Building Connections and Advancing Careers
Melanie Jones, Coca-Cola's general manager for South Florida and the Caribbean, feels a strong sense of responsibility to grow as a leader and assist aspiring female executives. Her experience in the Driving Corporate Performance program helped her to achieve her goals.
Why did you enroll in this program?
I finished my MBA back in 2002, and as an executive I have to ensure that my education doesn't become stale or stagnant. The case study method was interesting because a lot of it explores the business world in the period since I finished my MBA.
What were you hoping to achieve when you enrolled?
I came into the program with the goal of creating one connection that would benefit someone in my network. I wanted to do something for someone else by connecting with that person, and that in turn would do something for me. Since I would like to continue to progress my career, I looked through the profile list and found two women in my group who were COOs. I was able to discuss with them their career progressions and get helpful insight to how women outside of my organization grow their careers. I think it's important to have goals when entering a program like this in order to get the most out of it. Being mindful and present in the moment makes it easier to walk away with something valuable.
Was the living group a worthwhile experience?
Definitely. Whenever you're in a room with a group of high-powered people, everybody wants to talk. Being part of the living group helped me to find the words around what I wanted to talk about. Our group was very diverse, so we had broad conversations about the cases based on our various industries and backgrounds. These conversations were very dynamic—even more so than in the classroom setting.
How important was it for you to have a place to connect with female executives?
As I've progressed in my career, I've been committed to finding opportunities to bring in women, to help them grow, and to share my experiences with them. I know that there's a lack of women in top positions, so I consider this my personal responsibility as a woman and as an executive.
Did you experience any "aha" moments in the program?
Yes, I had a moment like that. We're going through some changes in my organization, and my living group included some people from GE Capital, which is also going through changes. Our discussions focused on how leaders manage change in an organization. And since GE has done a very good job of instituting retention incentives, an aha moment for me was discovering how I can leverage some of the lessons from GE to manage retention within my organization.
Which aspect of the program did you find most valuable?
For me, the value is that the program offered perspective on business outside my industry, outside my organization. It gave me insight into the thought processes of other leaders across the world.
If you could describe the program in one word, what would that word be? That word would be "dynamic." The program truly pushed me to develop myself as a leader and broaden my mind as a leader.