If you are a leader and you are the center of your team, you’re doing it wrong.

Many leaders think that this is the right place to be, after all I am the “leader” right?

The simple answer is no.

If it’s your team, your ideas, your direction, it’s a “you” show.

In this episode, best-selling author and leadership coach Nils Vinje speaks with Jerome Placido, Sr. Director of Engineering at Coursedog about how to take the emphasis off of you and put in on your team.

When you get this strategy right, the whole team dynamic changes.

Podcast highlights:

0:19 - Jerome's background - Jerome explains his role at Coursedog.

2:07 - First leadership position - Jerome wasn't looking for leadership when the opportunity presented itself.

3:55 - Shifting career gears - What was Jerome's experience like pivoting his focus towards being a manager?

6:14 - Navigating the shift - How did Jerome navigate the transition from an engineer to a people leader?

8:44 - Managing your former peers - What advice would Jerome give to individuals who have to evolve relationships with the peers they now manage?

12:28 - Building Team Awesome - How does Jerome make his work environment a team effort that isn't about him?

15:18 - Engineer culture - Jerome explains how typical engineers work and how to include them in company culture.

17:45 - Measuring ROI - How does Jerome quantify ROI for tasks that aren't necessarily quantified?

22:25 - Creating an efficient team - Jerome explains why an organization should never rely on a leader to function.

28:16 - Color coding your calendar - How can you keep yourself up to date with company updates without filling up your entire calendar?

31:49 - Jerome's advice to himself - What advice would Jerome give his younger self?

Connect with Jerome Placido: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerome-placido/

Learn more about Coursedog at https://www.coursedog.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.30dayleadership.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy, you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

If you have a surface-level relationship with your employees, you’re going to get a low level of engagement.

If you have a relationship built on top of a strong foundation of mutual respect and trust, you’re going to get a drastically different level of engagement.

The best part is that as a leader, it’s your choice.

Nobody is going to tell you what to do, you have to decide which type of relationship you want and ultimately which level of engagement you want from your team.

In this episode, best-selling author and leadership coach Nils Vinje speaks with Katie Pocklington, Director of Customer Success at Opal about this very important leadership topic and much, much, more.

Podcast highlights:

0:22 - Katie's background - Katie explains her role at Opal.

2:33 - Marking processes - Is Opal designed for companies that need a templated process or a custom process?

5:06 - First leadership position - Katie got her start in leadership with Nike.

7:53 - The impact of a good manager - How did Katie's manager have such an important impact on her?

13:15 - Taking on responsibility - Katie explains a situation that pulled her out of her comfort zone.

16:14 - Different levels of responsibility - How does responsibility change when it comes from somebody who supports you?

22:08 - Taking maternity leave - What made Katie decide to part ways with a successful career?

27:46 - Taking a step back with Opal - Katie knew the transition to Opal would be hard, but what motivated her to try something new?

32:44 - Reigniting your passion - What advice would Katie give to people who are looking for a new way to challenge themselves?

37:30 - Katie's advice to herself - What advice would Katie give her younger self?

Learn more about Opal at https://workwithopal.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

http://b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy, you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

Shoeb Mogal, Director of Engineering at NewStore, Inc, has been on a fascinating ride from co-founder to engineer to Director of Engineering.

In his first round as a leader, he wasn’t successful even though he had the full support of his peers.

He made a decision to become great at leadership and set a course based on continuous improvement.

He invested in himself and the rest is history.

Podcast highlights:

0:18 - Shoeb's background - Shoeb explains his role at NewStore, Inc.

3:07 - The endless aisle experience - How does this experience benefit consumers?

5:55 - First leadership position - Shoeb's first position wasn't intentional.

7:22 - Navigating an unknown environment - How did Shoeb adjust to his leadership role?

11:57 - The source of great leaders - Are great leaders born or are they made?

14:43 - From being an engineer to managing them - How did Shoeb adjust to the role change and how does he see things differently?

18:45 - The necessity of diversity - Shoeb explains how he finds new candidates from different backgrounds.

24:16 - The skill of problem-solving - How does Shoeb assess the skill of problem-solving beyond traditional means?

26:59 - Shoeb's advice to himself - What advice would Shoeb give his younger self?

Connect with Shoeb Mogal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoebmogal/

Learn more about NewStore, Inc. at https://www.newstore.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

If you are not continuously improving and expanding your leadership skillset, you introduce risk…

As a leader, it’s easy to feel accustomed to what happens day-to-day.

On one side there is benefit to following a routine…

On the other side, you will introduce risk.

Sean Fleming was at this exact point when he joined as VP of Customer Engagement at Zendrive.

What did Sean do?

He joined the first group ever in the B2B Leaders Academy.

One of the most important things Sean had to do after joining Zendrive was to market his leadership and build relationships with other leaders who were also new to the organization.

Sean’s ability to effectively market his leadership and build cross-functional relationships increased as a result of his participation in the B2B Leaders Academy.

Podcast highlights:

0:20 - Sean's background - Sean explains his role at Zendrive.

1:40 - Target audience - What are the types of people Zendrive's solution is geared towards?

4:46 - First leadership position - Sean got his start in the consulting industry.

9:09 - From electrical engineering to consulting - Was everybody supportive of Sean's transition?

14:40 - Leadership development process - What leadership principles stuck out to Sean in the early days?

19:48 - Exiting the consulting industry - What took Sean out of the consulting world?

21:30 - "It's not about me" - How is an environment focused on personal development different from an environment focused on a product?

24:42 - Continued self-development - How does Sean keep a baseline of self-development in an environment where it's less prioritized?

29:26 - B2B Leaders Academy - What were some of the key takeaways that Sean had from the early B2B Leaders Academy program?

32:26 - Sean's advice to himself - What advice would Sean give his younger self?

Connect with Sean Fleming: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmichaelfleming/

Learn more about Zendrive at https://www.zendrive.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

Getting promoted to a Director level position in a B2B Business requires the element of building trust.

But, it’s not just about building trust with your team, or your direct manager…

It’s also about building trust cross-functionally.

In this episode of the B2B Leadership podcast, Yaswanth Reddy, Senior Director of Customer Success at Bidgely, and best-selling author and leadership coach Nils Vinje dig into the topic of building trust and much, much, more.

Podcast highlights:

0:27 - Yaswanth's background - Yaswanth explains his role at Bidgely.

2:07 - Better end-user experiences - How can customers have better interactions with utility companies?

3:13 - First leadership position - Yaswanth comes from a consulting background.

5:26 -  Establishing trust - Yaswanth explains how building trust helped him get promoted to a director position.

9:23 - Defining cross-functional trust - How does this differ from regular trust and what are the best practices?

12:20 - The superpower of asking "why?" - Yaswanth explains what asking "why?" means to him.

16:41 - Defining outcomes - What does it take to define an outcome before jumping into doing the work?

23:15 - A career transition - Yaswanth explains his progression into his director role and why he had to take a step back into an IC role to get there.

31:03 - Yaswanth's advice to himself - What advice would Yaswanth give his younger self?

Connect with Yaswanth Reddy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaswanthreddy/

Learn more about Bidgely at https://www.bidgely.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

Being a Director in a B2B business is no easy task…

In a startup, you are responsible for everything in your department…

Strategy, execution, personnel, project and client management, etc.

In a larger organization, you are primarily responsible for the performance of your team as the organization has systems, teams, and people in place to take care of everything else…

In both situations, it’s on you to collaborate and work effectively with other parts of the company to get things done.

Many people over the years have asked me about whether they should work for a startup or a more established company.

In this episode of the B2B Leadership podcast, Melissa Brown, Director of Client Strategy at Attentive, and I break down the differences between the two…

You will see how leadership coaching has enabled Melissa to accelerate her growth and thrive as a Director in a startup and established company.

Podcast highlights:

0:25 - Melissa's background - Melissa explains her role at Attentive.

1:03 - Optimized leadership - What was Melissa's perspective like when she was a Director of Customer Success?

4:03 -  External coaching resources - How did Melissa leverage Nil's coaching resources to improve her role in her organization?

7:54 - Building confidence - Melissa details how the coaching program allowed her to build trust with her team and feel confident with her ideas.

15:10 - Balancing giving advice with asking questions - How does Melissa find solutions for problems she doesn't have an answer for?

25:05 - Moving into a larger organization - Melissa explains the concepts she was able to carry over from a smaller company into a much larger company.

34:25 - How true leadership looks - Melissa explains true leadership using a gardening metaphor.

40:21 - Previous experiences through a leadership lens - Why is leadership the same in every type of environment?

Connect with Melissa Brown: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamb/

Learn more about Attentive at https://www.attentive.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

#Leadership #B2bleadership #BusinessLeader

In this episode, best-selling author and leadership coach Nils Vinje speaks with Tony Fisher, VP and Senior Director of Customer Success, and SaaS Director at Centercode.

Podcast highlights:

0:25 - Tony's background - Tony explains his role at Centercode.

2:24 - Platform and process combination - Tony explains a concept not seen often in the CS world.

6:00 - First leadership position - Tony's leadership position was an organic growth into his role.

8:04 - Organic growth principles - What has helped Tony through the tough days of the journey?

12:10 - Wearing multiple hats - Tony elaborates on which roles he focuses on and how he prioritizes where to spend his time.

18:32 - The handoff process - How does Tony transition from IC to leader, both mentally and tactically?

24:06 - Unified core values - How does Tony foster an environment where his team is comfortable bringing new ideas to the table and pushing back on other ideas?

30:03 - Tony's advice to himself - What advice would Tony give his younger self?

Connect with Tony Fisher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyfisher42/

Learn more about Centercode at https://www.centercode.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

“Stop negotiating against yourself.”

This is the advice that Nicole Baxby, VP of Global Customer Success at Featurespace, shared with me when I asked how to handle looking at a role that you aren’t 100% qualified for.

The context of this question was regarding the women that Nicole mentors but I think this statement applies to every leader…

Stop negotiating against yourself.

Instead, focus on what you already bring to the table and what you have the capacity to bring in the future.

Then, negotiate on your behalf.

If you do this, being “unqualified” for a role, promotion, raise, etc. becomes a non-issue.

Podcast highlights:

0:26 - Nicole's background - Nicole explains her role at Featurespace.

1:03 - Financial crimes - What constitutes a financial crime?

3:16 - First leadership position - Nicole packed her bags and moved to the UK.

6:06 - Going in blindly - How much did Nicole actually know about her first leadership role?

10:13 - Change of heart - How did Nicole turn an executive from being a detractor to a lifelong mentor?

14:23 - Seizing rare opportunities - Nicole shares advice for women who don't feel qualified for specific positions.

18:47 - The great resignation - How does Nicole retain talent at Featurespace?

22:41 - Extracting ambitions from your team - Nicole shares advice for how other leaders can help their teams grow and develop.

29:24 - Nicole's career journey - What does the future hold for Nicole?

30:49 - Nicole's advice to herself - What advice would Nicole give her younger self?

33:09 - Building a network - How does Nicole find time to cultivate business relationships?

Connect with Nicole Baxby: https://www.linkedin.com/company/featurespace/

Learn more about Featurespace at https://www.featurespace.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

In your role as a leader, at whatever level you are at today, acquiring the skills to add more value is your responsibility.

Cort Irish, VP of Marketing & Communications at Claritas, and I talked about this and how important it is to take control.

The best part is there are opportunities all around you both inside and outside of your organization.

The takeaway here is that it is your responsibility to grow as a leader.

It is not your company’s responsibility to grow you as a leader.

Podcast highlights:

0:20 - Cort's background - Cort explains his role at Claritas and the market Claritas serves.

1:13 - Finding the best audience - What does that ultimately mean?

5:20 - First leadership position - Cort got his start in the marketing industry 20 years ago.

9:00 - Core, situational leadership - What leadership traits are required for success in general scenarios?

15:27 - Staying on top of the industry - Who is responsible for learning the ins and outs of an industry—the company or the individual?

18:25 - Investing in leadership training - How do companies and individuals play a role in staying informed?

28:17 - Cort's advice to himself - What advice would Cort give his younger self?

Connect with Cort Irish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cort-irish-82444615/

Learn more about Claritas at https://claritas.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.

In this episode, best-selling author and leadership coach Nils Vinje speaks with Colleen Barraclough, Vice President of Operations - North American at DaXtra Technologies.

Podcast highlights:

0:21 - Colleen's background - Colleen explains her role at DaXtra Technologies.

1:13 - VP of Operations - What does this title involve?

2:14 - First leadership position - DaXtra Technologies is Colleen's first leadership role. How did she land it?

4:27 - Nuggets of leadership advice - What experiences shaped Colleen's leadership beliefs?

6:02 - Talker by nature - Colleen shares advice for talkers who stand to benefit from listening.

8:33 - The question/answer balance - How does Colleen determine which questions to answer directly versus using the discovery process?

15:13 - First female executive at DaXtra - What has Colleen's experience been like?

18:18 - Speaking up as a female - How did Colleen get the courage to speak up when her voice felt minimized around male colleagues?

20:52 - The power of the VP title - How would Colleen describe her relationship with her colleagues today?

23:07 - DaXtra culture - What is at the core of the organization's beliefs?

24:40 - Colleen's advice to herself - What advice would Colleen give her younger self?

Connect with Colleen Barraclough: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenbarraclough/

Learn more about DaXtra Technologies at https://www.daxtra.com/

Learn more about your own leadership style at:

https://www.b2bleadersacademy.com/

The cost of not consistently developing your leadership skills is enormous. At the B2B Leaders Academy you can gain access to monthly leadership training and live coaching. Being a great leader isn't hard, you just need a guide and the right set of tools. Head on over to b2bleadersacademy.com and become the leader you have always wanted to be.