One Plus One Makes Eleven

FountainBlue’s February 13 When She Speaks event was on the topic of ‘One Plus One Makes Eleven’. This month’s inspiring panel of leaders came from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, but they had much in common.

• They are clear and inspiring communicators who are both humble and confident.
• They have navigated some challenging waters, and learned from both their successes and their challenges.
• They continue to push the envelop, holding the bar higher for themselves and for all those they work with.

They also agreed on many things.

• Empowering the people and the team is a critical management and leadership skill. 
• The only way for individuals and teams to scale is to include a broader, more diverse team members.
• It’s not always easy to integrate someone into a team, but it’s often worth the effort to try. Build rapport with each team member.

They also shared advice on how to get teams to be more innovative.

• Create and nurture a culture which rewards failure, which invites courage.
• Invite the multipliers to join the team. 
• Inspire and engage the right people to join and stay. 
• Embrace a collaboration mind set – 
• Be ever ready to answer the questions: how are we better together? how are we making a difference?
• Celebrate the wins.
• Err on the side of inclusivity.
• Decide for yourself what types of people would ‘push your buttons’. Find out how to best manage yourself, and best work with people who might be toxic or difficult under specific circumstances.
• Be customer-oriented and motivate the team to also focus on the customer.
• Be metrics/data-based, especially when emotions run high.

We close by challenging everyone to be the leader, be the change. Never settle into complacency. Celebrate successes, but then be passionate about what’s next.

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FountainBlue’s February 13 When She Speaks event on the topic of ‘One Plus One Makes Eleven’. Please join me in thanking our panelists and our hosts at Citrix.

• Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
• Panelist Indira Joshi, Director of Technical Marketing, Emerging Memory Solutions, Micron Technology
• Panelist Shikha Mittal, Director, Product Management & Strategy, VMware
• Panelist Marissa Schmidt, Senior Director of Product Management, CITRIX

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