Building A Leadership Pipeline
Sue Flautt, Managing Director, Quality and Operations Support
The Permanente Medical Group,
Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
Making A Pivotal Career Decision
Elaine Fortier, Vice President Human Resources
Fox Interactive Media, Beverly Hills, CA
The Moment of Truth - The Hairpin Turn
It was October. Elaine was just coming to the end of a year-long consulting contract with a major client and she had a decision to make: take an employee position with this industry leader, continue consulting, but elsewhere, or do something as yet unknown.
Elaine's career in Silicon Valley had spanned 23 years; she had "been there, done that" with some great high-tech companies. She knew it was time for a change. Throughout the fall, head hunters had been recruiting her. "I'd take the call, and then have immediate amnesia. I'd get the job description and would barely read it. None of those jobs were 'it', never mind that I didn't know what 'it' was."
What she also didn't know at the time was that she was about to be recruited by Fox Interactive Media for what would prove to be the absolute right job, but that the decision process would be one of the hardest undertakings of her career.
The Path Forward - Building the Future
Even though at the time Elaine wasn't clear what "it" was, she had never lost sight of the vision she held for her work. "It's got to be interesting and different, something with juice, with spark." So when the call came from Fox she was intrigued. "The job they put in front of me was unique, exciting, interesting and had a major hook that will always attract my attention: the opportunity to innovate, create, to build something. It was compelling and it was extremely financially attractive."
The interview process was fast and compressed. The first discussions took place after a 10-hour work day. Elaine had squeezed in a round trip at the end of the day for a two-hour dinner with the man who would ultimately become her boss at Fox Interactive. "That was a conversation I didn't want to have amnesia about." Three conversations followed, and within two weeks Fox had a written offer in her hands.
Although making the choice might appear to have been easy, there were complications. The offer from her current client company was equally attractive, and she had much to weigh. "Both opportunities were worthy of serious consideration, but the elements for each were exactly opposite. There were other issues tugging at me: the current job was relatively safe, the Fox job highly risky. If I stayed, I wouldn't need to leave friends, 23 years in one area, the house I own, and give up easy access to and for my college-age children. On the other hand, a move to Beverly Hills meant uprooting myself and leaving much of what I'd grown familiar with in my adult life. How would I choose?"
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - Making it Happen
"I agonized over the decision for nearly two weeks. Then I called Denise. And after one amazing 30-minute conversation I had made my decision, and it was clear. How did she make simple and unambiguous a decision that had been so difficult and unclear?"
Denise is a genius at getting you quickly to the heart of a matter. And that's what makes her and her process so extraordinary. She took me through an amazing process where she mined for the top values important in my life right now. After a series of insightful questions, I chose five. Then she had me weigh each of those values against both jobs.
I saw how important it was to me to have a job that used all of my talents, not just a few. In the current job I had a single-focus role; it was more specialized. I was the resident content expert and leader with a certain area of expertise. The Fox option tapped into almost everything I had learned in my entire career. And for me, having all parts of my brain in gear and being challenged to innovate and create was a clear draw for me.
A second value had to do with my children. I had always been available to them, and that was paramount to me. I had to ask myself how important it was for me to be 30 minutes away or a six-hour drive? I wasn't about to give up my value of family. But I was now willing to explore how I could stay in close touch with Jess (20) and Chris (22) while pursuing my passion with the new job at Fox. Within a few days I had conversations with both of them and found that they were completely behind my making the decision that was most right for me.
I hadn't thought about making the decision this way, that is, unearthing my values and matching them to the jobs. But now that I have, I can't see making any important decisions in the future any other way."
The Final Mile - Living the Vision
Elaine's interview for this story took place while she was driving to the L.A. area for her job with Fox. To quote her, "I'm driving to L.A. for my first official meeting with my new boss at my new job. I'm heading for my new apartment that has everything that I've ever wanted in a place - fabulous location, security from a safety perspective, spa, pool and gym. It's right across the street from The Grove, an amazing mall with shopping, restaurants and movie theatres. I'm a stone's throw from Beverly Hills where my new company is located.
And I made the choice based on what I wanted, what was right for me at this time in my life, and it feels great. Am I afraid? Sure. But fear is just another form of excitement, isn't it? What's most thrilling is that I've done it! I'm on my way. I'm in my new car heading for an appointment with my hair stylist to the stars. This is a dream of mine I've had for a long time, and now I'm living it."
Taking Vision to Reality
Michele Caplette, Ph.D., Director
Executive Development
Applied Materials, Santa Clara, CA
The Moment of Truth - The Hairpin Turn
After five years at Applied Materials spearheading the Company's executive and leadership training initiatives, Michele Caplette was starting to feel both ineffective and undervalued in her career and frustrated by the lack of support for training and development within the organization.
Then Michele sought the advice of Denise Brouillette whom she had partnered with a few years earlier to create a leadership development program at Applied Materials. Knowing her interest in leadership development, Denise invited Michele to attend her company's Leading Without Limits™ program, and pretty quickly, things began to change in Michele's life.
The Path Forward - Building the Vision
Leading Without Limits, and the leadership experiences that would follow, including coaching with Denise and attending her leadership program in Sedona, were major turning points for Michele. "I decided to take control of my career, get a clear vision for what success and satisfaction on the job were for me, and focus on making my goal of 'leading by encouraging leadership in others' a reality."
"I realized that what I wanted most was to have the work that I do transform the leadership at my company and the individuals who work there," Michele said, describing the vision statement she wrote as part of her experience in Sedona. "At the time, it felt foolish articulating something that seemed so out of reach. But I figured, why not? This is my passion! And what's so amazing is that I have actually ended up achieving just what I had envisioned!"
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - Making it Happen
But achieving her vision didn't come about overnight. First, Denise advised Michele to "clean out the clutter" in her life and to "watch what happens when you do." Michele did just that. She took on the seemingly insurmountable challenge of cleaning her double-car garage so filled with several years' worth of accumulated contents, there was barely enough room to squeeze a person through it.
Michele mobilized her family and, after a summer of working evenings and weekends to organize, donate and throw out the contents, Michele discovered that she had a lot more than just a place to park. She knew confidently that no matter how intimidating and unruly the obstacles in her path; she had the commitment and personal resolve to triumph over any challenge. And, that was exactly the mindset she adopted and applied to her life and career opportunities from that point forward.
The Final Mile - Living the Vision
Armed with the self-assurance and vision to make clear, conscious choices to bring about satisfaction in her career, Michele decided to go after what she wanted. And just as she started her job search, by a twist of fate it ended before it began. Applied Materials announced a new CEO, and with that change, a new attitude toward leadership development.
Michele placed herself at the center of the corporate-wide initiative that gave leadership development a far more important role within the Company. As she embraced the huge challenge and opportunity that lay before her, Michele actively evolved her role from sole part-timer in a forgotten department to the head of a nine-person group. And in so doing, she and her group have created some of the most talked about programs in the Company.
Without going anywhere, Michele had arrived at her vision: "I'm doing exactly what I want to do. I'm running programs now where people are coming to me and saying, 'Thanks, this changed my life.' I now feel like I'm making a difference. And it all began with my vision in Sedona."
Recognizing the Dream and Embracing It
Lisa Duerre, Director, Employee Development
World Wide Applications Services
Synopsys, Inc., Mt. View, CA
The Moment of Truth - The Hairpin Turn
When Lisa Duerre attended a work-sponsored leadership development program run by Denise Brouillette for the senior leadership team she was on, she had no idea the exciting turn her life was about to take. It was at that first seminar that Lisa became aware of the stark fact that she wasn't where she wanted to be in life and was ready to do something about it.
Up to that point, Lisa's life was her job - and she was very successful at it. But something was amiss. The long hours, worldwide responsibility, and challenges of managing others were beginning to take their toll. And when it came time to leave the office at the end of the day, there just wasn't any reason to go home - Lisa had left no room for a life outside of work.
"I was at a real fork in the road. I realized that I could peel the onion and find out more about what I really wanted for myself, or I could continue with my ways of doing things, fighting it out in the rat race and never changing a thing. I decided it was time to take the 'onion approach'."
The Path Forward - Building the Vision
Lisa decided to dive in head first, and joined Denise's leadership experience in Sedona. She wasn't sure what to expect, but what became clear to her on that first night, sitting around an outdoor fire pit at the Hilton Resort with 18 other fast-track women, was that her life was about to change big time.
Lisa had two strong desires she had buried along the way. One was to bring romance and balance into her career-centric life. The second was to use her skills and talent to help young women achieve their dreams and goals. But how?
Over the four days in Sedona, through a process of thought-provoking discussion, personal exploration, and conversations with the women in her small group, Lisa's vision crystallized. First, she saw how compelled she was to work with young women. Then, to her shock and surprise, she realized that love had been sitting right in front of her! Her best friend, Randy Duerre, was the life partner she'd been looking for. "All it took was to ask myself, 'What do I really want' and trust that I'd know the answer. That's something we don't give ourselves the luxury of doing when we're living a life with no breathing space."
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - Making it Happen
Once Lisa understood what she wanted and was clear on her vision for change, she wasn't about to waste any time. The day she returned home from Sedona, she told Randy of her true feelings. And much to her delight, she discovered Randy was open to pursuing a romantic relationship with her.
Next was to achieve her goal of committing her time and skills to improving young women's lives. Within one week, after sharing her vision with others she was able to accomplish her mission: Lisa became a mentor and eventually joined the board of directors of Girls for a Change, a national organization that empowers girls to create social change.
The Final Mile - Living the Vision
"I'm thrilled by where my life has gone since attending the Sedona program. The group of young women I mentored achieved extraordinary results with their projects. And best of all, I married the man I love on October 1 (of 2005) in Sedona - the place where it all became to clear to me."
The greatest byproduct of all this is that my personal happiness and contentment are positively affecting my career. Now that there's a reason to leave at the end of the day, I've become far better at prioritizing, influencing others, and managing the people around me. Who would have thought?"
Leading Through Challenging Times
Amy St. Clair, Senior Manager
Capital One, Richmond, VA
The Moment of Truth - The Hairpin Turn
When the business decision to close the Call Center was announced, Amy St. Clair, the Center's Senior Manager, knew she was in for turbulent times. The task was set: Outplace 300+ employees and managers, and continue to hit productivity and quality targets until the final day.
Amy knew that to manage others with dignity and integrity through such a significant change while maintaining the business operation, was going to be contingent upon her own leadership capabilities. Did she have what it would take? Could she bring her group through such chaos and provide the strong leadership they would need? After all she too would be out of a job in three months. She was about to find out.
The Path Forward - Building the Vision
To help Amy manage the situation at Capital One, she embarked upon a 3-month executive leadership development program, Leading Without Limits™ Leadership Mastery, offered by The Innovative Edge. During that unique experience, Amy learned a lot about what she really wanted and needed and how to apply those realizations to her situation and lead her team through difficult times. About Leadership Mastery, Amy said:
"When you're going through a lot of chaos and change, you have such high expectations of yourself. Leadership Mastery provided me a safe place to examine who I was as a leader. As I became more able to effectively recognize and take care of my own needs, I was better able to listen to and respond to my employees' needs. And that made a significant difference in the way they managed the change.
The support from my peers in the program was invaluable. It's amazing what a group of like-minded people can do to support and encourage you in moving forward. With group counsel, I was able to continually examine my own strengths and weaknesses and adjust almost in the moment.
Coaching and peer discussions helped me make the mental shift from viewing the closure from a place of fear, to seeing it as opportunity. Once there, I asked myself, "What am I doing?" and, "How do I want to be remembered?" It was from that point when how I showed up as a leader changed. Once I was no longer gripped by the fear of knowing I was about to lose my job, I saw the closure as an opportunity to create something valuable for myself and for others. I then was able to help others see the closure differently as well."
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - Making it Happen
As Amy stepped further into the Program she realized that having an actionable plan and the support to see it through, were critical aspects of success and something that set The Innovative Edge's program apart form others she had attended.
"Leadership Mastery caused me to ask, 'Where am I?' 'What is holding me back?' 'Where do I want to go?' We always think about these things, but rarely take the time to stop, think, and then take action on our insights. The program gave me the roadmap and then kept me focused on taking action.
Having a plan to get there was important. Having a coach to support me through it was critical. Coaching helped me stay grounded and be mindful in the moment - taking one step at a time and realizing that I really was making progress. My coach clearly saw my blind spots and pointed out where I was getting in my own way. It was amazing.
In times of change, if you're taking care of yourself as a leader, it's amazing what you can do for your people. Along with the invaluable organizationally-related content, Leadership Mastery focused me on my individual and personal leadership. That, in turn, positively impacted my team, our organization, and the business result."
The Final Mile - Living the Vision
Amy not only led her Call Center Group through a very difficult time with pride, she was able to grow and learn as a manager and effect change in her own career. Over 80% of the 300 people in Amy's group had secured jobs or had alternative plans firmed up by the time the group was dismantled. She also exceeded all productivity and quality goals right up until the day of closure. In addition, Amy created a new role for herself within the organization. Her position is fully in line with her career goals and offers a higher value contribution to Capital One.
Building A Leadership Pipeline
Sue Flautt, Managing Director,
Quality and Operations Support (QOS)
The Permanente Medical Group,
Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
The Moment of Truth - The Hairpin Turn
Before accepting her current position as managing director, Sue Flautt had the opportunity to join her senior leadership team in one of Denise Brouillette's extended leadership experiences, the Leading Without Limits™ (LWL) Leadership Mastery program. Along with building on her own leadership skills, it was in LWL that Sue furthered her already deep appreciation for the importance of developing and guiding the leaders of tomorrow.
For Sue, leadership development of others was a passion, a mission, and a place of satisfaction for her. And knowing that there was more that she could do to ensure quality succession planning in QOS, as managing director Sue made developing the managers at all levels in her organization a primary focus. All she had to do was design the initiative and make it happen.
The Path Forward - Building the Vision
With the support of her one-on-one leadership consulting with Denise and partnering with Denise and Ruth Varney at The Innovative Edge to help build the future leadership of QOS, Sue developed an intense three-year initiative for QOS's senior managers, directors, and individuals on the leadership track to get them positioned for their and the department's long-term success.
"Leadership development is more than simply providing information. It's about building a community of leaders who have a common language and framework to communicate with each other and reach new levels of efficiency."
It was part of Sue's plan "to provide extraordinary training so that managers have the skills to make more than just incremental progress." Her vision was to allow them, when ready, to catapult several steps ahead, and in a sustainable, repeatable and systematic way, to develop into exceptional leaders. "This all naturally supports and flows into achieving effective succession planning, which ultimately benefits the person, their team, and the organization."
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - Making it Happen
Sue is in the second year or her three year plan and is well on the way to having her initial vision realized. And although budgetary constraints are a fact of life in any organization, Kaiser's ongoing support for leadership development from first-line manger though the executive level, has helped her plan stay its course.
There are number of charters and philosophies she and her leadership team have put in place to help achieve the goals, including:
Providing systematic leadership training, early and often, with specific and clear goals.
Developing a common language that supports effective communication and can be used by all leaders no matter what their focus.
Establishing management responsibility for developing their staff and making it part of their assessment.
Having a culture and philosophy of continual improvement; everyone can learn something new no matter at what level of management they are.
Offering focused forums and discussions on a variety of topics for all managers.
Maintaining open communication and an environment conducive to learning from one another.
Encouraging managers to challenge each another and their staff in a productive way.
Sue feels very satisfied that her managers are developing into outstanding leaders.
The Final Mile - Living the Vision
Sue is extremely pleased and proud of what she has been able to accomplish in QOS, but even when this initial three-year phase is complete, Sue does not consider her job done.
Sue is not shy about saying that without the extraordinary and unique programs that Denise has brought to the table, and the strength and expertise of Ruth Varney and the rest of her team, the leadership in QOS would not be where it is today. The leaders in our department have achieved a level of overall teamwork that only comes from having a strong common philosophy and language that then helps drive effectiveness throughout the organization. By collectively strategizing the best course, the management teams are now better able to successfully navigate the organization and break through roadblocks in their way.
In Sue's own words, "Denise's programs force you to look at yourself, gain understating of your values, needs and desires, accept feedback about those ideas, and develop a plan to implement and execute change. Her programs keep the learning alive. They help us understand our interaction within our surroundings and with others, which ultimately helps use grow and improve our lives."
Sue will continue her work to grow the leadership programs at QOS. Her ultimate goal there is to:
ensure that every employee in her organization feels they have an appropriate career path that is identifiable, achievable and is being cultivated by their manager,
make sure every manager has a capable and prepared successor in mind that is positioned to take over at any moment and is acknowledged by the organization as the appropriate individual, and
keep the learning alive.
Sue is a true leader with a vision that will benefit her organization for years to come. Her vision is a model for developing the leaders of tomorrow.
