Welcome to the 79th episode of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering.

If you're in the world of tech and partners, my guest for this episode needs no introduction. I'm excited to welcome back to the podcast Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President for the Worldwide One Commercial Partner Organization, and it's Channel Chief.

Gavriella Schuster is a C-level Microsoft leader passionate about recruiting more women and minorities into the technology sector. 

At Microsoft, she has grown a P&L greater than $6.5B and currently leads their global portfolio of channel partners that reached $1 trillion in ecosystem revenues. 

She leads the global recruitment, enablement, and engagement of Microsoft's fast-growing partner ecosystem. Additional areas of her specialization include licensing models, digital marketing, and global routes to market.

Gavriella specializes in starting up and turning around businesses by inspiring a vision for future customer relevance and engaging the team in developing the roadmap.

For Gavriella's second appearance on Ultimate Guide to Partnering, we covered quite a bit of ground, including: 

* How our lives and work have changed since the pandemic.* The transformational opportunities, and how she's advising partners to lead through this change.* Her advocacy for gender equity, including her recent TED Talk.* How she is also steering Microsoft's efforts to solve the gap in Black and African American owned technology businesses.* The capstone honor she recently received, the prestigious Athena Global Leadership Award.

I am a huge fan of Gavriella's work, and I had the chance to work with her at Microsoft when she was a GM focused on the Server and Tools business. In my opinion, she is one of the most authentic, empathetic, and passionate business leaders I know.

As leaders in the technology sector, I've often said that we have both an opportunity and perhaps an obligation to lead during this time. Gavriella embodies that leadership.

HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED HER BUSINESS 

* Personal Level - It's a significant disruption. You need to have empathy and be mindful as it impacts people in different ways, whether alone, living with small children, balancing work, or a large family.* The Business of Managing Partners - How do we continue the business and stay connected to partners? The pandemic is requiring people to check in a lot more than before using Microsoft Teams. It requires more connection with different people in these organizations to ensure a full view of the business.* For Her Teams - leaders need to be more planful, ensuring they touch base and check-in with everyone on the team. It requires mindfulness and a deliberate communication plan to ensure the readiness is conveyed in multiple modalities for maximum alignment on business priorities. We all need to be more inclusive and respectful of boundaries.* How Partners Can Align and Embrace the Change - Businesses that learn to pivot and embrace the opportunity have the best chance for growth and survival.* Advances in Partner Center - There is now one place where partners can engage and continually grow a sustainable business with Microsoft.

CAREER BASED ON ADVOCACY AND SOLVING FOR EQUITY GAPS 

* Advice She Gives Others - do the things you believe need to be done, help grow, and impact others. What is stopping you? You need to be creative, committed; what does success look like for you?* Driving for Gender Equity - Only 27% of IT comprises Women In Technology, which is down from 36% in 1991.