Kicking off the year with big news

Hello,

Happy 2024 to my colleagues — new and old. I’m thrilled to be kicking off the year with big news: I have joined the faculty of Columbia University School of Professional Studies as a Lecturer in the Master of Science in Technology Management. My course, “Strategic Advocacy,” will expose students to practices, tools, and real-world examples that will help them move to senior executive positions — and most importantly, lead change within their organizations and beyond.

Change is my word of the year — because it is all around us and because it demands that we navigate it, embrace it, and make more of it, and that work starts from within.

I believe that innovation is a skill and a mindset that can and should be learned, and I am fortunate to work with individuals and institutions across the world to create and nurture environments that are adaptable, flexible, and built to win. 

Please read on for actionable advice, to get a sneak peek into my course, and more.

Four Ways to Build Support Among Influencers & Decision Makers

One of the biggest questions I hear time and time again is: How do I get stakeholders on board with my vision?

No one is an island, and you really cannot move forward unless you create a “snowball effect” of support. Here’s my advice, reflecting my own hard-won experience:

1. Make the ask. People are eager to show support and get involved – often they are just waiting to be asked.
2. Solve other people’s problems. Align your priorities, especially early on, to those that are keeping your colleagues up at night.
3. Cultivate multiple champions, especially in areas that may inherit your pilot when it’s time to scale.
4. Be a storyteller. Know your audiences, and make sure your message resonates emotionally.

Got any other recommendations? Reply to this email and let me know. 

Empowering Change Makers

From my roles as Chief Innovation Officer to my work as a righthand woman to CEOs, I am privileged to ensure leaders have the tools they need to create change from the top down and bottom up. At Columbia, I look forward to training up-and-coming leaders to confront challenges and create much-needed change. Topics we’ll cover include:

• Increasing self-awareness to strengthen a change leader’s abilities
• Mapping the decision-making ecosystem for high-priority decisions
• Developing empowerment strategies independent of hierarchy
• Building movements to deliver extraordinary transformation
• Assessing how trust is either built or destroyed
• Examining strategies for negotiating change
• Decision-making and managing unforeseeable consequences
• And more

I’ve already heard from colleagues that they’d love to sit in on this course. While this semester is at capacity, I frequently speak on these topics at keynotes, learning & development workshops, and board meetings.

I’ll leave you with this food for thought: Anything that requires people to change behavior must be orders of magnitude better.

If you haven’t already, please connect with me on LinkedIn and let me know about the challenges you’re seeing, the impact you’re making, and of course, the changes you’re creating. 

Warm regards,