“Just ask,” Lara Barmish from Walmart Connect
Meet Lara Barmish. Lara serves as the Head of Consumables Vertical, Walmart Connect, where she partners with merchants, site teams, and integrated marketing to create omnichannel programs. Her thoughtful strategies connect brands with customers to improve the shopping journey and drive sales.
At CES this year, Lara sat down with Jocelyn Hudak, Senior Director, Content and Digital Marketing, at SiriusXM Media in our Pass the Mic booth to discuss how using your voice to lift yourself and others up is an important part of leadership.
If you’re ready for some words of wisdom, listen to her full interview below. Then, check out some highlights from the conversation.
Don’t be hesitant.
Highlight: “Don't be hesitant or shy… That's what I would say to younger folks in their career: just ask. The worst that someone can tell you is, ‘Oh, I don't have time right now,’ or ‘Actually, I'm not partaking, but I'll think about you in the future.’ But the best that can happen is that you actually expand your network by a massive amount, and you also start to understand and learn from others who are in very different parts of the business” - Lara Barmish
Stick your neck out.
Highlight: “Connection is never far away. People often, in a lot of these companies, they think, ‘Oh, I can't reach out to that VP or that SVP or EVP because they're just a couple levels higher than I am, or I feel intimidated.’ And I think sticking your neck out is a really important piece to connection.” - Lara Barmish
Use your peer set.
Highlight: “Use your peer set. The peer set for me, and I tell this to all of my team at every level, is your biggest way to create a community in connection. Because your peer set may be doing things slightly differently from you, or you may be deriving insights for your business that could be translatable to other businesses.” - Lara Barmish
Start with shoutouts.
Highlight: "The big thing I've sponged that I would recommend for teams is to start at a lot of their all-hands or meetings is the concept of shout-outs. It's an open mic—anyone on the team, whatever level, whatever you're doing on the team, cross-functional teams, marketing support teams, etc., can raise their hand and say, ‘I've got a shout out.’… Also starting with personal anecdotes… Bringing those personal anecdotes to a team can also help create more openness, and people want to talk about their lives and their families.” - Lara Barmish
Opening the floor for more community, more connection, and better intention sets the tone for stronger, more inclusive teams. For more inspiring conversations like this, check out the Pass the Mic page.
