“Advocate for yourself,” Glenniss Richards from Bayer Healthcare

Meet Glenniss Richards, Senior Director, Digital Media Activation at Bayer Healthcare where she uses her expertise in marketing to scale and manage high-volume campaigns with strong ROI on a global scale. Glenniss has extensive experience in managing top channels through performance-based models and approaches success with proven creative and strategic solutions. Her 20 years of experience help her to guide optimization, display marketing, SEM, social, email, and more. Glenniss is a proud co-leader of her daughters’ Girl Scout troop and dedicates her time outside of work to community service and shaping the future of impressionable young women. 

Glenniss sat down with Priscilla Valls, Sales VP, Agency Partnerships, for an interview at the SiriusXM Studios in New York, with her Girl Scout troop and her Girl Scout co-leaders as the live audience. Priscilla and Glenniss discussed advocating for yourself, the knowledge you gain by observing others, and how establishing respect with your peers will get you far.

Tune in to the full interview and some highlights from the conversation below. And when you’re ready for even more thought provoking conversations, check out the Pass the Mic podcast. 

Advocate for yourself.

Highlight: “I put that organization first above my family at a point in time because I thought that there was an opportunity. This individual told me, … ‘Come back, and there's a new role for you’… Got back to the organization, and that person told me, ‘Oh yeah, no, I changed my mind. A new person is starting in two weeks.’... 

That was a defining moment for me because it was like, ‘Wait a minute, what? Did I advocate for myself at that moment in time?’ I did not. But what I did do was, I started playing chess, and making an exit plan, and speaking to various individuals in my network, and building up my resume. Walking out the door of that organization, they certainly got an earful. And I certainly advocated at that time for myself.” - Glenniss Richards

Be transparent. 

Highlight: “Being transparent. You'll never have to guess what I'm thinking. Because if we've developed that right conversation and engagement, you'll know. From a community standpoint, as I mentioned, as far as being kind and genuine, I lead a team at Bayer. And my focus is making sure and ensuring that the team is good. Don't worry about me. My day to day isn't about me, it's about my team.” - Glenniss Richards

Strive to continuously inspire.

Highlight: “I think these young women are selfless. They're always thinking of others. They're always thinking, ‘Well, how can I influence those around me?’ Through community service, whether it's packing up clothes to ship off to another country—my daughters do it very often… So certainly the girls inspire me as I hope I am continuously inspiring them.” - Glenniss Richards

Establish respect.

Highlight: “We all bleed, we all breathe, and we all walk this earth together. So whether it's a male or female on your team, treat them with kindness. You treat them the way they want to be treated. And you establish that level of respect… How I coach, mentor, or just talk to them is customized and tailored more towards their needs. And I ask that they talk to me based off of the way I need them to. And that goes back to ‘How do you go about your day to day? How do you develop networks?’ You have to have those conversations and make sure you state your ground and define your ground, just as well as ask those individuals to define theirs…” - Glenniss Richards

Mentors are important.

Highlight: “It's important for an individual to have multiple mentors at different stages of their life. Someone who's working with you when you're in high school, college, and even entry level. They may not be around or be the right mentor 20 years in or ten years in, so I think it's very important not just for yourself but also for the individual you're mentoring. And I also think it's important to think of your future. Think of the future leaders to make sure that you find individuals to also help and mentor them.” - Glenniss Richards

Be an observer.

Highlight: “You frame yourself. You decide: How do you want to be perceived? You pull pieces of advice from different people throughout your life and you observe them. And also think about, ‘How are they perceived?’ Watch. Sit back and watch. Be an observer. ‘How is this person perceived when they act this way or as they speak to people? What is their perception that's coming from them? Do I want to be perceived like that as well?’” - Glenniss Richards

Glenniss’s commitment to her career and community is a shining example of how great leaders make change for others. We are honored to have had this opportunity to host the Girl Scout troop and hear Glenniss’s words of wisdom that are sure to inspire them and the next generation of female leaders. For more inspirational content, check out the Pass the Mic podcast.

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