This is the year of the Marketer. We are emerging as leaders in business due to our unique blend of abilities to gain insights from market and customer data and our keen interest in people. We are active in Social Media and Karl Gustafson reminds us in Elevating The Role Of The Marketing Leader that we have grown up understanding the need for influence vs. authority.
When the year commenced, I took a renewed interest in the study of leadership, reading several books and blogs; attending coursework; and actively mentoring some of our future leaders. My particular interests are:
- What makes leaders great
- How to develop leaders in our organization
- What can I do to become a better leader
My co-worker, Justin Huntsman and I take every opportunity we can to speak with business and government leaders on the topic of Social Media. During our recent Health and Life Sciences conference (see Enter The Center for Health Analytics and Insights for a great write-up of the event), we spent time discussing the topic of Social Media in the Life Sciences industry with a few industry experts, including Charlotte Sibley.
Charlotte is best known for her 30+ years in Market Research and the use of Analytics in Life Sciences. As I researched her background for a Nuts and Bolts of Social Media video, I noticed a role she held at Shire Pharmaceuticals, SVP of Leadership Development. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask Charlotte about this role and her opinions about identifying and developing leaders.
Charlotte told me that she was looking for leaders who: Take accountability, have excellent communication skills, and focus on teamwork and collaboration. Her advice to future leaders?
- Do your current job very well
- Get a mentor
- Adopt the attitude of a career “lattice” vs a ladder
Please take a few minutes to listen to the thoughts of Charlotte Sibley, of Sibley and Associates.
