Starting out as a part-time elementary school teacher with a master’s degree isn’t exactly the launching pad most people would choose to reach the C-Suite of a leading earned wage access provider, but it’s the place Jeanniey Walden began.
Unable to find a full-time teaching role, even with a minor in sign language to set herself apart, Walden's next move was to JCPenney, the first place that would test her mettle as a leader.
“I was 23 and a strong individual producer at JCPenney,” said Jeanniey Walden, chief innovation and marketing officer at DailyPay. “I was promoted to manager of a team of women who worked in the collections department for 25 years or more."
Heading a team that had been in the workforce longer than Walden had been alive, her first task was to improve their performance.
"I wasn't too scared because I was too young to know what I didn't know," she said. "I took it as a challenge and reflected on my teaching classes. I knew that in order to lead them they must respect me. And in order for that to happen, I needed to be upfront and honest with them. So I called a team meeting and shared all of the above with them and asked them to give me a chance, and also to help me help the team.”
The JCPenney team listened and followed her lead. Walden admitted that it was probably the first time that anyone had given the collections team a chance to be heard. Perhaps it was that she reminded the other women of a grandchild or perhaps she was just lucky. So for whatever reason, things clicked between her and the team.
While it wasn’t easy at first, progress was made in driving up performance. Walden noted that she didn’t need to be the smartest person in the room to be a good leader, just a person who was one of the most willing to listen to others. And most importantly, leading with a purpose.
After JCPenney, Walden held executive roles in a variety of startups and large organizations including Barnes & Noble, Mercer, Ogilvy, Ringblingz, IndieFlix and a couple of others before moving to DailyPay.
Walden credits her success in growing as an executive to garnering and giving honest feedback and creating the environment that allows feedback not only to be heard, but also internalized.
“Feedback is a two-way street. You must be willing to create an honest, open dialogue where feedback — positive or negative — is welcomed and appreciated,” said Walden. “It's never easy to hear negative feedback, but when the person receiving knows the feedback is from a good place and meant to help, it will help build trust and honesty. When you tell someone who is falling behind that they are doing a great job, you are actually negatively stunting their career growth.”
When she might feel stuck on a project or in a job, Walden has a three point-strategy of reflection, evaluation and review to help lift herself upward.
The reflection is assessing the role you’re playing in a project or job, looking at the big picture, what is the desired outcome and does your performance help or hinder the effort.
The evaluation element is an honest look at your list of duties to determine where you’re making the most impact and where you’re struggling.
Finally in the review element, Walden advised that a person should find experts in the areas in which a person is struggling to seek help. Asking for help is one of the best things a person can do, as people love helping other people.
“I think it all comes back to purpose, and taking the time to do some self-reflection to dig deep and really figure out what you're passionate about and how you can incorporate that into your day to day,” said Walden.
