Find out what Dr. Jamie McClave Baldwin had to say about leadership, business and how those two things intersect below.

If you could summarize your general philosophy on life, what would it be?

Be generous. Work hard. Stay humble. Forgive easily.

It’s my own version of The Four Agreements (which I love but find hard to remember sometimes). If I find myself off course, I am usually not doing one of these things. When I go back to the basics, the path always becomes clear.

If you were to summarize your general philosophy on business, what would it be?

See above. 😉

In a perfect world, how would the two overlap?

I’ve never really understood why there would be a difference between life philosophy and business philosophy. Business is simply a reflection of our values and our life philosophy.  I don’t buy it when someone tries to tell me “business is business” as an excuse for treating someone poorly or cutting corners. How you do anything is how you do everything. Freedom is having all parts of your life in alignment. Infotech is a place where we are lucky to have that overlap. Where we get to be kind and generous, work hard, stay humble, forgive easily. We get to be ourselves.

If you were to give a TED talk to an audience full of young women entering the workforce, what are five things you’d like them to know?

1. Doers make mistakes. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying. Forgive your mistakes, learn, move on. We need doers.
2. Everyone suffers from imposter syndrome. Even the most experienced and educated person in the room. Do it anyway. Be nervous and unready and do it anyway. Do it scared.
3. Take nothing personally. You will face unfairness. You might feel insulted from time to time. You can’t control what other people do or think but you can control how you react. The difference between humans and most of the animal kingdom is that we get to choose our thoughts – maybe not that first knee jerk thought – but all the ones after that. We all have instant reactions. Learn to pause and think about how you want to choose to react. Let the first feeling pass and then think.  Get in line with your values and act accordingly.
4. No one is laying in bed at night thinking about the mistakes you made. We all lay in bed at night thinking about our own mistakes – I know I do! So don’t worry so much about what others think about you – they aren’t.  Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Limit whose opinions you let matter and guide you.
5. Lead from where you are. Leadership is not about a title. It is about getting off the bench and into the game. Even if that means cheering from the sidelines. Get in the game. Do something to make a difference. Take the initiative. Stand up for someone in need. You might find yourself having made a wrong choice or messing something up but at least you are trying (see #1 above).