Her Story
About Jolinda
Jolinda Grabianowski serves as Sales Operations Manager at Nuvera Communications in the telecommunications industry. She began her career in telecommunications in 1998 and advanced to her current management role after earning her degrees. Jolinda leads a team of four, focusing on creating efficiencies, developing the Salesforce CRM tool over three years, and integrating processes that reduced order processing time by 25 percent. She earned an Associate in Marketing Management from South Central College in 2016, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Applied Leadership in 2022 and a Master of Communication Studies, both from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jolinda also teaches as an adjunct professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She attributes her professional success to her curiosity, determination, and desire to model success for her daughters, drawing inspiration from her mother's struggles. Jolinda values honesty, ethics, and hard work, and she encourages her team members to pursue further education and career growth.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jolinda
01What do you attribute your success to?
I observed my mom struggle through life. She finished her GED at the age of like 50 something. She didn't continue her education, she never went to college. My mom also always lived paycheck to paycheck. And I didn't want to follow in her footstep. So as much as I admire her for being a very hardworking person, I also knew I didn't want to work in a factory. I've always been self-motivated to continued learning. I've gone back to school 3 times. I also had my real estate license, I had my health insurance license, so I truly have been a lifelong learner, and it's my curiosity that I would attribute it to, also my determination that I want to live comfortably, I want to show my own daughters I watched my mom struggle, I want my daughters to see me being successful and seeing me feel confident in myself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received truly is stay curious. Never second guess yourself. If something is of interest to you in regards to advancing within your career path, don't ever talk yourself out of it. Pursue any opportunity that you have for growth, and anything that you're curious about, because I think that stepping outside of our comfort zone, trying new things, learning new things, I think that that is really truly how we become more resourceful and how we just gain our own confidence in ourselves by putting ourselves out there and being curious and learning new things.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never underestimate yourself if it's something that you feel that you want to do. Be confident in yourself, be confident in your skin, and there are those men and those women who will help you along the way. Telecommunications is a complex industry, but it's also a great industry to develop in, and find your mentors who will help you. Ask for those opportunities to take additional classes or get that additional certification.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Within the company I work with now, what's beautiful about Nuvera is we view women equally to men, and it's the same with our board, our leadership board. It's a blend of women and men, so I really like the diversity within my company, and I do view that as some potential opportunities. Some challenges, I'm also an adjunct professor right now. I continue looking for opportunities, and when I don't find them, that's when I think now it's time for change. I have to advance now.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I'm an honest and ethical and hardworking person. I've always been very hardworking, I've been very focused, I continue to be that way. I get up really early in the morning with the mindset of, what difference can I make in the world today? How can I, what I do today, how can that benefit either my family, how can it benefit my team? Always looking for ways to help others to achieve their goals. That's probably my biggest value. And just being an honest and ethical and hardworking person, and if I don't have the answer, I'm honest about it.
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