Learn to Ask For Help: Interview with Carol Juel, Chief Technology and Operating Officer of Synchrony
I recently went one on one with Carol Juel, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Operating Officer of Synchrony.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Carol: Growing up, I didn’t know it was possible to be Chief Technology and Operating Officer of a leading financial services company like Synchrony. I liked computer science in school, but I opted out of an AP Computer Science course in high school because I was the only girl in the class. Because of that experience I became passionate about helping to solve the gender gap in technology.
When Synchrony became a standalone public company more than eight years ago through an IPO, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build the company’s modern infrastructure from the ground up – right after giving birth to twins. I realized then that driving growth at a company with technology as the differentiator is what motivates me. Being Chief Technology and Operating Officer of Synchrony has been a dream job! I’m a lifelong learner and I thrive in roles where I am required to adapt and respond to various challenges. As a CTO and COO, if you don’t love learning and adapting, you’re not going to survive.
Adam: In your experience, what are the keys to building, leading, and managing teams?
Carol: Leaders need to develop an agile mindset, create a culture of inclusion and develop trust with employees. When the pandemic began, we realized we needed to act fast to change our operations. Guided by my experience in the tech sector, I suggested that the senior management team adopt an Agile mindset, prioritizing speed and decision-making. We started operating in Agile stand-ups twice daily to inform, discuss and make strategic decisions. From this, we fundamentally changed the way we worked, infusing Agile principles into every corner of the business – listening, driving clarity of purpose, empowering teams and quickly adapting along the way.
It's also important for leaders to create a culture of inclusion and build teams that represent the communities and customers we serve. Diversity of thought drives innovation at scale and speed. Creating a diverse workforce is also the best defense against unconscious bias.
Finally, one of the main ways to gain the trust of your employees is to first trust them. Especially as we navigate the complexities of hybrid work, it’s important to let your employees know you trust them to get their work done and to tell you if something hinders that. The pandemic taught us all just how important it is to get to know our employees and allow them to get to know us as people – not just leaders. That trust is critical to understanding employee wellbeing, and keeping the lines of communication open as employees continue to expect companies to help them better balance their personal and professional lives.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Carol: In the world of hybrid work, I believe a new kind of leader is required to succeed, one that moves from managing to coaching. In a constantly changing environment, leaders can no longer rely on command and control to be successful. The goal is to harness your team’s superpowers and encourage development and growth by asking questions and offering support and guidance (instead of answers). We have found that establishing a clear vision, defining what success looks like, acting on employee feedback and holding teams accountable are key to growing high-performance teams.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Carol: Leaders need to be lifelong learners. While I opted out of that one computer science class in high school, I didn’t lose my interest in technology. I studied Linguistics in college which is actually very relevant to computer science. It was my first job at a consulting agency where I stepped into the world of business and technology when the light bulbs went off for what was possible. Being open to new ideas and experiences led me from majoring in Classical Languages and Literature in college to where I am today. I’m a lifelong learner and I thrive in roles where I am required to adapt and respond to various challenges.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to emerging leaders?
Carol: Be brave, not perfect. This is something I learned from my friend Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First who has inspired young women to take risks and learn to program. Coding is so much trial and error and it teaches girls that failure is just part of the process — being brave enough to try is the real win. That can be applied across skillsets.
Don’t buy into the myth that you need to do everything yourself. Ask for help. I had an incredible opportunity to build Synchrony’s technology foundation when we were becoming a public standalone company. But life doesn’t always play out on the schedule you choose. At that time, I had recently given birth to twins and my husband has always been a great source of support. But I had to learn to ask for it. I remember sharing with him that I needed him to take on more responsibilities at home so that I could lead the technology build. And I had to learn to rely on the team I had built at Synchrony. I had a strong team at work and a strong team at home – true partnership in both places that I learned to lean on.
Get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable. This is how you grow — and it might take the form of learning a new skill, starting a job where you feel a bit out of your depth, or even navigating through a pandemic.
The pandemic was a great accelerator and digitization has changed a lot over the past few years. We prioritized health and safety and equipped everyone with the technology they needed to do their jobs remotely, without sacrificing the highest levels of security. And we adopted Agile principles in earnest — starting with our executive leadership team. It was difficult to accomplish everything while working in a new way that was unfamiliar to some people, but as a result, we protected our people and ensured business continuity. We emerged as a stronger company and became stronger leaders. We fundamentally changed the way we work, pivoted to new business priorities and quickly adapted to massive technology and societal shifts.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to seasoned leaders?
Carol:
Be agile, nimble and iterate over time. At Synchrony, we took Agile practices used in software development and applied them companywide during the pandemic. Our CHRO DJ Casto and the HR team used that same Agile approach to rapidly rollout enhanced benefits in real-time, including enhanced childcare support, diverse wellness coaches, sabbaticals and other progressive benefits for our employees where a majority are women and hourly associates. We now use these practices throughout our entire business.
Build bench strength: It’s crucial to prepare people for new roles that build new skills and strengths. In fact, I believe preparing people for new roles is just as important as understanding new technology. One of my priorities is skills development and talent, making sure we’re preparing our people with the skills needed for the jobs of the future.
Listen with a bias towards empathy: The employee/employer contract has changed and the leadership model must change too. We must approach every situation with empathy. Listening and being open to change allows leaders to support their people and address barriers more proactively and creatively.
Adam: What are the most important trends in technology that leaders should be aware of and understand? What should they understand about them?
Carol: Metaverse: Although it is still largely undefined, many envision that the metaverse will be an immersive, virtual world where people use avatars to interact with one another. In the future, people will be able to shop or attend meetings or entertainment events in the metaverse, and it will all seem lifelike. At least that’s the vision. However, the metaverse won’t be a success without a reliable, trusted, and easy way to pay for products and services. Particularly in the payments industry where Synchrony operates, the metaverse will create new customer behaviors and expectations, requiring innovative payment options that build trust and make it seamless for consumers to jump from real life to any virtual world they want. It will also be an invaluable tool for us in training our teams in everything from customer service to those coaching conversations with employees.
Embedded Finance: Embedded finance is placing a financial product within a customer experience. As customer expectations have evolved, there’s a growing need for embedded digital finance experiences to meet customers at point of purchase across various channels. Synchrony has embarked on a technology evolution to build an innovative and consistent embedded finance API framework that enables our finance and credit experiences to function within the point of sale, on partner mobile apps, at online checkout, and within patient healthcare payment platforms. Using a common API framework, the same capabilities are molded to fit different industries and customer experiences, enabling growth for Synchrony and our partners.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Carol: Learn to ask for help! In Synchrony’s early days, I had three children under the age of four after returning from maternity leave with twins. I kept piling things onto my to-do list and tried to manage everything myself. I once even fell asleep driving home but I hadn’t told my husband just how overwhelmed I was. When we did speak about it, we discussed a division of labor in our house and some tradeoffs, like divesting myself of grocery shopping.
I realized then that I just wasn’t asking for the help I needed – not just at home – but at work. It can be intimidating to ask, but as leaders, we need to make sure we’re creating a supportive environment where our people don’t feel nervous saying, “I need help with …” or “I’m having trouble with…”
I’m lucky to work for bosses who care – first our former CEO Margaret Keane and now CEO Brian Doubles, who encourage honest conversations. I think that’s part of the DNA at Synchrony, but it’s been amplified since the pandemic.
Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.
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