Leadership Jam Session

Hiring top talent to fill your some of your most important roles comes with all sorts of challenges. In this Jam Session panel episode, I talk with seasoned sales leaders Glen Witwer, Paul Johnston, and John Fisher about the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of hiring top talent.

• Focusing on behavioral questions helps you to understand the "why" and "fit"
• The value of making the interviewee comfortable vs. intimidating them
• What to look for in resumes
• Remember, the interview process is a two-way street. Top candidates will and should interview the hiring manager as well
• As a hiring manager, how you represent yourself as an interviewer is a reflection on you as well as the organization
• The advantages of involving your employees to help you interview
• Does a brag book still offer value?
• Avoid the temptation or caving into the pressure of settling by hiring a warm body
• Move beyond references by using your network and social media to research candidates
• Sometimes, you just need to listen to what your gut is telling you!

There are times in life when you find you have to reinvent yourself both personally and professionally. Sometimes, it’s needed more than once. In this Jam Session, I talk with Randy Broad, a serial entrepreneur, Amazon best-selling author, and cancer survivor.

• Anticipate the changes that may come and seize the opportunity
• Consistently reinforcing your vision and values with your employees, including during your weekly team meetings
• Provide the space your people need to grow their skills
• Pay your people well, but also know that's not enough
• The fear of feeling responsible for your people can drive you
• Trust between you and your employees is critical
• Different people in your life will help to shape and mold you as a leader; not just those you work with
• Work-life balance is a personal choice
• Take the time to slow down and enjoy small wins with your team

• An Extraordinary Life – Don’t Miss It, by Randy Broad

In this Jam Session, I sit with Eddie Dowling, a senior sales manager with more than 12 years of leadership experience including leading multiple award-winning sales teams. I've had the pleasure of working with Eddie over the years and he brings great insights to this episode where we discuss ways to lead teams through ambiguity and uncertainty. 

• Demonstrating vulnerability and humility in times of uncertainty goes a long way with your people  
• Admitting to your team that you're going through change too, and that you don't have all the answers, is perfectly ok
• Increase communication during these times even if you don’t have much to share 
• Identify a central theme that you can rally around

• Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek 

In this episode I site with Michele LeSueur. Michele is a senior leader in the pharmaceutical industry. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michele as a colleague over the years. She comes to us with a wealth of management experience holding many roles including leading both sales teams and marketing teams.

• Whether formally or informally, having mentors, coaches, sponsors, etc., can help you in different ways such as navigating challenging situations and ongoing career management
• Your first 90 days as a leader in a new role is about who your team is, how you’re going to build trust with them, and how you’re going to help that team grow and become better

• The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, by Michael D. Watkins

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In this episode, I sit down with leaders who served as coaches for the launch of their internal emerging leaders program, as they share their thoughts on what they observed.

Our leadership panel includes: Eric Hieronymus, a Regional Sales Manager based out of the Northwest in Washington. Eric has both sales experience and home office experience, working in training and marketing. Jen Maurer, a Regional Sales Manager out of the Northeast in the Philly area. Jen has home office experience, working in an operations role, as well as years of experience working in the field. Jessica Mas, a Regional Sales Manager out of the California area, and Jessica also has deep management experience both in the field as well as working in the home office environment.

• Making the transition from individual contributor to emerging leaders
• Whether you’re a field-based leader or a home office-based, the fundamentals are the same
• How to assume a leadership role where you’re not the expert anymore
• Practice, practice, practice

• DiSC
• Leadership Development Program

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Matt Outten is the Chief Commercial Officer of BridgeBio. Matt has held positions in different roles from sales, marketing, market access, and other roles with various companies.

• The value of interviewing people, even if you don’t have an opening
• The 80/20 approach in developing your people
• How to use your network to help you calculate your next move
• What to do when you feel like your career is “stuck”

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Kim Metcalf is a veteran leader in the healthcare industry with over 20-plus years of experience spanning a variety of positions in sales, sales leadership, leading a commercial training team, as well as some of her most recent positions serving as a Vice President for two startup biotech companies, which included Pharmacyclics and Kite Pharmaceutical.

Key Takeaways:

·      Understand what people are naturally good at and where their inherent talents lie

·      As a leader, set expectations for what has to get done, and based on where they are developmentally, provide a framework to help them get there

·      Hiring employees who think and operate differently from you is essential

·       Have 5-7 people that can be your core group of peers that can serve as mentors, sounding boards, etc., to help you develop and grow as a leader

Leadership Resources:

·      DiSC for Managers

·      Situational Leadership

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Rob Fonte is the host of the Leadership Jam Session Podcast, where every other week you'll get to hear leaders at all levels of management share their practical solutions to the management challenges you face every day. In this trailer, Rob provides an overview of the podcasts' purpose, format, and why you should listen in.

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