New Role

Have you ever taken on a new role only to be shocked at how little the field, capabilities, and function itself has advanced? After 22 years with Johnson & Johnson, I found myself in this situation when I was given the opportunity to run the J&J category management team here in Northwest Arkansas. I was excited to lead a critical function with which I had early career experience during the inception of category management principles and frameworks. As a lover of analytics, especially category analytics, I would often stay up nights discovering deep insights to unlock category growth.

The Spark for Change

Years later, I was gaining great experiences at J&J in sales, shopper marketing, shopper insights, and in the medical devices sector. I was excited to make an impact on a top customer, and began to observe, listen, and ask questions. Very quickly, I noticed the redundancy of many operations, and that the manual data pulls and reporting lacked advancement. Fortunately, the organization had recently completed an industry survey highlighting strengths and weaknesses in our overall company approach to category management. The findings were aligned with my first 90-day observations.

The Journey to Impact

I often rely on framing my goals by using **Michael Watkins’ 4 key steps for leadership: Diagnose, Define, Design and Deliver.  After my observations, I knew that transforming our approach to advanced analytics and business intelligence was what the company, and more importantly, the customer needed. So, I set out on a journey speaking to industry experts (who may have also written recent blogs here!) and leveraging strong relationships in surrounding functions (such as supply chain and technology) to learn from their successes and failures.

I was also fortunate to be supported by our team VP, who empowered me to manage my team as I saw fit for long-term success. This, in turn, enabled me to hire talent aligned with my focus areas (intelligent automation & data science) and to advance category management while freeing up time for my team to dig deeper into category growth insights.

Career Path Reinvigorated

It has been extremely rewarding to build new skills in the fast-paced field of big data while becoming a leader for J&J Consumer Health. What started as my own intellectual curiosity around improving processes and tools has led me to a new area of expertise where J&J, and the industry at large, are focusing significant resources. While employing new ways of working led by technology, I have uncovered a new career direction and recently accepted a role focused on this space of advanced analytics and data science. I have been afforded the opportunity to focus on a space where I have passion and drive to continue to grow professionally.

As I enthusiastically embark on a new area of expertise with Johnson & Johnson, I hope this Groundhog Day career story inspires you to lean into making an impact where you also see business changing possibilities that ignite your passion and intellectual curiosity.

** The First 90 Days, Michael D. Watkins.  2003. Updated and Expanded 2013. Harvard Business Review Press

Kim Viccaro

*Director of Advanced Analytics & Business Intelligence, U.S. – Johnson & Johnson

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

The last few years have put unusual stress on professional and personal environments in ways most of us have never experienced. To make it even more challenging, being isolated in our homes and not able to collaborate in traditional ways have left companies and the people who are the heartbeat of those organizations left to resolve these challenges on our own.  All this change directly impacts our sense of security, but it also creates an incredible opportunity to enhance our relationships, collaboration practices, and productivity.

Our foundations were rocked and upended in a way that left us yearning for a sense of belonging and purpose. Two important factors aid in our ability to adapt to new environments; those are leadership and tolerance for risk during uncertain times.

A focus on servant leadership has intrigued me for quite some time so I wanted to take a moment to discuss it and its benefits to personal and professional climates. Servant leadership is such a dynamic perspective and takes a strong sense of self awareness and ability to identify what your peers need from you in that moment.  One needs to have an appetite to help others manage important and complex tasks as they take risks to do things that may not be comfortable for them.

We can all become a servant leader by demonstrating certain characteristics. Here are a few ways to practice:

1. Be a good listener. 

Servant leaders always listen to people before they speak their minds and encourage their people to share what they think and how they feel.

2. Have empathy.

Servant leaders feel for their people and help lead them toward finding and resolving their problems and issues.

3. Pay attention to those around you.

A servant leader is capable of understanding people with a focus on their emotional health and a strong sense of emotional intelligence. Important to also be aware of yourself and your people.

4. Persuade without being forceful.

A good leader is capable of convincing people in different ways. Effective leaders never make use of their authority to make people do something but instead motivate and encourage people to take the desired course of action.

6. Conceptualize and communicate a vision.

A servant leader can help build a concept for people. It’s important that this vision is built or inspired by person or team. This includes the task of creating a vision and mission statement to help provide a sense of direction for the entire team.

7. Channel foresight.

A good leader can anticipate future events and how they will impact everyone. The ability to foresee is not a god-gifted talent but rather a skill that is acquired through experience, learning, and analysis of past trends.

8. Practice stewardship.

Stewardship refers to accountability. It is the ability to take responsibility for the actions, behaviors, and performances of your team.

9. Commit.

Good servant leaders are those whose focus is the people, and this makes the leader fully committed to their growth and development. To develop people, it is important to analyze their needs and build solutions with them.

10. Build a community.

The leader should be able to walk with and among the people, so that the leader can help them by serving and building a community.

In assessing your ability to be a servant leader, or when challenging others to do so, consider the following:

• Am I aware of my own strengths and limitations?
• Do I take risks that benefit others?

Dig in a little deeper and try to define your goals.  An important factor is whether they serve a purpose. Before weighing the pros and cons of how to support, first identify the overarching goal and vision. Define what you are hoping to accomplish and consider whether the intended result is aligned with your team’s goals, your company mission or vision, or with any issues that need to be solved. Smart risks serve your broader goals and vision.

During these times, it’s important we regularly assess what’s important to us and pay attention to those things.  There is certainly risk to trying something new but this is an example of the intention of your original goal. Focus on them and make them a priority. Don’t take your eye off this opportunity until you are done with it, then wrap it with a bow and move to your next opportunity to learn and lead.

Russell Williams

*Director of Sales, Walmart – Hamilton Beach

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

 

The past 15 months has been the most interesting and difficult part of my work life. The learnings are abundant, yet I’m not sure how to apply them all. My background is 35+ years of CPG experience, including 30 years at P&G, 3 years running the Category Management Association for a PE firm and 2 years as the TL for Bayer at WM/Sam’s. I have called on WM/Sam’s for the last 25 years, including 4 years in the UK running P&G’s Asda business.  My more important background is a husband of 29 years, father to three great children (Justin 28, Meghan 26, Mitchell 24) and father-in-law to two of the most wonderful young women in NWA (Maggie and Sarah). I will become a grandfather in September which will be a true blessing. The 10 learnings are in no order and I’m more than happy to discuss them with any reader.

• Reading the Lonely/Stressed/Depressed/Happy people on my team. The loss of an office environment has made it incredibly difficult to get a pulse of the individual, let alone the team. In our office in the JB Hunt building, it was hard work, but I could get an understanding of how team members felt. You knew their family situations and could experience their joys and sorrows firsthand. The impersonal nature of Zoom/Teams and constant jumping from call-to-call leaves little time to understand how the individual is “really” doing. There are times I feel powerless to help my direct reports and as someone who strives to be a servant leader, that pains me. Learning – Intentionality to spend time with people is key, daily team meeting for updates and some fun, scheduled 1:1 calls to include the real “how are you feeling chat” and trying to understand their new “daily” life is key.
• Top Talent and New Talent. We must develop, train, and keep our best talent, otherwise, they will leave. We must figure out how to get our new people to “catch” the learnings they hear and see in the office environment. The Millstone leadership program has been a godsend for our top talent and Bayer HR has done a wonderful job of virtual learning classes.  Learning – A great reminder that you need to love your top talent or someone else will. I must invest in them, or I have failed Bayer. Time is key.
• The Quiet People are even more quiet on Zoom. It was so easy in the office to ask them a question or go see them to ensure their wisdom would be incorporated into decisions. It’s difficult to “call them out” in a team meeting because it puts them on the spot and could make them uncomfortable. Learning – Text during or before calling on how we need their opinion during the meeting to make the best decision. Call them afterwards to touch base.
• Regional Differences drive mental wellbeing. Clustering makes a better modular and understanding the regional differences of the US makes a better TL. Our HQ is in New Jersey, which is one of the hardest hit Coved areas of the US. They experienced lockdown – no office, no in person schools, no childcare, no gyms, limited outdoor activities, and constant masks. In Arkansas, we had a much shorter and easier lockdown. A mother or father of 3 young children in NJ had a vastly different last 15 months than me. Learning – Life is a lot more important than work and I need to understand each key contact’s current reality.
• My 10,000 hours of “expertise” no longer matters. I am a huge believer in Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule and how it helps develop the key skills for success in your chosen area. I had to “unlearn” a bunch of supposed skills. I had to learn how to lead from my kitchen table, how to sell without seeing a person, how to influence without understanding the room and how to create “fun” while everyone else is on mute. Learning – I still have a lot to learn in this life.
• Relentless focus on the key deliverables and priorities. With all the additional burdens, we needed to deliver the key priorities and stop the swirl. We need to focus on product supply and in stock to drive sales and share. Learning – Always major in what is important.
• Make it easier during difficult times. My job is to help and that has looked very different during the past 15 months. I need more than ever to focus on “what help is” by business/person. Covid has overwhelmed people and they need support more than ever. Lesson – Cut out the clutter and protect my people from the bureaucrats.
• Listen to understand. It’s much easier to listen to understand when face to face. On Zoom/Teams you can have people multi-tasking in their business or personal lives. There can be multiple interruptions during a 10-minute call. People have “Zoom Fatigue” which leads to less robust conversations. Learning – Focus on listening despite all the swirl and ask questions for clarity. Set time to double check your understanding of key situations.
• The ever-changing shopper dynamic. I’m blessed to have two of the best omnichannel managers in the area and no you can’t interview them, (see learning #2). As society moves to personalization, ease of ordering and demanding immediate delivery, we must deliver on those needs and still make money. Understanding the omnichannel shopper behavior is the key to future success. Learning – Be bold and resolute when you know you are right. Keep the data in front of key decision makers until they understand the implications.
• Embrace the blessings (Family/Friends/Faith) during the trials. During the last 15 months, Meghan has been home for 10-12 of them from NYC. It has been a true blessing to spend time with her and the rest of the family as we have watched shows, played games and talked about life. We celebrated Mitch and Sarah’s wedding in June. I have kept my sanity by going to the gym and spending time with good friends at the golf course. I’m only 3 days behind on my reading the Bible in a year plan – which is the best I have done in years!

I hope this is helpful and happy to discuss any part of my learnings.

Tom McDonald

*VP / Team Leader, Walmart and Sam’s – Bayer Consumer Health

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

A lot has been written on the importance of high performing teams to an organization. Included are characteristics of a high performing team and the process to build high performing teams (my favorite process is Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing).  Also, working on a high performing team is really fun.  The most rewarding times in my career are when I’ve been associated with high performing teams.

To uncover if the team you are looking to join is a high performing team, you first need to understand the characteristics of one.  I like to break this down into two areas; how a high performing team functions and what a high performing team does.  The “how” includes critical characteristics like:

• Team member trust
• Communication
• Collaboration between members
• Diversity of thought

These characteristics are very difficult to determine during the research phase of a job search and during the interview process, but they are not impossible.  Also, these characteristics aren’t mutually exclusive to high performing teams.  Teams can contain these characteristics but still not be high performing. They are just well functioning.  We need to understand the “what” characteristics:

• A clearly stated ambitious goal
• A timeframe in which to achieve this goal
• Team goal aligns with corporate objectives
• Every team member understands their role in achieving the goal
• Passion for achieving the goal

When seeking a new role, be on the lookout for the “what” characteristics during your multiple rounds of interviews.  Most interviewers will give you glimpses of these during various parts of the interview, but know the most important time of an interview for a candidate is the Q&A portion.

I’ve often found myself underwhelmed with questions received from candidates as I am interviewing them.  Questions like:

• Can you tell me about the culture at the company?
• What is your leadership style / how do you manage?
• What are the biggest challenges facing your business right now?
• Why do you like working at this company?

These are all good questions, but because they are subjective to the individual, really aren’t that helpful in understanding if you are joining a high performing team. What should you be asking during the interview?  Below are questions that will help you determine if you are joining a high performing team:

1. What is your team’s ambitious goal and what is your timeline to accomplish this goal?

This should be a layup question for the interviewer, but you’ll find a lot of people will struggle answering this question.  If the answer doesn’t follow some construct of a *SMART goal, the interviewer may be bluffing their way through the answer.  Probe with follow-up questions to get the specifics if you feel you received a generic answer.  If the person you are interviewing cannot quickly and effectively convey this information, you are not joining a high performing team.

2. How will this role assist the team in fulfilling this goal?

A lot of interviewers will answer with some sort of re-statement of the job descriptions.  Don’t let them get away with it.  You understand the duties of the role and the day-to-day responsibilities of the role, you are trying to understand if you will just be completing tasks in this role or if you have a critical function within a team.

3. How does your team goal align with the corporate objectives?

Here you can get extra-credit showcasing the research you’ve done on the company by weaving in a corporate objective into the question.  This will help you understand how far up the organization the goal has been socialized and if there is organizational alignment.

Ask these questions to every interviewer and the answers will provide you the insights needed to determine if you are joining a high performing team.  Every company has pros and cons that get exposed after you join, but high performing teams will always offer rewarding career growth.  Make sure your next career move is to a high performing team.

 

*SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely

 

Matthew Maroney

*VP of Sales & Marketing, Walmart – TracFone Wireless 

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

Values matter.  Values should be the first language taught at your company.  Your values should be as common as any other phrase that you use in your business, not just words on a wall.  Hire for values, fire for values, drive accountability to values, have fun with values.

At Happy Egg, our entire purpose is to Advance Happiness.  Yes, we are an egg company that sells beautiful and great tasting brown and blue eggs in bright yellow and blue cartons.  But we are so much more.  We have big ambition and what some might say are overly idealistic goals.  But that is because we believe that more is possible than what you may currently be able to imagine.

To accomplish our purpose, big goals, and vision, we must live by our values.  One of the four values we live by is “Raise the Standard”.  That might seem a bit odd compared to more traditional values such as integrity, teamwork, excellence, and on and on.  So, what does it mean?

Let me share two examples:

Example One:  This post is for Stout Executive Search.  Let’s say one of their recruiters was working a placement for your company.  You send over the job requirements and details.  Within about 2 hours you get a call back from the recruiter and they say they’ve found your candidate.  The search is over.  At first you would be amazed and then skeptical.  When pushed they say, “Well, this person met every one of your standard requirements so you need to hire them.”  Crazy, right?  Never would the recruiter do that.  Never should we do that.  Does the NFL draft focus on the minimum standard?  No – they want the best.  So does any competition including the search for jobs.  So why would we expect anything less in our world.  We don’t, just to meet the standard – we want to be the very best.

Example Two:  We sell eggs from birds that spend most of their days outside.  One of the most common questions we get is “what are your standards?”  It’s a fair question – that’s how we’ve been trained.  But it’s also not a great question.  Why?  Because that question drives us to the minimums.  To just good enough to be clearing the bar.  The much better question is “what are you doing to raise the standard on your farms?”

Those of you that work with me know that the author James Clear is one of my favorites.  If you are looking to build more discipline, commit to habits, or just generally grow as a person, check out his stuff.  This quote by James perfectly sums up our value of “Raise the Standard”.

“Improvement is a battle that must be fought anew each day.  Your next workout doesn’t care how strong your last one was. Your next essay doesn’t care how popular your last one was. Your next investment doesn’t care how smart your last one was.  Your best effort, again.”

This is exactly what raising the standard is all about.  At Happy Egg, we celebrate the great work our team has accomplished.  We celebrate the victories and affirmations from our customers.  We recognize great accomplishment.  Then just like any great teammate, you must wake up the next day and get better.  Have you ever been part of a great sports team?  I recently interviewed someone that was on a championship college team.  They were relentless.  Every single time they had a big victory they celebrated, but the next day’s practice was just a bit harder.  And guess what . . . they won!

Dan Arnsperger

*Chief Executive Officer – Happy Egg

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

It’s been a year.  For me.  For you.  For everybody.  When I look back at events, experiences and what I learned during the pandemic, it’s a little surprising how much change was packed into the last year.  I experienced personal and economic loss, learned new skills, started a business, lost a job and found a new one.  As an old boss would have put it, I went through a tsunami of change.  But I made it through and am better for it.  Today, I received my second Covid vaccine dose (I got the Pfizer! 😊).  Reaching that milestone has caused me to reflect on my experiences during the pandemic and put some of my thoughts into words.

In July, 2020, after 14+ years with the same company, I lost my job.  It could have not been a worse time to enter the job market.  Even though my industry (Consumer Packaged Goods) was thriving due to the stay-at-home economy, the phone was not exactly ringing off the hook.  I got to work rewriting my resume, improving my LinkedIn profile and calling contacts in my network.  I put a job search plan together and interviewed with several companies resulting in a job offer and acceptance after a long 5 months of searching.  It wasn’t easy but I am happy with the end result.  I was very fortunate and know it was all definitely for the better.

I also took the bold step of starting a vintage furniture business with my wife.  I poured a lot of energy into the business because I had the time and wasn’t sure if it might be my full-time gig for the foreseeable future.  This has turned into a very fulfilling and challenging sideline.  We have rented some manufacturing space and expanded our capabilities.  I grew as a business manager as I learned to make educated decisions across all functions from sales and marketing, to production and supply chain.

Working from home consistently for the first time ever, has been eye-opening.  I am so productive and work life balance has never been better.  After trial and a lot of error, I became proficient at Zoom meetings.  I love this capability!  Zoom and other video conferencing platforms have removed the main objection to working from home – lack of collaboration.  Most of us will eventually return to the office but commuting 5 days a week and business travel for routine meetings may be a thing of the past.

Shopping for groceries was interesting.  I recall visiting a grocery store in March just prior to the “lock down”.  I remember buying the last box of pasta in the building.  During the first few months of the pandemic, many staple items were hard to find.  The panic buying in March blew out supply chains resulting in shortages of paper products, dry yeast, cleaning products, rice, canned vegetables and fresh meat, among other things.

Wearing a mask and social distancing for the last year was a big change.  But I was glad to do it for multiple reasons.  It kept me and people I interacted with safer as demonstrated by the almost nonexistent flu season in 2020-2021.  It also sent a message to others around me that I wasn’t engaging in risky behavior.  Personally, I didn’t think it was such a big deal. In the end, it was just a considerate thing to do – like wearing a shirt to church.

Thankfully, there were some positives that came out of the pandemic.  Many people were able to spend more time with their immediate family.  Working from home has become more acceptable and perhaps even entered the mainstream.  We are all more aware about our health and the health of those around us.  The equity markets are at all-time highs.  It feels like we are turning the corner on the pandemic.  I would say that things will get back to normal but normal was redefined during the pandemic.  We will experience more change as restrictions are lifted.  Hopefully, it won’t be another “tsunami”.

 

Nick Jolly

*Director of Sales, Walmart & Sam’s Club – StarKist

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

I recently made a job transition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So many colleagues have asked me about this transition and felt, “it must have been hard during COVID.”

But instead, it has been invigorating.

Onboarding in a new company is always challenging, made even more so thru COVID.  I focused on three areas that I found most helpful and rewarding in my transition, however, these can be applied in any stage of the career journey.

Listen, Learn & Engage  

The listening tour:

I was so excited to jump right in.  As much as I wanted to show up and tell everyone everything about myself and what I’ve done, I kept imagining the Charlie Brown wha wa wa wha wa wa…this is really what it feels like doesn’t it when it is a one-sided conversation?

The best advice I received in my 1st 90 days is to focus on the people.  To me that meant listening to them.  What I found was that most of the 1 on 1 meet and greets went so quickly that we set up further 1 on 1 sessions.  Some wanted to tell me about their personal selves, I even met some of their children and pets – virtually of course.  Others shared their professional journey and wanted to know more about my experiences.  My advice is to be prepared to both listen quietly, and listen actively, by asking what and how questions allowing them to talk, depending on the preference of the individual.  Thanks to video conference, it is much easier to observe cues from others as to their communication style.

Be a student of the business:

I always loved the phrase “be a student of the business”.  This can generate new ways of working and new ideas, keeping us from getting set in our ways. This may come in the form of getting out from behind the computer and into the field, reading articles, taking a course or networking with others.

In my transition, I subscribed to relevant industry news, virtual seminars and found walking stores with teammates and colleagues, early on, to be most energizing.  Probing deeper into the business, I started asking for feedback, demonstrating that I want to collaborate and be challenged.  I believe the best working environment is one where ideas are shared and refined together.  If I can lead with that approach, others will feel freer to do the same and not fear feedback or constructive criticism.

Lastly in this section, I encourage you to learn from your network.  There are so many amazing, talented individuals who want to help others be successful.  If you don’t have a strong, vast network, start with building relationships and get in touch with past co-workers or sign up and join a network of interest.

Fill your engagement bucket:

Now, more than ever, most of us feel a lack of connectivity or engagement with others.

I want to encourage you to find a way to get involved in your community or your company’s employee resource groups (ERG’s).

Being new to an organization, I was interested in finding ways to meet others beyond my immediate working team.  By taking on a leadership role in our Women’s Coalition employee resource group at Ocean Spray, I have quickly built relationships with others that I would not have met in this virtual environment.  We have established a mission, built a committee, and facilitated events over the last year that are deepening connections and fostering the right dialogue in our organization.  I have found that it does not have to feel like “adding more work to your plate”, if you find the work to be filling your engagement bucket.

In the end, what really matters?  Show you care and be invested in the people and the business.  It’s easy to forget that beyond the work, we’re all human.  Finding connectivity in the work and the people we work with, can bring you closer to the joy, and closer to goals you set for yourself.

Casey Rivard

*Sales Director, Walmart – Ocean Spray Cranberries

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search

The hardest presentation I have given to date in my career was introducing myself to my current team.  It was only a 30-minute session with a small group live and the balance on a virtual team call.  My new boss and predecessor were going to announce the organization changes. I would have 15 minutes for an introduction, then an open Q & A.  I was sick to my stomach – literally ready to run out of the room.  Working in this industry, I’ve had some rather important presentations & big audiences – customer negotiations, CEO pitches, national sales meetings, etc. – but those I’ve been preparing for my entire career.   While I have introduced myself to new teams’ multiple times, this one was different.  Not because of who the team was or the role I was assuming, but instead, what I was about to share.  Now I’m sure you have all created ‘that page’ with adoring pictures of your family & friends, logos from your college & favorite sports teams, along with a list of career experiences.  I had one of these Me-Me-Me pages (as one of my colleagues affectionately calls it), but that day I was going deeper into my story.  I was asked by a good friend & coach to be vulnerable – let people in – show them you are human.   Wait a minute, am I not human?  I am – it’s just the side of me that people normally see is the polished one.  I don’t share the messy stuff.  Even writing now that I have messy stuff behind the scenes is hard.  But guess what – we all do – it’s what makes us human.

So, in that small conference room, I took a deep breath and opened up with my story.  Instead of simply saying my parents name – I shared what they did for a living and how my dad’s workaholic & perfection tendencies molded me.  High school & college logos were not to show prestige, but instead the reality of how I worked full time and missed out on the opportunity to make deep friendships. (Side note – my college is a bit famous, winning 8 out of 9 FCS championships – go NDSU Bison!) Fast-forward to current state and the pictures of my kids in their soccer uniforms and how we love to be on the sidelines, but also the struggles we face with ADHD.

These are not details I should share – what will people think?  I am supposed to be giving the team confidence in my abilities to lead and help them achieve their goals, not show where I struggle.  What happened next, was the exact opposite of what I worried about.  I received more notes from team members than I ever have after an introductory call…and not just the obligatory, ‘congratulations & welcome’.  These were genuine, heartfelt notes.  They shared their stories, offering empathy and making connections to my journey.  As uncomfortable as it was, it was one of the best pieces of advice I have gotten – and I only wish I would have learned that lesson much earlier in my career.  But let me be clear, this is still not my natural go-to.  I grew up in both a home and work environment where you led with performance & results, so I need constant reminders to be human as well.

In my journey to learn more about opening up and sharing the messy stuff, I have leaned on Brené Brown’s, The Power of Vulnerability.    She talks about how it is not a sign of weakness but instead the birthplace of joy.  After the challenges of 2020 and the continuing pandemic, I’m confident we could all use a bit more joy in our lives.

For leaders, I challenge us to push to that place of uncomfortable more often – lead with vulnerability, you’ll be amazed to see what it unlocks in your team.  Brené also correlates it to innovation in our business… “No vulnerability, no creativity.  No tolerance for failure, no innovation.”

For those of you starting out in your career – when you get assigned a mentor or have the opportunity to connect with a senior leader, you can still create your me-me-me page, but also dig deep and think about what makes you human.  Imagine the future possibilities when you make connections far deeper than what your resume depicts.

We are all human. Embrace vulnerability and soak in the joy!

Lisa Christianson

*Head of US Category Management – Unilever

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written.

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search.

As we know, a strong culture and employee engagement continue to be critical to the success of individuals as well as to business. Getting the right people, keeping the right people, and developing talent, should be fundamental in leading a team to success. A key to doing this is fostering the sense of belonging. During these unprecedented times this is harder than ever.

When COVID began to gain momentum and many companies moved to a remote environment, there seemed to be an uptick in employee engagement, productivity, and for many, a sense of flexibility. As time has gone on, and much longer than could have been anticipated, we asked; is this still the case? The wear and tear of back-to-back virtual meetings, managing the stresses on family, and the lack of networking and connectivity has become real.

Personal and professional connections at work and in our community are not as easy as they used to be, but in a sense of belonging, continue to be as important as ever. I would venture to say this could not be truer, than in places like Northwest Arkansas. The prolonged impact of COVID has hindered the ability to interact live with our teammates and have those natural touchpoints that foster relationships, collaboration, and productivity.

When this first started, virtual “Coffee Breaks,” “Happy Hours” and “Team Connects” seemed like perfect solutions. Not that these are bad things, but after almost a year, what’s next?

While writing this, I realized the strategic pillars we leveraged prior to COVID were the same. However, looking forward, we must ask, how do we customize and fit in the current environment as a team as well as an individual?

It is easier for some than others, so how do we foster the support and encouragement?

Be intentional and drive inclusion

Create an environment that builds trust and allows new ideas. Include your team in the process and in the decision making that affects your work and your results. Make them part of the solution.

Not being in person or in the office, how do you accommodate different communication styles and personalities? When it comes to virtual team meetings, allow individuals to use instant messaging functions or converse in smaller groups where appropriate. Set up one on one meetings versus group settings.

Leverage network and community involvement

Many companies have ERGs (employee resource groups) and support non-profits. Continue supporting and proactively encouraging involvement. This allows for connectivity.

In addition, create smaller communities and allies within your team or organization. Build experiences supporting the realization that “we’re in it together” and encourage healthy interactions.

Be open to feedback

As leaders, we need to understand and take seriously, how our teams are feeling, and what they need to be successful. Knowing they are valued is the cornerstone of the sense of belonging.

As I said in the beginning, during these unprecedented times, it is harder than ever! But with leadership and leveraging the tools we have, we are prepared to support our amazing people and teams, until we find ourselves back to our accustomed ways of working.

Kim Joubert

*Vice President of Sales, Walmart – TreeHouse Foods

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written.

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search.

As we approach the end of 2020, we can all agree it has been the year of constant change.  The year where flexibility, determination, dedication and sheer grit were required to ensure success.  We all experienced significant changes within our professional and personal lives.

As factories in China began to close, we immediately began to evaluate the potential impact on our businesses and the “short-term” affects it would have on our production planning, inventory flow and profitability.  We expediently explored alternative options and locations for additional production, in what we had hoped would be a temporary impediment to our normal operating procedures.  As replenishment began to diminish and retail shelves began to empty, the ever-aggressive pursuit to establish the “new normal” ensued.

Soon thereafter, many Americans began finding themselves displaced from the work environment and evaluating their financial well-being.  Many individuals and families found themselves spending the majority of their time within their homes. A newfound focus on sterilization, cleaning supplies, cooking and in-home entertainment became the focus. In addition, many fortunate individuals soon had the added challenge of balancing their career where The Office became The Home Office. We were now pressed to establish a new set of professional guidelines and expectations never experienced before.  In a world where face-to-face meetings and quick telephone calls were the norm, we were now set upon a path of video conference calls and the never-ending exchange of avoiding the double and triple booked calendars.  In a previous time where we constantly ensured silence in the background, even if you had a car full of children because it was your day to drop at soccer and a quick wave of the hand let the family know you were answering a business call and complete silence was expected, to new expectations of video conferencing where a more casual approach had to be practiced.  Teammates were now seeing into your private lives with an intimate view of your home office, kitchen table or back deck where you found your best workspace. Colleagues were now leading financial meetings with their newborn baby cooing in the background, a cat pawing at a computer screen and a young boy dancing in the background while his father was completely unaware as he covered his category sales from the previous week.  Doorbells ringing, home schooling, dogs snoring at your feet, ill family members, finding time to grab something for lunch and “muting” for a bathroom break…we had to quickly learn flexibility and master the ability to pause and smile while we regained focus and pressed through our meeting agenda.

Through these changing times we learned how to manage our business in a less than traditional venue.  Associates and teammates are managing very large businesses and running their personal lives in tandem.  As leaders, whether we are experiencing record-breaking sales or struggling to hold the line, we need to constantly remind ourselves of the additional daily pressures and struggles each of our associates are experiencing.  Most recently, within our organization, we have experienced aggressive sales increases primarily due to the changes of this year.  However, with the increased growth we have also experienced many challenges from production, out-of-stocks, low fill rates, late deliveries, transportation, congested ports of entry, lack of available trailers, frustrated retailers, aggravated customers and exhausted internal associates.  Daily, we continue to strive for excellence and work to correct the many opportunities and issues that have risen from the impact of the business for the year.  It often seems to be a never-ending quest to correct our current inaccuracies and shortcomings as we are pressed to push our associates and continually find better efficiencies.  Through all of this we have been pressed to wear many hats outside our normal scope of responsibilities in order to help carry the load.

As we quickly approach the final push into this Holiday Season, I feel it is more important than ever to take a moment with my team and celebrate our victories of the year.  We naturally have continued to focus on the many professional challenges we have experienced to achieve success.  It is imperative that we remember not only has this been the most challenging year in most of our careers, it has also been the most challenging in many of our personal lives.  For our teams to have balanced the professional challenges with their personal lives with little separation, we have established so much as an organization.  While quickly running through the specific category sales increases YoY and WoW, I suddenly realized we were not celebrating our victories, yet focusing on our failures.

In summary, this year has been challenging for the majority of manufacturers, retailers, associates and our families.  We need to take the time to listen to our associates. Celebrate each of their victories and ensure each associate is aware they made a difference, and the success was due to their flexibility, determination, dedication and sheer grit. It takes a mentally strong team to ensure success in a year like we have experienced, and we need to ensure we are ready for the new set of challenges yet to come.

 

 

Stephanie L. James

*Vice President of Strategic Sales, Walmart & Sam’s Club – SharkNinja

*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written.

The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search.