Valerie Pister

Leadership style

I have two major influences on my leadership style; my dad and my husband.  My dad spent his whole career in sales and sales management.  My husband, Tim, had led large teams in a manufacturing company and small teams in construction.  Even though they had completely different careers, I learned similar lessons from both of them.  They both would never ask someone to do something they wouldn’t do themselves.  They both were transparent leaders and unafraid to speak to their teams with truth and candor.  Both men would acknowledge when they were wrong and take full responsibility for mistakes they made. And most importantly, both led with generous spirits, always more willing to give credit than to take it. 

These three key factors define
my personal leadership style:

• The Golden Rule – Treat others as one wants to be treated. 

• Shine the spotlight on your team. Everyone needs to be recognized for their efforts and successes. 

• Always remain a student. One should never stop learning and striving to be better. The better I am at my craft, the better I can teach and lead my team to success. 

Leadership lessons

Trust people until they give you a good reason not to trust them. You must give respect to receive respect. Help others find their why, and make sure they know the why for the company. That may be the single-most important element on the path to success. Knowing the why fuels the desire to do the hard work that it takes to achieve the mission, both in business and in life. 

Leadership legacy

I would hope the people I have led would say that I was generous with my time, knowledge and energy, that I listened with the intent to truly hear, and I encouraged them to do and be better and achieve more than they ever thought they could. 

After having spent most of my career as a salesperson being only responsible for myself, I have found that being a leader, while sometimes difficult and challenging, is especially rewarding.  I’m surprised to find it feels just as good to see others have success as it does when I succeed myself.  When the team wins, I win.