
Previous secret sauce post: Mike Bowker: Chief Operating Officer of Cable One
Day after day you inspire me to be a better leader, husband, parent, son and coworker. This is another excellent post that inspires me to be better tomorrow than today.
Thanks Brian. You rock! I was inspired by Jenny’s secret sauce. How many leaders have the goal of bring joy to people?!!
Wonderful post and on point.Pessimists often lack self-esteem and live in the past. By “Engaging in self-discovery to recognize the role they have in creating a negative environment” is a great place to turn pessimism into optimistic leadership.
Thanks Carolyn. During my conversation with Jenny, she discussed how it’s difficult for pessimists to realize the impact of their behaviors/attitude.
I think we all believe we are doing whats best. I wonder if timely feedback might also be helpful. Perhaps when we hear the impact of our behaviors it could be a wake up call.
One of the core tenets I preach in leadership is that it doesn’t matter if we intended to do good, it matters how it was received. From experience, that is a bitter, but eye-opening pill. “Leadership is a position of service” is so important. It’s refreshing to hear a senior leader of a major corporation with this outlook. Jenny Dearborn is my new hero.
Outstanding piece about Jenny Dearborn. One important point is missing from this piece that is fundamental. She CERTAINLY must believe that every cup is at least half full! Every student or professor I have ever mentored who is an optimist walks around with a virtual cup of their favorite beverage….
I find that’s the very simplest way to keep your optimism intact while facing the day-to-day battles we face, regardless of the environment in which we live and work!
virginia
Thanks Dr. Hetrick. The more you think about the half full/half empty idea the more profound it becomes. It’s a cliche for a reason.
This was simply perfect. It is great to read someone else say their purpose as a leader is to give joy to those they serve. It sounds corny but there’s no greater feeling at work. I see too many people who are miserable because their leadership simply doesn’t care about them. They suck. They are allowed to suck. It saddens me. I can, however, ensure that I bring joy to my team. It’s not about perfection; no one is perfect. It’s about a conscious decision to be optimistic and to care about your team! Thank you!
Thanks for adding fuel to the inspiration, hampton. I’m fortunate to work with leaders who are dedicated to build companies where people love coming to work. success is about more than doing work. It’s also about the way we do work.
This is so powerful and inspiring, thank you for sharing!!
Thanks Curtisfamilymexico. Have a great week.
I think my takehome is that I’ve never encountered any organisation where any of the leadership has the remotest interest in bringing joy to anyone on the payroll. The nearest I’ve ever seen to “spreading joy” was an analogy on the parable of the man who had no shoes:
“You think your job gives you something to be unhappy about? Imagine how unhappy you’d be with NO job!”
Thanks Mitch. Just image the opportunities in an environment like the one you describe.
Jenny realized that leadership is not just about getting a project done. “You have such incredible influence over other people’s lives. You can make someone’s life joyful or miserable.”
If you have a crappy boss, it affects families and communities.
It’s true. The leader has the responsibility to learn, learn, learn. It is his job to make his job better and his reports as well.
Thanks Eric. Your focus on learning is the path to achieving the goal of enriching people’s lives. Powerful.
Learn about people. Learn about yourself. Learn about methods that work best.
Wow. She states “It is my deepest responsibility to give purpose, meaning, and joy to the people I lead.” How refreshing. Imagine if all leadership practiced this. What a wonderful place work would be for everyone.
Thanks Crystal. Who wouldn’t love working for a boss that want to bring joy to people?
Interesting–The title of Jenny’s book is The Data Driven Leader—but much of her message deals with feeling, emotions,—healing etc. I think forgiveness and healing are important concepts.
I rekindle my optimism by watching my grandchildren.
Thanks Paul. I think one of Jenny’s passions is helping people use data in a human way.
Those grandchildren are pure joy! Congratulations
Congratulations, Dan, in finding Jenny Dearborn and her profession of “learning as key to personal and professional fulfillment.” Medicine is all about what Jenny professes: The focus on belief and optimism, service to others, and successful outcomes. In fact, our conversations with patients and family members is all about turning medical circumstances into “learning experiences.” And, we define professionalism as when we do our work so well that the persons we serve don’t know if it’s our job…or our nature. Thank you.
Late to the conversation, but I was stunned by this, let it sink in, and then rewrote to apply to my 3rd career as a college prof
“It’s my deepest responsibility to give purpose, meaning, and joy of learning to the people I teach.”
Jenny, you inspired me with your story and purpose to bring joy to others. Thank you for your leadership!