Jeanine Charlton is a multi-award-winning technology executive on the forefront of IT and business integration. Currently serving as senior vice president and chief technology and digital officer at Merchants Fleet, Charlton has an extensive Fortune 100 technology leadership background, which includes leading a $2 billion P&L at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
When she joined me on a recent episode of the Tech Whisperers podcast, Charlton gave a masterclass in leadership and the power of consistency, clarity, and compassion. Her peers and protégés described her as “the glue,” a leader who holds teams steady through turbulence, communicates with precision when the stakes are high, and magnifies her impact by mentoring others.
Charlton was featured in the book The Courage to Advance: Real life resilience from the world’s most successful women in business, a collection of 36 stories from women executives who have overcome some of life’s biggest challenges to reach the top of their professions. Her courage to be transparent about the hardest seasons of her life shows a rare kind of strength. As she told me, sharing her story for the book and for this article wasn’t easy. “But,” she says, “I’ve come to the realization that it’s not about me. My willingness to share my story is about my desire to help others.”
After the show wrapped, we spent time taking a deeper dive into her inspiring story of resilience, one that merges personal challenge and professional growth, fueled by a simple but unshakeable mantra that failure wasn’t an option. What follows is that conversation, edited for length and clarity. This is a story of vulnerability, grit, and grace that every leader can learn from.
Dan Roberts: You’ve built an extraordinary career defined by leadership and impact. But many people don’t know the deeply personal journey that runs parallel to it and that tested and strengthened you in profound ways. How did those personal challenges intersect with your professional life?
Jeanine Charlton: I was married to an alcoholic and had to take on the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner and caring for my two children. At the same time, my career was starting to take off and I was responsible for leading a large global team. I had to balance a hectic travel schedule and ensure that my kids would be well taken care of when I was away. I’m a fairly private person, though, and because of that, when the challenges came, most people never knew about them. I also never wanted to be overlooked for potential opportunities because of them.
The challenges came hard and fast. Mid-career, when my children were 14 and 15, I found myself needing to make a change. Given my husband’s situation, I no longer felt that it was safe and conducive for me to raise my children in our home. I made the difficult decision to leave my marriage of 23 years and at the same time relocate from Michigan to Virginia for a new opportunity with Hewlett Packard. This was a lot to deal with at once, but I thought a fresh start for myself and the kids would be good — that is, until everything took a turn for the worse.
Both kids were diagnosed with Lyme disease and became very sick. They battled their illness for years. This was my toughest battle yet — newly divorced, new job, new state, no support system, and two sick children who were dependent on me. They had limited ability to meet friends, as they weren’t able to go to school, and they were in excruciating pain. I had to become their beacon of hope.
Through it all, my faith helped me to get through this dark period of life, as well as my dedication to provide for my children and for them to feel care for and loved.
You turned what could have been breaking points into building blocks. How did you develop that mindset of resilience and what advice would you give to others in similar situations?
It’s amazing what you can do when faced with difficult situations. I’ve learned that you can do much more than you think you can when the stakes are high — and in this case, they were very high, both personally and professionally. I developed the emotional capacity to adapt, recover, and grow when faced with adversity, stress, and uncertainty. I learned that through dealing with these challenges head on, I could bounce back even stronger and maintain clarity under pressure on what’s most important.
Psychologists describe this as a combination of flexibility, optimism, and proactive coping strategies that allow individuals to thrive despite their setbacks, and that’s exactly what I was able to do. There are some specific strategies that I found helped build that mindset of resilience:
- Anchor to your ‘why’: When everything feels uncertain, clarity of purpose becomes your compass. I asked myself: ‘What’s most important right now?’ That question helped me prioritize and make decisions with confidence, even when the path wasn’t clear.
- Break big challenges into small wins: Overwhelm can paralyze progress. I learned to break big problems into manageable steps and celebrate small victories along the way. Momentum builds confidence, and confidence fuels resilience.
- Build your support system: Resilience isn’t a solo act. I leaned on trusted people — family, friends, colleagues — who reminded me of my strengths and helped me see possibilities when I couldn’t. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
- Practice energy management: Stress drains energy, and energy is the fuel for resilience. I became intentional about what gave me energy and what depleted it — whether that was people, projects, or even how I structured my day. Protecting time for renewal wasn’t indulgent; it was essential.
- Reframe setbacks as lessons: Instead of asking, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I started asking, ‘What can I learn from this?’ That shift turned obstacles into opportunities for growth and made me more adaptable in the face of change.
Bottom line, resilience isn’t about being unbreakable; it’s about being able to bend without breaking and then bounce back stronger. When you combine clarity, adaptability, and optimism, you can turn even the hardest storms into steppingstones.
How did those hard years shape your perspectives on leadership, teamwork, resilience, and gritting through the storms of life and work?
When life throws challenges your way, you quickly learn what matters most, and for me, that was building a tight-knit team with my kids. We had to navigate uncertainty together, lean on each other, and keep moving forward even when the path wasn’t clear. That experience profoundly shaped how I think about leadership and resilience.
It taught me that leadership isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about creating trust and clarity in the midst of ambiguity. My role as a leader is to set the tone, stay calm, and keep my team focused on what we can control. In terms of teamwork, I’ve come to appreciate even more the power of shared responsibility. Everyone has a role, and everyone’s contribution matters and should be recognized and appreciated. That sense of ‘we’re in this together’ is something I strive to create in every team I lead.
It also taught me that resilience isn’t about being tough all the time. It’s okay to give permission to feel the hard moments, then regroup and keep going. This mindset helps teams bounce back from setbacks stronger than before. And grit is about persistence with purpose. When you have a clear ‘why,’ you can endure the ‘how.’ That lesson stays with me every day, whether I’m navigating a market shift or leading through organizational change.
Overall, those storms taught me that leadership is deeply human. It’s about connection, courage, and creating energy for others when the winds are strong. That perspective shapes how I lead today, with empathy, clarity, and an unwavering belief that together, we can weather anything.
How do you manage and protect your energy as a leader, and how do you energize your teams to stay motivated, resilient, and inspired, even when the work is hard?
I’ve always believed that leadership is less about titles and more about energy. We set the tone, and that means we show up with energy, even on the days when we don’t feel it, and we create environments where others feel energized to do meaningful work.
Energy is contagious, but it’s also finite, so as leaders, we need to notice what gives us energy and what drains it. There are a few things that help me manage and protect my own energy. First is clarity of purpose. When I’m clear on why something matters, it fuels me, so I regularly revisit the ‘why’ behind my priorities. Next is about boundaries and recovery. I protect time for reflection and renewal, whether that’s a walk, reading, or simply disconnecting for a bit. It’s not indulgent; it’s essential. I also conduct energy audits and pay attention to patterns. Which conversations leave me inspired? Which tasks feel heavy? That awareness helps me recalibrate.
When it comes to energizing my teams, the first step is connecting to meaning, because people draw energy from purpose. I make sure my teams understand the impact of their work and celebrate progress. I model resilience, because energy isn’t about relentless positivity — it’s about authenticity and adaptability. I share challenges openly and show how we navigate them. I also remember that micro-moments matter: A quick thank you, a shout-out in a meeting, or asking ‘How are you really doing?’ — these small actions create big waves of energy.
Ultimately, energy is about intention. When we lead with energy, we help people do hard things and accomplish more than they imagined possible.
You’ve always been passionate about health, fitness, and nutrition. How has that commitment to physical well-being supported your resilience as a leader? Any advice for others looking to build the energy and discipline it takes to thrive?
As someone who was overweight all of my teenage years and who also lost both of my parents at a very young age, I’ve been driven to take care of myself and to set an example for my kids.
I’ve learned that you can’t be the best version of yourself unless you’re taking care of your physical and mental well-being.
My commitment to physical well-being has become a non-negotiable for me. I’ve built a six-day-a-week routine that I’ve consistently adhered to since being in my twenties. This is a topic that I often speak to my team and others about, because building this muscle has so many benefits, both personally and professionally. It’s helped me to be a better leader. I sleep better, I have good mental clarity, and I am better able to manage my stress.
Habits take time to build. Start setting realistic goals that you know you can stick to and build on them. I’m confident that, over time, you’ll be glad you did.
You have an ability and a willingness to gravitate towards things that make you uncomfortable. How does that philosophy continue to guide you today?
I believe that my personal challenges forced me to take on uncomfortable opportunities in my professional life, as I wanted to set an example for my children and position myself to provide for them. Through this, I learned that I do enjoy taking on risks and pushing myself to continuously grow and learn.
For years, I would ask myself if doing this was the right thing, until recently when both of my children — who have grown into wonderful, responsible human beings — on separate occasions told me how proud of me that they were and thanked me for all that I’ve done for them. This will continue to fuel me to lean into uncomfortableness in life, both personally and professionally.
Jeanine Charlton’s story is a reminder that there’s no growth in the land of comfort. It also shows what’s possible when you keep moving forward with clarity, consistency, and heart. For more insights and inspiration from Charlton’s leadership playbook and career journey, tune in to the Tech Whisperers podcast.
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Read More from This Article: CIO Jeanine Charlton’s leadership lessons in resilience
Source: News