Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy once wrote, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
This sentiment rings true even for those who have climbed the corporate ladder all the way to the top. Amid the demands of managing people, outlining an organizational vision and propelling their companies forward, high-level leaders must carve out time for their continued learning — both to serve as inspiration for their teams and to ensure that their skill sets remain adaptable in an ever-changing world.
At these three Austin companies, the featured senior leaders are dedicated to actively advancing their personal and professional growth. By participating in courses, webinars and conferences, they enthusiastically sharpen their skill sets and explore interest areas. Through open and collaborative communication with team members, they deepen their knowledge and benefit from their peers’ diverse strengths and perspectives.
Additionally, ThousandEyes, Pluralsight and Rapid7 support their leaders’ educational endeavors through a number of organizational efforts, such as annual development stipends and learning competitions.
Thanks to these initiatives and more, the featured professionals are able to ensure that learning is an indispensable part of their leadership style.
As part of Cisco, ThousandEyes helps enterprises improve end-to-end digital experiences for their customers.
Between the demands of leading a team and executing on strategy, it can be difficult to prioritize your own learning and development as a senior leader. How do you find the time to do so?
This is a hard mindset to break, as it’s one of the things that made you a good leader in the first place. Try asking yourself the question, “Would I want a half-trained software engineer or sales representative on my team?” Of course not. So why would you neglect your own development?
When you think about it from that perspective, it’s obvious that you need to find a way to invest in personal development.
After you’ve made this internal step, I’d suggest a couple of things to focus on. First, practice and theory. You need to target development areas that are relevant now or are coming up on the horizon. Working on hypothetical improvements that you are unlikely to put to meaningful use is a hobby, not a job. The tangibility makes it easier for you to describe the value and ask for whatever time and resources are needed.
Second, amplify your strengths. It’s more valuable to be brilliant at something than average at everything. Sure, take care of any major issues, but it’s OK to have areas you’re not so great at. That’s why we have teams of varying skill sets. Outsize value comes from being great at something, so don’t be afraid to double down on your strengths.
How does ThousandEye’s culture enable you to invest in your learning and development?
ThousandEyes has been able to maintain a strong meritocratic culture, which incentivizes folks to develop themselves. There is a strong tradition of people development and filling opportunities through internal progression where possible. This could be a sideways move, for example from technical leadership to people leadership or from solutions engineering to product management, as well as upward.
The kind of rounding experience you get from those moves can be hugely beneficial. We are often pushing into new product and technology areas, so the opportunities are always there for people who want to challenge themselves to grow.
On top of this, there is the investment. Through providing learning and development resources, such as structured courses, and opportunities to attend or speak at conferences, ThousandEyes has always supported people in getting what they need.
ThousandEyes has always supported people in getting what they need.”
How does prioritizing your learning and development make you a better leader?
All leaders have a multiplier effect. The point of your job is to have an impact on a range of people.
At first, this can feel fraudulent. You are so used to doing everything yourself that helping others get their work done doesn’t feel like real work. However, this indicates that you need to up-level your abilities to better lead and support your teammates.
When I first made the move from engineer to manager, I struggled with structuring projects and facing down conflict early. This was a while ago now — though contrary to what my daughter believes, it was after the age of steam transportation! In this case, the learning and development that I needed came from a couple of excellent mentors who were great sounding boards, coupled with on-the-job opportunities to put theory into practice.
It’s also important to stay relevant as the industry and technology evolves. At a fundamental level, technological change tends to happen more slowly than people think, although the surface-level rate of change appears rapid. Make sure you get the seismic shifts so you can support your team when they need to shift direction to take advantage of these trends.
Pluralsight is a technology workforce development organization that helps companies upskill their teams.
How do you find the time to prioritize your own learning and development as a senior leader?
At the start of each new year, I embark on a learning journey for that specific year. Taking into account my personal goals and work priorities, I create a comprehensive plan. This plan includes setting SMART goals and allocating a budget in terms of both finances and time.
To ensure accountability, I develop a mini-project plan with defined milestones and corresponding dates. I also proactively schedule time on my calendar every week specifically dedicated to my learning endeavors. I actively seek a learning buddy, whether it be a colleague at work or someone at home, who can provide me with the necessary motivation and support when needed.
I capitalize on moments when my children are engaged in their homework or studying, allowing me to align my learning time with theirs. This approach not only sets a positive example for my kids but also brings me closer to achieving my own learning objectives, creating a win-win situation for all involved.
How does Pluralsight’s culture enable you to invest in your learning and development?
Pluralsight fosters a vibrant culture of learning, driven by our supportive leadership and dedicated people team. We are fortunate to have access to a wealth of resources that encourage continuous learning. Each individual is allocated a yearly development budget, empowering us to pursue personal growth and skill enhancement.
Each individual is allocated a yearly development budget, empowering us to pursue personal growth and skill enhancement.”
To further ignite our passion for learning, our company engages in learning blitzes and competitions, with exciting prizes awarded for achieving our goals. Additionally, we are encouraged to explore industry-best practice webinars and attend conferences that align with our organizational strategy and individual objectives.
How does prioritizing your learning and development make you a better leader?
I strongly believe in leading by example, especially when it comes to learning, and I apply this principle with my team. Last year, when our company organized a cloud certification program, I took the initiative and actively participated in it. To my delight, this served as a source of inspiration for several members of my team, who also decided to pursue the certification.
I actively encourage my team to designate a meeting-free day to prioritize focused learning time. I firmly believe that learning comes in many forms, as I often learn through on-the-job experiences.
If a team member implements a cool technique in their project, I make it a point to reach out to them and learn about the new approach. I consistently strive to expand my knowledge by discovering tips and tricks for utilizing everyday tools more effectively, often seeking insights from my team. This practice makes me more approachable to my team and inspires them to adopt a similar mindset of continuous learning.
Rapid7 is a cybersecurity software company.
How do you find the time to prioritize your own learning and development as a senior leader?
Being human, we all have strengths, weaknesses and areas where we want to improve and grow. Experiencing demands from our team, company, customers, family and kids, everyone has a lot to juggle every day. Sometimes, it’s easy to deprioritize your needs. But we have to remember to put our own oxygen masks on first. You can’t give what you don’t have; similarly, you can’t teach what you don’t know.
As a fellow student of leadership, I am constantly exposing myself to new thinking and ideas so that I can inspire my teams. Our minds are just like any muscle, and they need to be developed constantly to grow and improve.
Admittedly, I don’t have much time in the day to read physical books, but I am lucky that content is readily available in many different forms. I get to listen to my favorite authors, such as Brené Brown, Simon Sinek and Adam Grant, via audiobooks and podcasts during my long work commutes, while walking my dog, on runs or at workouts. I find that it not only reframes my thinking, it also inspires and energizes me, filling my tank when I run empty.
How does Rapid7’s culture enable you to invest in your learning and development?
Rapid7 has a strong values-based culture that challenges every employee to bring our authentic selves to work, be an advocate to those around us and our customers, impact together, challenge convention to forge new ways of thinking and pursue excellence through continuous learning, knowing our growth is never done.
Last year, in place of company swag gifts for employees, our CEO Corey Thomas gave us the gift of learning with a year’s membership to MasterClass, through which we have access to hundreds of courses to pursue our curiosity of learning.
There are many leadership development programs available that cultivate continued learning and growth for aspiring leaders. Many of our leaders and impact groups hold internal book clubs or “grow series” to explore new ways of thinking and have open dialogues over thought-provoking content. Rapid7 also provides memberships and external resources, such as Pluralsight and LinkedIn Learning, so our employees can continue to grow their skills.
Many of our leaders and impact groups hold internal book clubs or ‘grow series’ to have open dialogues over thought-provoking content.”
How does prioritizing your learning and development make you a better leader?
Being a leader is a sacred responsibility; others are trusting you to help grow and develop their careers, hopes and dreams. It requires an immense amount of courage and empathy to build trust and connect with those around us so that we can build a culture where people feel safe to speak uncomfortable truths, fail and learn valuable lessons. This allows us to innovate together into the unknown.
Many leaders suffer from a tyranny of grace, where we feel like we have to be perfect in front of our teams. This not only puts pressure on ourselves, it sends the wrong message to our teams that they cannot make mistakes. Sharing our vulnerabilities with our teams and asking them to help us be accountable for our growth areas allows them to feel safe to admit theirs and cultivate a growth mindset culture.
One of my favorite quotes from former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty is that “growth and comfort do not coexist.” We should all surround ourselves with people and opportunities who constantly challenge our thinking with their diverse perspectives.
