Balancing Business and People in Leadership with Harsha Jalihal

Harsha Jalihal is the Chief People Officer at MongoDB. She has a background in HR and has worked in various leadership roles at companies like Cognizant and Unilever.

In this episode, Harsha emphasizes the importance of balancing the needs of the business with the needs of the employees. She discusses the role of different departments in driving business outcomes and highlights the significance of understanding human behavior and motivations. Harsha also emphasizes the role of trust in building strong relationships and the importance of authenticity and transparency in leadership. She shares insights on managing conflicts, setting clear expectations, and addressing stress and burnout, particularly among salespeople.

Tune in to this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders podcast.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:03:01] Balancing the needs of the business and employees

[00:08:55] Understanding individual employee motivations

[00:12:59] Embracing reality and being direct leads to success

[00:15:48] The power of being honest and authentic as a leader

[00:18:06] Trusting gut instincts and giving people space and time

[00:22:23] Importance of giving feedback to employees about performance issues

[00:29:11] Enjoyment of work environment and culture impacts employee retention

[00:39:20] Trust is built through credibility, reliability, and selflessness

[00:47:38] Handling conflicting motivations and emphasizing the bigger objective

[00:55:00] Employee motivations in a changing economy

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about Harsha Jalihal:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshajalihal/

Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders: https://forc.mx/3sdtEZJ

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:51:59] "It's how their words land. The impact they're having is what causes the problem. Sometimes you have to help them see how they are showing up, how the other person is perceiving it. Because when you're in the moment, you don't see it, but a 3rd person watching this interaction between 2 people can see it."

[00:57:28] "I think employees are starting to look for slightly different things. Now, even in the technology industry, you talk to our recruiters. They'll tell you simple things like they want just what they just want stability because they've seen so much upheaval up and down. They want to work for a company that is still growing as opposed to a company that's laying people off."