Leadership.
Who here considers themselves a leader?
Maybe you're a parent, or you might be a business owner,
or what about an older sibling?
Or maybe you just want to go around the world,
telling people how you're going to solve all the problems.
But what kind of leader?
Is it someone that really leads with power?
Maybe it's hierarchy?
Maybe it's fear.
Or are you a leader that is open-minded and leads with the heart?
Today, I'm going to share with you
what it's like being a leader that leads with the heart.
Many years ago,
I started a new role in a new company.
And one of my first assignments was to lead an investigation
for a transformation program that had gone extremely badly.
The client was very upset with how the company was performing,
and in most cases, we had lost trust with the client.
When I met with the team that were leading the program,
I noticed that they had a fear of speaking up
and of talking about many of their mistakes,
and they spent most of their time blaming each other.
Now, when I talked to the boss,
he said I really didn't understand what was going on
and the team were not sharing with me what was happening.
Now, I was very surprised by his reaction.
And when I met with the client,
the client said, "I don't want to meet with him anymore."
Now, the team,
when they continued to speak with me,
I noticed that they had a fear of failure and speaking up.
And I also noticed
that they really thought that the boss was not present,
didn't attend steering meetings,
and more importantly, didn't really care what was going on.
When I handed in the report when I completed the investigation,
the first thing my boss said:
"Liz, who's responsible for this, and who should I blame?
Who should I fire?"
Now, I was very surprised by that question,
and I asked him,
"What do you think your part was in this colossal project failure?"
And his response was "It surely has to be the team."
Now, it's very interesting that during such a program,
the boss would blame the team.
And I remember in the discussions,
I said, "How do you know the team?
Do you know what they do?
Do you spend time with them?
Do you ask them questions?"
And he said, "All the time."
But it was very clear that he wasn't present.
Now, have a look at this picture.
My name is Liz Theophille,
and I'm the chief technology and digital officer
to a large global healthcare company.
I grew up in an environment that really focused on strong leadership.
But I believe to become a leader that leads with the heart,
you need to encourage experimental mindset,
you need to provide psychological safety for teams,
and, also, you need to be a servant leader.
But I grew up in an era, in a culture where leaders were feared
and not necessarily respected for what they knew.
That was during difficult times,
but I believe there's better ways of leading.
Now, you've probably noticed
that I have an extremely strong Scottish accent.
Right?
Yes, I grew up in Scotland.
But I don't have all the mannerisms of a Scottish person.
I'm more like this.
I'm very proud,
I'm strong, and I'm determined.
But I recognize
some of the mannerisms of my boss and the team in myself,
especially when I was a young leader,
when I started off.
I was very technical.
But when I started to evolve from a technical expert
into leading teams of technical people,
I used to micromanage.
I used to check on everything that was happening
because I knew many of the solutions and the answers.
And I'm sure that was very intimidating
for the teams.
But I know that there is a better way, by leading with the heart,
where you can motivate and inspire teams.
There was an occasion
when I was leading my first technical team.
I had someone in the team that was extremely strong technically.
But he was quite introverted in nature.
And in many occasions, he loved experimenting with technology.
And he didn't share some of the things he was doing.
So I actually thought he was playing around.
And when we sat in meetings and discussed what the deliverables were
and what we need to expect from him,
he didn't really speak up,
he didn't say much.
So I started to think
that he wasn't paying attention to what was going on.
When I sat with him during reviews, he didn't say much,
but he asked me a lot of questions.
And because I was very technical, I would answer all the questions.
But I realized that I was stifling his creativity and his innovation
because I wasn't giving him enough time to think.
I know better now.
I don't want to intimidate teams by not listening
and creating what I would call "an experimental mindset,"
where you can take risks and you can experiment with technology.
There was another time
when I had to lead
one of the most complex and hardest transformations
I've ever done in my career.
I was a leader at that time of what we called "global data centers."
These are large technical centers where we have computers and so on.
And I remember I had three major regional data centers:
one in the UK, one in Germany and one in France.
One of my tasks was to consolidate all of those data centers into one.
And of course, we chose France.
(Applause)
I wouldn't clap yet.
(Laughter)
Now,
that meant that I had to let go
close to 400 employees.
These were employees that I worked with in the past.
I grew up with them.
We had lunch together.
We sometimes went out together.
We solve problems together.
But I had to let 400 people go.
And I remember when I met with HR
and we had the conversation about how we go about this,
they said, "Liz, don't worry.
It's our job to take care of that.
We will meet with them, and we will give them their letters."
Now, I was very, very shocked by this process, being a new leader.
And I said,
"That is a very inhumane, cowardly and faceless way
to manage employees
that have worked for the company for such a long time."
And I said to them,
"Is it okay if I meet with every single employee
and explain what's happening?"
Now, they found that quite strange.
They said, "Liz, that's very unusual.
But we'll allow you to do it if you feel that you can do it.”
So I sat down with every employee,
and I explained the context
of why we were rationalizing in consolidating the data centers.
I also talked about many of the objectives
and what it meant for them.
And it was very hard.
During that process, I started to think,
How can I be credible?
I'm sitting there telling my colleagues
that they're going to leave the organization,
and I'm still there.
So I decided to go to my boss, and I said,
"Once this transition is complete, I will leave the organization."
Now that's what I call leading with the heart.
It's very important
that you consider the other person's situation.
And in fact, my boss told me that there was a promotion waiting for me.
But I still decided to leave.
(Applause)
So - thank you.
(Applause)
Let me talk to you
about how you manage what I call "psychological safety."
I talked about leading with the heart,
but in order to experiment, you have to take some big risks.
And it's important while you're taking those risks
that you create an environment of psychological safety.
I typically do that
with allowing my team to give me feedback,
because that helps to understand the other point of view.
And that helps them take risks
because they know you're going to support them.
So psychological safety is absolutely critical:
it's critical to create a safe environment that allows you to experiment
but also allows you to fail and learn.
But feedback sometimes is very hard as a leader
because you think you're strong.
But being a servant leader
means that you're able to take the feedback,
and it also means that you're able to change.
So I believe in being that servant leader.
So if I can just leave you with a couple of things
from my presentation.
I hope it demonstrates how you can lead with the heart.
So I have three things,
but you only need to choose one of them.
Because I would like you to practice one of them.
So first of all,
encourage an environment where you can experiment
and have an experimental mindset.
But that means you will have many, many false starts
but also many failures.
But cultivate and embrace an experimental mindset.
Number two,
create an environment of psychological safety.
You will be amazed at how open, honest and transparent your team will be.
They will share many things with you.
And last but not least, be a servant leader.
Listen, show compassion, ask for feedback -
because it truly helps you develop as a leader.
I hope that helps you to lead with the heart.
Merci beaucoup.
(Applause)