Jennifer Winters, WWLF City Rep for Orange County/Los Angeles, CA since 2018

Where did you get your start in the industry? What is your current role?

Before Telecom, I worked for a retail car sales business as a manager, coming off my maternity leave after having my son. I realized maintaining a retail management career while being a first-time mom was not going to allow me the work life balance I was striving for. It took no time at all for me to fall in love with the industry and the ever changing environment. From there, I was able to be a part of the Verizon Wireless team in Irvine working for both the small cell and modifications teams. I now work as the Network Real Estate Department Manager for Tangent Inc. I manage an insanely motivated and intelligent team who continually strives to make the customer experience the best it can be.

Why did you join WWLF?

I joined WWLF to be a part of a community that is built on raising people up. So many times, in an industry that tends to be male dominated, you see competition amongst females, almost in a “there can only be one” fashion. WWLF is a place where I feel I would go out of my way to ensure I support and lift the women around me and those around me would do the same.

What are your top 3 leadership lessons or advice?

Take chances – Don’t be afraid to jump into something new with both feet, and even more so, don’t be afraid to fall. “I don’t know” are three incredibly powerful words.

Learn often and talk less - Sometimes the best lessons you can learn are taught by the people around you, and more often those who work for you. Being a leader doesn’t always mean teaching or assigning items and tasks. Some of the best lessons I have learned have come from those who had little to no experience in a given subject and were not afraid to suggest. Ask questions instead of giving answers.

Be passionate – Let a failure hurt a bit. Feel a win with excitement and pride. Share your passion and love for a position with those around you. Simon Sinek said “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” Passion can be contagious.

What does confidence mean to you?

If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have said confidence is the ability to be sure of yourself in any situation. To always have the right answer and to never be caught off guard. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, I feel confidence is the exact opposite. Confidence is the ability to say “I don’t know”. To seek out the answer, to ask for help, to never be afraid to fail. If you limit yourself to your own way of thinking and your personal knowledge base, you will never grow.

How do you define success?

Personally, I define my own success by the success of those who work with and for me. If I can lead my team to see a world that could exist, but doesn’t yet, and work with them to build it, then I would consider myself successful. There is nothing more rewarding than a team of people accomplishing something they never thought they could.