“Challenges, the gift of opportunity”

“Challenges, the gift of opportunity”

Olivia Garfield

BT group director, strategy, policy & portfolio

© British Telecommunications plc

What do I plan to cover today?

An introduction into me and my career

Typical challenges people can expect to face along the way

Leadership and its twin; people management

How do you create winning teams

Top tips for happy working, which is inextricably linked to successful working


Who am I?

Olivia Garfield, aged 34

Career woman

Mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend

A consummate multi-tasker!

You can have it all, but you have to be super-organised!


What has been my career map?

Cambridge, Modern & Medieval Languages

Accenture: 5 years fantastic

Joined BT as General Manager, Desk Based

Sales

Service Director

Managing Director Sales

Group Director, Strategy, Policy & Portfolio


What did this feel like in reality?

Accenture aged 21: glamorous, exciting, all

encompassing

BT aged 27: starting out: apprehensive,

empowering, a bit lonely

BT aged 29, promoted to Director: under the spotlight,

the odd one out but the world is my oyster

BT aged 31: promoted to Managing Director: lost

without operations, questioning my capability but

confident with time would be ok!


Typical challenges people face along the way?

Do you look like you can perform such a senior role?

Do you fit the expected mould for your discipline:

–Service, Sales, Legal, HR, Regulation etc

Work / Life balance trade off

How do you get out of a rut?

... Or get operational experience?

.... Or get the next promotion?

Remember the world is your oyster


How can challenges become opportunities (1)?

Every experience is a perfect learning opportunity:

–People pay amazing money for an MBA which is a fraction of the benefit of on the job learning

– If you can turn around a personality clash, the sense of satisfaction is enormous and typically that person becomes a loyal ally

–Out of tough times, come stronger teams

–Cultural challenges create more rounded, better adjusted individuals



Time is a great healer, experience is a great calmer

–Hindsight is a wonderful tool ... we could all replay meetings and wish we had acted differently ... but our experiences form us and make us who we are

–A bad boss can inspire you to be a great boss – average interactions tend to be forgotten

–The most difficult problems often generate the most creative solutions

–Commeth the hour, commeth the woman



Lack of belief from someone senior can form a motivation to prove someone wrong

Unassailable challenge can force you to re-assess/re-evaluate and take a new route

Taking time out can feel like taking a career step backwards, but actually can re-invigorate your commitment, encourage a different perspective and force some direct career conversations


What is a Leader:Leaders make change happen

Lead by example

– not just ‘what’ you do, but ‘how’

Engage all of your people

Outperform at all times and help others do the same

Operate at pace

Create a winning team


Leaders set high standards and help people achieve them?

Determined efforts to explain your strategy and the part everyone plays in its delivery

Clarity as to what is required in their jobs

Investment in training, coaching, mentoring and welfare management

Helping managers to succeed through training and toolkits

Good leadership means personally help them to deliver

Increased productivity

Rising standards

Rigorous performance management

In the modern world we all demand a lot from our people


Leaders should all make a 2 way contract so the working ground is clear

I always state what people can expect from me:

Commitment to run the business professionally

Commitment to an open and safe environment

Commitment to recognise high performance

Commitment to open, honest feedback

Commitment to open minded review of new idea

Commitment to be passionate about our organisation

Commitment to create a winning team


In return the leader ask for a handshake...

As an example, I ask for a small number of consistent requests

Honest feedback on how it feels to work as part of my team

Honest debate on new ideas, but then loyal execution once we have agreed a strategy

Responsiveness

Commitment to properly nurture staff

Strong engagement pan the company as all organisations need friends!

Fun factor!


Leaders need to behave consistently

Building a winning team through

consistent leadership

Concept of creating your personal brand


Leaders need to bring global strategy into local context ...

Leaders need to have 2 way communication channels, that are picking up the rumours as well as explaining the press comments ...

BT Italia“BT Italia is the main Italian

provider of communication

services and solutions wholly

dedicated to the corporate,

SME and public sectors”

BT in LatamBT operates in 22 Latin American countries with integrated operations and approximately 1,000 employees throughout the region

“BT is today the leading alternative in the Spanish enterprise data transmission market with over 20 per cent market share”


Top tips for Happy Working for your teams

Make sure your people feel empowered

Give your people opportunity and responsibility

Praise and constructively criticize

Appropriately incentivize, through understanding what makes each person in your team tick

Honesty + integrity = trust

Leading by example doesn’t mean micro managing


7 Top tips for your own professional happiness


Looking to the future

Documents

“Challenges, the gift of opportunity”