Jaime Lannon Diglio ’00 is a sales and leadership coach, helping small and mid-sized companies develop their sales and leadership talent and manage through organizational change. She recently became President at SomethingNew, a talent acquisition and consulting company, and calls herself a sales talent optimizer.

“The way to activate people is by focusing on their strengths,” she says, “by building their courage and confidence.” 
It’s something she learned as captain of the soccer team at Bryant, she says, instinctively adopting a natural leadership style that emphasizes courage instead of fear – something she sees too little of in business today. 

She brought this perspective to her roles at leading research and advisory company Gartner, where she built a $40-million segment in financial services; and later at software and services behemoth Microsoft, where she was National Sales Director for the banking, capital markets, fintech, and insurance segments. But she left those roles behind because she saw leaders putting too much focus on shiny technology, and not enough focus on human factors that can make or break organizational shifts. 

“It’s a competitive advantage today for a company to build strong teams with leaders who are self-aware and know how to empower and coach their people,” Diglio says. 

“Really, every conversation is a sales conversation,” she points out, “because we’re trying to get people to pay attention to what we’re talking about,” whether it’s asking for help, interviewing for a job, or just relating to someone else. Sales is simply about moving people.

"These are our future leaders, and I want to help them build businesses centered around taking care of people."

In addition to her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Marketing from Bryant, she earned a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Fairfield University, and decided to put it to work as an independent consultant helping companies – and especially sales leadership – navigate change. 

She is also a chapter leader for a global organization called Empowering a Billion Women 2020, focused on emotional and financial literacy for women in leadership. 

Diglio lives in Guilford, CT, with her husband, a teacher and cross-country coach, and her two kids, ages 6 and 8. She coaches her son’s basketball team, and tries to bring the kids to as many Bryant sporting events as possible. “It’s important for my kids to see where I went to school and how it helped me get to where I am today,” she says.

A frequent alumni volunteer and contributor, Diglio appeared recently as a speaker at Bryant’s inaugural Sales Symposium. She also serves as a career mentor and a member of Bryant’s Wall Street Council. 

Staying connected to the Bryant community is important to her, she says, because so much of her own work is focused on inspiring younger leaders and helping them see their potential. “These are our future leaders, and I want to help them build businesses centered around taking care of people.”