Name: How to empower the leader within you
Uploaded: 2023-10-02T14:53:32.957Z
Duration: 493.8
Description: Jacqueline Baker, Principal Consultant & Founder, Scarlet, joins Steven Ramirez, CEO, [Beyond the Arc](https://beyondthearc.com), to talk about the importance of taking leadership on every level of the business and how to empower yourself to become that leader.

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FinovateFall 2023

INT.004 Jacqueline Baker.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
Hello everyone.

{{00:00:00}}
I'm Steven Ramirez, the CEO of Beyond
the Arc, and I am back at Finovate.

{{00:00:05}}
This time it's in New York, it's
2023, and I couldn't be happier to be

{{00:00:09}}
speaking today to Jacqueline Baker.

{{00:00:11}}
Hello.

{{00:00:11}}
Jacqueline, thank you for joining me.

{{00:00:13}}
Absolutely, thank you for having me.

{{00:00:14}}
So let's, first let's just
get a little bit about you.

{{00:00:16}}
Tell us about you.

{{00:00:17}}
Can you give us a little bit about your
background and your area of expertise?

{{00:00:19}}
Sure.

{{00:00:20}}
I am grateful for the spaces
I've been able to be privileged

{{00:00:25}}
to be in, to be honest with you.

{{00:00:26}}
Because when I think about the
conversation we're going to talk about

{{00:00:28}}
today with leadership, I've had the
pleasure of being in the corporate space.

{{00:00:31}}
I've had the pleasure of
founding two companies.

{{00:00:34}}
I serve as an independent
corporate board member.

{{00:00:37}}
I am a podcast host.

{{00:00:39}}
I'm an author and all of those
spaces I'm grateful to be in.

{{00:00:44}}
But one of the reasons why it's important
is because the ability to talk about

{{00:00:47}}
leadership from many different facets
is really critical and really important.

{{00:00:51}}
Because I know we'll get into this.

{{00:00:53}}
So many people do or don't see
themselves as leaders and it's my

{{00:00:56}}
job to convince them otherwise.

{{00:00:58}}
And because I've been in so many
spaces I can do that and so I operate

{{00:01:01}}
in spaces that allow me to help
people to discover their leadership

{{00:01:04}}
potential and elevates their next level.

{{00:01:06}}
Excellent!

{{00:01:06}}
Well, something you just mentioned
I want to just sort of key in on

{{00:01:09}}
and that is as an entrepreneur
yourself, what does leadership mean?

{{00:01:13}}
in an entrepreneurial context.

{{00:01:16}}
I love the question.

{{00:01:17}}
And the reason why I love the question
is because especially, of course, in

{{00:01:19}}
the space we're in today where we're
in more of the fintech space, so

{{00:01:23}}
many people get smart with the thing.

{{00:01:25}}
They get smart with the product
or the service, and that's fine.

{{00:01:28}}
And that's great.

{{00:01:28}}
And we want that.

{{00:01:29}}
But that's not enough, right?

{{00:01:31}}
Because a lot of times you want to grow.

{{00:01:32}}
You want to scale.

{{00:01:33}}
You want to get investment dollars.

{{00:01:35}}
You want a board.

{{00:01:37}}
And that requires you to lead
yourself and lead other people.

{{00:01:40}}
The other reason why thinking
about yourself as a leader in the

{{00:01:43}}
entrepreneur space is so critical
is because sometimes it's lonely.

{{00:01:47}}
You may have heard this before.

{{00:01:49}}
And since there are four levels of
leadership, you know, self leadership

{{00:01:52}}
being one of them, it's critical that
you see yourself as a leader before

{{00:01:56}}
you start bringing on a team, before
you can afford a team or a board.

{{00:02:00}}
And so while, you know, some starters
and entrepreneurs might think of

{{00:02:03}}
themselves and say, I'm an innovator,
I'm a founder, I'm not a leader.

{{00:02:05}}
Do you want to grow your company?

{{00:02:07}}
Do you want a board?

{{00:02:08}}
Do you want a team?

{{00:02:09}}
You need to learn how to lead and
not just be just an innovator.

{{00:02:12}}
Yeah.

{{00:02:12}}
Well, I think what's
interesting about that.

{{00:02:14}}
So I worked  in a startup.

{{00:02:15}}
And so, you know, you exactly,
as you described, our first team

{{00:02:18}}
was, we were five people, right?

{{00:02:20}}
But  within a course of a couple of
months, we were a hundred people, right?

{{00:02:23}}
And had that continued on that
trajectory, we might've been

{{00:02:25}}
a couple of thousand people.

{{00:02:27}}
So leadership changes
really  fast in startups.

{{00:02:30}}
So any advice that you have for
people  who are beginning that kind

{{00:02:34}}
of startup journey and about how
they deal with the speed of change?

{{00:02:37}}
Yeah, I do want to answer that.

{{00:02:39}}
And I promise I will.

{{00:02:40}}
But the other thing I'll say just about
self leadership is it is a magical

{{00:02:46}}
time when you have that moment of
small team, maybe even solopreneur.

{{00:02:51}}
Where you can refine those skills that
you know you're not so great at before

{{00:02:55}}
you start adding on a whole bunch of
other people and you start to have to

{{00:02:57}}
manage them and manage their challenges.

{{00:02:59}}
And so, while I know lots of founders
want to grow and they want to scale

{{00:03:03}}
fast, while you have the privilege
of being small, use that opportunity

{{00:03:08}}
to develop yourself at the same time.

{{00:03:10}}
But the question you asked about change,
like how might you  utilize leadership

{{00:03:14}}
to manage change, to deal with change.

{{00:03:18}}
You know, the good thing about
leadership is that there are so many

{{00:03:20}}
different skills and qualities that
serve you well throughout your journey.

{{00:03:25}}
I talked a little bit earlier
when I was in the main stage

{{00:03:27}}
about different leadership styles.

{{00:03:30}}
And there are some of us who have
a propensity to gravitate towards

{{00:03:35}}
a certain leadership style.

{{00:03:35}}
I'm curious, while I have the privilege
of having you here, what do you think

{{00:03:39}}
your default leadership style is?

{{00:03:40}}
Are you more of a...

{{00:03:42}}
I'm a democratic leader.

{{00:03:43}}
Or are you like, no, no, no.

{{00:03:44}}
The book stops at me and I'm autocratic.

{{00:03:45}}
Like, what's yours?

{{00:03:46}}
I'm a benevolent autocrat.

{{00:03:49}}
Who is that saying?

{{00:03:51}}
No, I think, I think that
I'm good at engaging people.

{{00:03:53}}
But at the end of the day, I do feel
like a leader has to lead, right?

{{00:03:57}}
And has to make a decision.

{{00:03:58}}
And I actually lived at one
time, I went to Berkeley.

{{00:04:01}}
I actually lived in a vegetarian co op.

{{00:04:03}}
And I was, and I, and everything,
literally everything ran by,

{{00:04:07}}
it had to be a hundred percent
agreement by everyone in the house.

{{00:04:11}}
It's really hard to manage that way.

{{00:04:12}}
So I learned that early on.

{{00:04:14}}
And so there are just some times
when the leader just has to say,

{{00:04:16}}
this is how we're going to do it.

{{00:04:18}}
Absolutely.

{{00:04:18}}
And I, and I think that that
is magical and an opportunity

{{00:04:23}}
and a path you can take.

{{00:04:24}}
But you and I both know that when we
only lead that way, right, you don't

{{00:04:28}}
ever get the richness of the skills
of the people that are around you.

{{00:04:31}}
But when you're thinking about
change, even when we're at right

{{00:04:33}}
now in 2023, the way that many of
us have to lead right now, isn't

{{00:04:37}}
necessarily how we had to lead in 2019.

{{00:04:40}}
For lots of reasons, for different
generations entering into the workforce

{{00:04:44}}
for us, you know, admitting the spaces
where we're not so great at and allowing

{{00:04:50}}
other leaders to fill those gaps.

{{00:04:52}}
And so I'm happy that we're at a place
in the world where more people are

{{00:04:55}}
willing to say, I don't know that, like,
I don't need to appear to be perfect.

{{00:05:00}}
And by, by allowing other people to
step up and to lead, it allows us to

{{00:05:05}}
win collectively versus me feeling
like I have to have the answers

{{00:05:08}}
to everything because you don't.

{{00:05:09}}
Yeah.

{{00:05:10}}
So we do a lot of work  with banks and
in particular, we've been blessed by

{{00:05:14}}
working with two of the top five banks.

{{00:05:16}}
So very large, literally hundreds
of thousands of employees in

{{00:05:20}}
that kind of organization.

{{00:05:21}}
There's not always the safe
zone to be able to say that you

{{00:05:25}}
don't know something exactly.

{{00:05:28}}
And it's sort of, but that, but I think
to your point I think it's changing.

{{00:05:31}}
Do you see this change also
with large organizations?

{{00:05:34}}
I do.

{{00:05:34}}
But and I'll say this too.

{{00:05:37}}
I don't necessarily think that there was
a time when you had to know the answers.

{{00:05:43}}
I think that you had to be brave
enough to cultivate a group around

{{00:05:46}}
you and be willing to say, Hey,
I hired you because you're great.

{{00:05:50}}
I'm not gonna have all the answers.

{{00:05:52}}
That's what you're here for, right?

{{00:05:54}}
But I do see that it's a shift
now where people are feeling

{{00:05:57}}
like or they're more empowered to
say, Hey, I'm Jacqueline  Baker.

{{00:06:01}}
I'm in the leadership space.

{{00:06:02}}
I am not in the tech space.

{{00:06:03}}
That might be your space.

{{00:06:04}}
Like, come on, step up and
let's let's win together.

{{00:06:07}}
Right?

{{00:06:07}}
And so I do see a shift and I
would love to see more of it.

{{00:06:10}}
But more specifically, I do see a
shift in markets and industries that

{{00:06:14}}
have been more autocratic, right?

{{00:06:16}}
Legal, banking, you know, I think that
those areas have become a little bit more

{{00:06:21}}
accepting of, accepting failures, right?

{{00:06:24}}
Accepting when I don't know everything.

{{00:06:25}}
And I think that we're better for it.

{{00:06:27}}
Yeah.

{{00:06:27}}
So I've got one last question for you.

{{00:06:28}}
And that is, I think that you've said that
everyone has the potential to be a leader.

{{00:06:33}}
But I have seen that lots of
people don't live up to that

{{00:06:35}}
potential or they don't seize it.

{{00:06:37}}
And so I'm wondering, is there a catalyst?

{{00:06:39}}
Is there a trigger?

{{00:06:40}}
What makes you cross over and
start on that leadership journey?

{{00:06:43}}
Here's my thought.

{{00:06:45}}
I believe that we all have the
opportunity to start to discover

{{00:06:49}}
our leadership potential.

{{00:06:51}}
I believe that.

{{00:06:52}}
I also think that we all, every single
one of us, it doesn't matter if you're

{{00:06:56}}
thinking about the person that has been
the slackerest of the slackerest person

{{00:06:59}}
on your, I know you're, somebody's
coming to mind to you right now, right?

{{00:07:03}}
They still have some
qualities within them, right?

{{00:07:06}}
That technically are transferable
if they give themselves permission

{{00:07:10}}
to shift it from a social
space to a professional space.

{{00:07:13}}
Now, also, let's not get the function of
a manager, the function of an SVP or VP.

{{00:07:21}}
Let's not get roles, positions, status,
or titles confused with your ability

{{00:07:25}}
to see yourself as a self leader.

{{00:07:27}}
Get more tools and elevate, right?

{{00:07:29}}
And I think that that's a huge
misconception as we equate

{{00:07:32}}
roles, positions, status,
entitled to leadership, right?

{{00:07:36}}
There's a function and there's
just also a skill set as well.

{{00:07:38}}
I'm not saying that everyone has
the ability to go out and be a CEO.

{{00:07:41}}
I am not saying that at all, but
I am saying that we all have the

{{00:07:44}}
opportunity to give ourselves
potential or give ourselves permission

{{00:07:47}}
to start our leadership journey.

{{00:07:48}}
I do believe that.

{{00:07:49}}
Excellent.

{{00:07:50}}
Well, Jacqueline, thank you very much.

{{00:07:51}}
Really have just an
incredible conversation.

{{00:07:53}}
I've really enjoyed it.

{{00:07:55}}
And I want to thank everyone for
joining us today here from Finovate.

I'm Steven Ramirez, the CEO of Beyond
the Arc, and I am back at Finovate.

This time it's in New York, it's
2023, and I couldn't be happier to be

So let's, first let's just
get a little bit about you.

Can you give us a little bit about your
background and your area of expertise?

I am grateful for the spaces
I've been able to be privileged

Because when I think about the
conversation we're going to talk about

today with leadership, I've had the
pleasure of being in the corporate space.

I've had the pleasure of
founding two companies.

I serve as an independent
corporate board member.

I'm an author and all of those
spaces I'm grateful to be in.

But one of the reasons why it's important
is because the ability to talk about

leadership from many different facets
is really critical and really important.

So many people do or don't see
themselves as leaders and it's my

And because I've been in so many
spaces I can do that and so I operate

in spaces that allow me to help
people to discover their leadership

Well, something you just mentioned
I want to just sort of key in on

and that is as an entrepreneur
yourself, what does leadership mean?

And the reason why I love the question
is because especially, of course, in

the space we're in today where we're
in more of the fintech space, so

They get smart with the product
or the service, and that's fine.

And that requires you to lead
yourself and lead other people.

The other reason why thinking
about yourself as a leader in the

entrepreneur space is so critical
is because sometimes it's lonely.

And since there are four levels of
leadership, you know, self leadership

being one of them, it's critical that
you see yourself as a leader before

you start bringing on a team, before
you can afford a team or a board.

And so while, you know, some starters
and entrepreneurs might think of

themselves and say, I'm an innovator,
I'm a founder, I'm not a leader.

You need to learn how to lead and
not just be just an innovator.

Well, I think what's
interesting about that.

And so, you know, you exactly,
as you described, our first team

But  within a course of a couple of
months, we were a hundred people, right?

And had that continued on that
trajectory, we might've been

So leadership changes
really  fast in startups.

So any advice that you have for
people  who are beginning that kind

of startup journey and about how
they deal with the speed of change?

But the other thing I'll say just about
self leadership is it is a magical

time when you have that moment of
small team, maybe even solopreneur.

Where you can refine those skills that
you know you're not so great at before

you start adding on a whole bunch of
other people and you start to have to

And so, while I know lots of founders
want to grow and they want to scale

fast, while you have the privilege
of being small, use that opportunity

But the question you asked about change,
like how might you  utilize leadership

You know, the good thing about
leadership is that there are so many

different skills and qualities that
serve you well throughout your journey.

I talked a little bit earlier
when I was in the main stage

And there are some of us who have
a propensity to gravitate towards

I'm curious, while I have the privilege
of having you here, what do you think

No, I think, I think that
I'm good at engaging people.

But at the end of the day, I do feel
like a leader has to lead, right?

And I actually lived at one
time, I went to Berkeley.

And I was, and I, and everything,
literally everything ran by,

FinovateFall

Expert Insight

Trend

Jacqueline Baker, Principal Consultant & Founder, Scarlet, joins Steven Ramirez, CEO, [Beyond the Arc](https://beyondthearc.com), to talk about the importance of taking leadership on every level of the business and how to empower yourself to become that leader.