Behind the Scenes: Jeanne Carboni

Today I have the pleasure of taking the community ‘Behind the Scenes’ with my very own manager, Jeanne Carboni. Many of you encountered Jeanne from the community as well as SAP TechEd events however here you can learn about her positive outlook, love of music and gain professional insights into the ‘vibe’ leading the SCN Collaboration Team.

Please share some personal details about yourself: I’ve been married to Rolf for 24+ years, with 3 teenage daughters (Julia, Lauren and Celeste). My hobbies include running, yoga and the occasional spa visit.

Details regarding your group and role: Senior Director of Collaboration, running the SCN Collaboration team (now part of 1DX), responsible for all things related to audience engagement for SCN.

What brings you the most satisfaction from your role/community? Being able to positively influence community members. Personalizing their experience as part of my responsibility to show the human side of SAP.

Please share about an interesting project you’ve worked on: I’ve already shared about my mission trip to Guatemala, so I would have to go with Gamification as another interesting project. It was great working with Laure Cetin and the project team to define behaviors we wanted to change, and implement the mechanisms to be able to change them.
Gali: Jeanne shared about Guatemala in her blog it forward post, so be sure to read all the details there!

What is your favorite element of the new gamification module? Favorite element of gamification is that everyone gets to participate. In the past, level badges were limited to a very small percentage of the community population. I’d also like to share my least favorite thing about it, which is the points cheating which has resulted from it as well. We’re having to take some drastic measures with this to ensure fair play and quality content.

You recently participated in 2 SAP TechEds and are about to embark on the 3rd, can you share a favorite part of that event? That’s a really tough question. There were so many wonderful experiences at the TechEds this year – T-shirt cannons, confetti, getting up on stage… But my favorite part so far was working at the Photo Headshot booth in the clubhouse in Amsterdam. Not only was it a pleasure watching Monika Wrba in action, but it gave me the enviable opportunity to spend some time conversing with many community members who I hadn’t previously met. Thanks to Krysten Gentile and Maria Squicciarini and her team for orchestrating this! Check out Jason Cao’s blog Work it! Work it! Helping You Build Your Brand at #SAPTechEd for the details.

Please help us grow from your personal experience; share one tip/resource/guide/experience that you recommend after finding it helpful from personal experience. Only one? To steal from Monty Python, “Always look on the bright side of life”. Sometimes you have to deal with things that aren’t pleasant and haven’t gone as you had hoped. There is always a positive side to these things, although you sometimes have to work hard to find it. The other part of it is to smile as much as possible. I find that it makes me a happier person, and it also helps hide some of the wrinkles. 😉

The next four questions are taken from the Actor Studio interview questions:

What is your favorite word:  Compassion
Least favorite word: Accusation
What sound do you love:  Upbeat music with lots of drums (Check out American Authors, “This is Gonna be the Best Day of my Life”, a current favorite / wake up song.)
What profession other than yours would you love to attempt: I usually say rock star, but I think I’ve passed my prime for that one. I’d like to be a life / fitness coach and help spread positive energy

Jeanne’s love of music comes out in her previous responses. I asked what her favorite singer, band and song are today. You already have my current favorite song above, but for something completely different, I recommend listening to Suun 2020. It’s a very different sound, but I like it a lot.

What would the community be surprised to learn about you?  Probably that I am a breast cancer survivor (4+ years) and I participate on a team called “The Power of Pink” to raise funds for mammograms for women who have no health insurance. I have also done the 60 mile / 3 day walk, three times. To participate you have to raise a minimum of $2300. The funds go to the Susan G. Komen foundation and support research that works to help rid us of this disease.

In Jeanne’s Blog It Forward she asked three very interesting questions of those she BIF to. I asked if she would be willing to answer them too and happily she agreed 🙂

What was the most exciting thing that happened to you? Marrying my best friend and journeying through our lives together.

Who do you admire most and why? I admire people who can code – seriously. I don’t have that attention for detail, even though my background is technical. Thank goodness we have so many people like that in the Community.
Gali: Jeanne actually graduated with honors as an electrical engineer and personifies ‘women in technology’ as well as promoting it for other women! 😉

What do you think your most unique strength is and how do you use it? I was gifted with empathy. I use it in everything I do. For me, it’s not to “treat others as you want to be treated”, it’s to “treat others as they want to be treated”. I seek to understand where others are coming from and what motivates them. Once you know that, you can help make them happier. And, by the way, happier people work smarter.

Jeanne’s unique strength shines through, which can be seen in the team’s responses below. She is indeed an empathetic manager and colleague. She is also a mentor and true community advocate. Please read on for the SCN Team quotes:
• “Thinking of Jeanne in the SAP context brings a lot of “s” words to mind: A generous admixture of smart, strategic, strong-principled, sympathetic, spirited, supportive and selfless.  That’s Jeanne to co-workers, direct reports, peers and SAP community.”
• “There’s no better way to say it: Jeanne is an absolute joy to work with. She’s dedicated to her job and knows how to accomplish things, but the way she does it is what makes her especially valued. No matter what she’s trying to accomplish, she does it with warmth, diplomacy and an eye on the big picture. Jeanne seeks ways to be inclusive and never does anything out of ego – it’s always for the greater good. As a result, SCN (bot the site and the team) operate more effectively and professionally. I’m glad to call her my colleague.”
• “Jeanne is a great person to work with. She’s very insightful, open-minded and just a blast to be with!”

• “Jeanne is an extremely collaborative person who has the unique ability to connect people and projects effortlessly. She’s also an amazing leader who is gifted in coaching and motivating her team.”

• “Jeanne’s technical background and knowledge (did you know she has an engineering degree?) combined with her project management and leadership skills, as well as her outgoing, gregarious nature, make her a perfect fit for the SCN Team, where she leads the team’s efforts to support community member participation and engagement. It’s hard to imagine a better advocate for both the community members and the SCN team members.”

Folllow Jeanne on twitter @jtcarboni

I also invite you to visit ‘Behind the Scenes’ with additional SCN Team members.