Jacqueline M. Welch
SVP, Talent Management, Diversity & Development,
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
More from Jacqui
“As a young girl I played sports and really liked it. It taught me to respect how my body worked and what it could do. I also trained hard and that meant something—having a finish line and what it felt like to win and not win.”
“I kick box and before that I took boxing. I was working on a project in Philadelphia and I went to a boxing gym. The guy who ran it was so funny. He said, ‘Look, if you’re going to come hang out here, I don’t have a women’s class, so you’re going to work out like the guys do.’ They showed us no mercy.”
“Appreciate winning for what it is. It isn’t everything, but it is an acknowledgement that your hard work has paid off. If you accept that you’re willing to work hard for something, you should be equally willing to accept what comes with that.”
Jacqui's Strategies for Living Authentically:
Make choices from the inside out.
“Men come to work, and it’s not a hobby for them; it’s not an additional source of income. They have defined work for themselves. I’m not advocating that women take this perspective, but that we understand why we come to work. Think about what kind of people you want to work with, what you want to learn, what and how you want to contribute, and what you want to do next. Make your choices honestly.”
Grow from your experiences.
“My intention while I was an undergrad was to be a doctor. I did an internship with a pharmaceutical company in New York, and for the first time I understood medicine as a business. It wasn’t what I wanted and I quickly ended that career path. But I learned a great lesson: I realized I was free to change my mind, and no one was going to die because I wasn’t going to be a doctor.”
Live with no regrets.
“I was recently on a plane that got struck by lightning and momentarily lost power. I wasn’t ready to die of course, but I had this moment of reckoning and knew that if I did, my life would be complete. I felt that the people I loved most in the world knew it, that I had done good work, and whatever imprint I left on the planet had been a good one. I felt really blessed when the plane touched the ground because I knew I was living the life I intended to live.”
Judge others as you would like to be judged.
“A person ought to be able to make choices, without worrying about other peoples’ reactions. I don’t think women give each other that leeway. A woman who wants to stay at home with her children is making as much of a valid choice as a woman who wants to make a ton of money as a banker."
Value Authenticity
September 2010
As a leader who values authenticity, Jacqui Welch likes to refer to a humorous, but insightful scene in Runaway Bride, where Julia Roberts tastes every kind of egg dish imaginable. Throughout the film, Julia’s character had the habit of adopting her latest boyfriend’s preferences, and at the end she finally sits down and figures out what she wants for herself. Welch laughs as she explains, “At work, I think in order to be yourself you actually have to know who you are, what you want to accomplish, what you enjoy doing, and what’s your favorite way to eat an egg! It’s as simple as that.”
This Atlanta-based wife and mother loves helping others and after a memorable experience back in college, she chose to pursue a career in Human Resources. ” While working part-time for the local Urban League I helped a man find a job, and he came back to thank me,’ she recalls. “He was visibly emotional about the situation and I’ll never forget him. That was the first time I thought about what work could mean beyond just making money.” Since then, Jacqui’s strong self-identity has seen her through many career transitions: from Accenture to RockTenn to her current position at Turner. She has followed her own advice, tried all of her ‘eggs’ and has happily created a path that includes bringing her whole self to work.
Strategy For Success: Live In Success
Strategy For Success: Think Out of the Box
Strategy For Success: Know when to sell yourself
Strategy For Success: Rely on your instincts