I recently went one on one with Jeannette Bankes, President and General Manager of the Global Surgical Franchise at Alcon.

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?

Jeannette: I’ve been lucky to have a variety of cross-functional experiences that have helped me get where I am today. Earlier in my career, I held diverse roles in regulatory, sales, marketing, medical affairs and manufacturing. All of these experiences and skills set me up for successfully running the global surgical business at Alcon, the global leaders in eye care. 

I’ve learned that being a life-long learner has been critical to my success at the workplace. It has allowed me to tackle challenges and grow in different roles and embrace a culture of collaboration within different groups. I wasn’t always the expert when I switched roles in different departments or groups, but I was eager to learn and embrace what I didn’t know. Further, understanding multiple dimensions of a business or a function will allow you to navigate and solve problems more efficiently.

Adam: In your experience, what are the keys to excelling at a large organization?

Jeannette: I believe collaboration is key to excelling at a large organization and motivating your team to show up as their best, authentic selves every day. Working together as a cross-functional team brings in diverse expertise and ideas, catalyzes innovation, and inspires different approaches to meet the larger enterprise-wide goals. 

Adam: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs interested in doing business with large organizations?

Jeannette: The number one piece of advice I would emphasize is the importance of having a clear and well-articulated unmet need you’re trying to solve with the product(s) or solution. It needs a strong enough reason as to why it should be further funded or commercialized – and large companies need to see and believe in that need. 

Moreover, it is instrumental to have a strong story on why a large organization should buy-in to your capabilities vs. building those capabilities internally. If you can clearly demonstrate the value they will gain from doing business with you—that’s a strong, successful strategy.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Jeannette: When it comes to building teams, creating a culture of diversity and inclusion is critical. D&I is an area I am extremely passionate about. We know that it can help increase business value with retaining talent and driving productivity. 

It is also to acknowledge that we all have an unconscious bias and recognizing that, embracing it and learning from it will only make you and your team even stronger. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Jeannette: I strongly believe in the importance of putting your team before yourself and being an active listener are instrumental qualities to be an effective leader. When team members feel cared for and valued, they perform better. Allowing colleagues—no matter their level or role—the opportunity to feel respected in sharing their ideas and thought process allows for forward thinking and more productive work. Moreover, caring about the development of your team and devoting time to mentor and guide the future leaders of your company is equally important. I often think “how can I help my team become the most successful and most motivating in their individual roles.” 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Jeannette: The notions around what leadership should be can often make it too complex and convoluted. At the heart of leadership is true consideration and recognition of those around you and remembering that we’re all in this together. Promoting success within your teams is done best with genuine regard for those on your team. The respect you gain as a leader only goes as far as the respect you give as a leader. Similarly, the effort you place within your team will be reflected by the efforts they provide. So, as many people like to say, lean in and lead.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Jeannette:

1. Be utterly curious – from the biggest ideas to the smallest details

2. Build a support system, and have those advocates and mentors to help you along your career journey

3. Embrace the criticism – while you might not want to hear it you from everyone you can learn something

Adam: What are your best tips on the topic of mentorship?

Jeannette: Mentorship can be an exceptionally powerful tool - I’ve always had mentors and served as one throughout my career. 

The mentorship relationship should not be one-sided. Mentors have just as much to learn from the mentee and keeping that top-of-mind is going to help make the relationship mutually beneficial. Early in my career, I wasn’t sure how to be an effective mentor. But once I defined what I should be doing, I was able to benefit my mentees more productively, and learn some valuable lessons myself.

First, don’t exclusively focus on negatives, and clarify the difference between areas of improvement and weaknesses. 

Second, for those looking for a prospective mentor, figure out what level you’re at in your career and who will be most effective as your mentor. This is especially true for working parents, we’re juggling a lot in our lives – so make sure you’re deliberate with how you structure your mentor relationships.

Finally, be assertive and set personal and professional goals – this will help you hold yourself accountable. 

And for those who haven’t thought about mentorship and are currently in a leadership position, I believe a pay it forward mentality is crucial. It’d be impossible to conceptualize how you’ve achieved your career goals without help along the way, and I think it’s important to consider how you can advance others in their career aspirations. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Jeannette: As a young professional, I was once told, “Jeannette, get the tools in your toolbox. The more skills and knowledge you have – no matter what you pursue in your career, will be very beneficial. You’ll be able to be a more effective leader as someone who understands all facets of the business, and you’ll be able to navigate and solve problems more efficiently.” 

Regardless of your goals, whether it’s being appointed to a new position or improving on an area of personal development, it’s important to grow a multidimensional set of skills, knowledge or abilities. I truly believe this has been foundational to my success; skills, knowledge, tools, and business acumen are transferable across all types of work. Even more, life experiences like motherhood or hobbies can help develop those tools in the toolbox.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also 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. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, 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. 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.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.