Ingrid Sinclair, Global President of Sims Lifecycle Services (SLS), participated in the Leading Forward podcast with Christie Berger to discuss her role as CEO over the last two years. Ingrid is the first woman selected as a divisional president of any Sims division; and in her role she oversees all operational and revenue responsibilities for reuse and recycling services offered by the company.
Ingrid routinely advocates for expanding recycling initiatives through innovation, fair and consistent trade practices and responsibly managing transboundary movement of e-waste. In this podcast titled “Enterprise Perspective, Horizontal Planning and Leading Globally” Ingrid discussed several aspects of managing teams overseas and the challenges and opportunities that many have faced over the past year, specifically with restrictions on seeing people in person and how that has affected the business.
Some highlights from the discussion include:
- There is more urgency due to COVID and that has led to longer work days and more video calls.
- Pivoting is the means of navigating the challenges that the pandemic has presented.
- Being a leader has an added level of stress because “we don’t know when this is going to end.”
- It is important for an organization to be flexible and compassionate for their employees.
- By leaning in and listening, two-way communication can occur and propel the organization to be more flexible.
- It’s not easy to keep a team engaged and inspired during this pandemic…but it is possible.
- Celebrating the team’s wins is crucial for encouraging team members.
- Video calls are the “next best thing” compared to face-to-face and setting up 1-on-1 calls with team members is important.
- Informal discussions are great learning tools to bounce ideas and figure out “what is next.”
- Building a connection with your boss can help with transitioning upward in the organization.
- Looking at a higher position may feel daunting but it is important to think “Why not me?”
- Give yourself a chance.
- Building relationships, asking questions and learning from others can help in transitioning to a new role
- Confidence in moving forward when we are not confident helps build confidence
- Creating value for your employees can help them see the larger impact their work is doing.