Q&A with Jodi Baxter
Beyhan Zor (MBA for TELUS ’23) interviews Jodi Baxter (MBA for TELUS ’17) in part three of this four-part series celebrating women alumni of the MBA for TELUS now in senior leadership roles. Baxter is VP 5G & IOT connectivity and Zor is manager, products & services at TELUS.
The award-winning MBA for TELUS is a custom MBA in Strategic Leadership developed by the Gustavson School of Business for telecommunications client TELUS. Students are TELUS team members who are nominated to UVic by TELUS.
Beyhan Zor: It’s so nice to meet you, Jodi! Let’s get started. Are there specific moments or decisions that stand out in your career journey that were influenced by your MBA that you’d like to share?
Jodi Baxter: Absolutely! The MBA program for TELUS was an amazing opportunity for me to hone my leadership skills. You actually have to use those skills in your TELUS MBA because you have to work with groups of people through different semesters. Coming out of the MBA, the fact that I had completed the MBA was really well recognized by my business unit. That recognition allowed me to take on more leadership responsibilities. I engaged heavily in growing my leadership experience and used my MBA as an opportunity to leverage the network I built. This played an instrumental role in being promoted to a director during my MBA, which was very exciting.
The next stage after becoming a director for me was to identify where I wanted to play and what part of the organization I wanted to be a part of. Having the confidence from the MBA and with the network I built, I was able to really look across TELUS to see what other areas of the business I’d be interested in. I realized that I like being a part of new things and taking new challenges. At that point, about a year after I'd finished the MBA, TELUS Internet of Things (IoT) was really starting to make traction in the world and they were looking for a director to come in and lead the connectivity side of the business. What I loved about that role was that it gave me an opportunity to come back to my roots, which was product, but also continue to own an operation and develop inside of the organization. What I really loved about that role was that I got to be the CEO of my work portfolio, which gave me greater accountability. I was able to really showcase what I could do and that's what actually got me to where I am today as the VP of IoT. This was an amazing opportunity where I got to show the possibilities of this portfolio and I was also able to grow my responsibilities into a leadership position as a Vice President without changing roles. Now, I love what I do every single day.
BZ: In terms of the leadership styles, have you noticed any significant differences that women bring to table that contribute to their success?
JB: Honestly, I believe it’s the diversity we have at the table that makes us successful with both women and men with different backgrounds. I’ve also realized as women we often have a lot of things going on in the background. At least in my case, I feel like I’m the CEO of the house where we solve problems and create opportunities for our family, and then we're in these executive positions at work. I believe women bring these skills into the workforce as well. From what I’ve observed, women tend to have an even more caring approach and they're very focused on the engagement of their employees. They actually know the inner workings of their team members including things like how many kids they have and what they do for extracurricular activity. I'm not saying men are not doing these things, but my observation is that women make this a priority to learn and it actually makes your team members feel like they are a family. And when they feel like they're family they will do anything for you, going above and beyond to drive growth in the organization.
BZ: How would you describe your personal, professional or leadership philosophy? And how does it guide your decision-making approach?
JB: My leadership philosophy is transparency and authenticity. I always go back to Elango’s [Dr. A.R. (Elango) Elangovan] class in MBA where we learned about framing and authenticity. It resonated with me the most because they're related to leadership styles and the quality of leadership, and I'm really passionate about leading people. When I think about my philosophy I’d say it's leading with transparency and being authentic. I am as authentic as I can be and I'm honest about what I can't share which, in my opinion, is really important for any leader. I've always cherished that type of leadership style and that's the philosophy that I've carried forward.
The other philosophy that I carry forward is there's no “I” in team. In order for us to drive the enormous opportunities that we have in front of us as a TELUS organization, your network is key to getting things done collaboratively and making everyone feel like we are contributing to the greater success of the organization.
Last one I would call out is that I'm a fact person. Even though I do think as women we need to trust our gut more when we make decisions, I still need my facts to stand behind my decision.
BZ: I get that. In my team, we call them one-way or two-way door decisions, which helps you identify the ones where you for sure need facts (one-way door decisions – the ones you can’t easily come back to) versus the quicker ones you can make based on previous experiences (two-way door decisions).
JB: I love that sentiment, that's a really great way of thinking about decision making.
BZ: What do you hope to be the lasting legacy of your career?
JB: Personally, I would say I’d like to hear that anyone who worked for me was excited about what they did on the team, grew within the team and progressed in their career journey.
From a professional legacy, I’d say it's supporting the team from traditional Telecommunication (TELCO) into a more technology and innovation focused (TECHCO) growth mindset.
BZ: What are some of the specific elements of the TELUS MBA that had an impact on your journey?
JB: I would say the framing exercise that we learned as part of the organizational course. The other one that was really impactful for me was the strategy course. What I loved about the strategy course is that it helped put some tools in place and teach us how to dissect it. I also developed communication skills around how to develop a strategy. Going through the cases in the classroom was also very helpful to hear everyone’s perspective and way of thinking.
BZ: Why did you decide to do an MBA in the first place?
JB: I had thought about an MBA when I was much younger and, to be honest, going back to school was not on my list of priorities. But my leader at the time encouraged me to take this opportunity not only to learn different career-specific skills but also to build my network within TELUS. That’s what I ended up finding the most powerful outcome of this MBA program: the 19 great friends I gained through the program that I can count on anytime.
The other thing that was great about the MBA for me is that it let me broaden my horizons around businesses outside of TELUS. I got an understanding of different cultural makeups, different strategies, different financial approaches and more which was really beneficial for my growth.
BZ: Looking back at your journey from MBA graduation to joining the leadership team, what aspects surprised you the most?
JB: One of the things that surprised me the most was how much I actually used the MBA in my day-to-day work.
For example, the stats course. We had an amazing instructor, Jen Baggs, who made statistics interesting and really easy to grasp. Coming out of the MBA, I was tasked with looking at a pricing approach. Jen was very helpful in building the model with me which was an effective way of communicating with the leadership team and helped us make a decision based on pure data.
Another one that I already touched on was the framing concept we learned with Elango. I still use that framework when building my annual team strategy.
Lastly, the other thing that really surprised me on a personal level is the MBA actually gave me confidence to have my voice heard and challenge the status quo.
And honestly, I can keep going with this list. Another example is the concepts we learned in marketing with Mark Colgate! I use those with my team whenever we launch a new campaign and each time it’s been very effective.
BZ: I want to ask about the mentors and champions you had throughout your journey. Are there any other mentors or any other support systems that helped you in your career journey?
JB: Yes, so as you mentioned there are mentors and then there are champions. I think especially for women having both male and female champions is really important. I've had a few really key champions in my career that have helped to lift me up or showcase my abilities.
In terms of mentorship, I actually prefer the word coaching. I find mentorship is a bit of a one-way street and you're just hearing somebody's opinion on how things should be. But if you're actually coaching—as we learned in Mark’s great coaching course—then the person is listening to you and then giving you advice on things you need help with.
I'll be honest, most of my coaches have been either my direct leaders or peers of my direct leaders. It was very helpful to have people who could observe me and coach timely and very tactically. For example, I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn't for Marshall Berkins. He has been a massive champion by giving me opportunities to be at the leadership table and encouraged me to always speak up by pushing me to go beyond what I thought I was capable of.