1. What are 3 qualities you believe every good leader should have?
Being a marketing person all my work life, I honestly believe there has never been a better time to be a marketer. It’s fluid, it’s dynamic, it’s strategic and most importantly fun.
As a marketing leader, the first key skill set is to develop both sides of your brain. There will be one moment when you’re going to be digging in and understanding analytics. And in another moment, standing up in front of a group of a thousand people communicating a vision. Diving into every element, from data points to an overarching vision, is crucial to reaching your leadership potential. The most important thing is to be thirsty for knowledge and seek out opportunities to practice.
Secondly, collaboration across the department and the company, is essential to be successful. And to succeed in this fast-paced and constantly evolving profession, you need a world-class team. A true leader inspires loyalty and creates a contagious environment that makes other people want to join you. At the same time being committed to the company culture is super important. The impact you make in your community can be a major indicator of your culture. Foster a culture that helps employees thrive; a happier, more productive team will create better work.
Lastly, focus on the what before the how. The best leaders focus on strategic priorities for their business. For instance, as a marketer when I’m planning a campaign, the questions I need answered are Why are we using email marketing? What’s the goal of this campaign? How will all of this help our business grow? Are leads sales-ready? Only then do they plan the best way to get there.
2. What do you think a new joiner should keep in mind with regard to establishing their image within the organization?
You have to decide how you want to be perceived. What’s one word you want people to associate with you? As the saying goes ‘the first impression is always the best’, being proactive about work and to look for new opportunities will result in a steady growth of the individual and enable them to establish an image in the organization. The ability to learn and be flexible will help any new employee pick up new skills and adjust to the team structure. Being ambitious is the key to a successful career.
3. In today’s world, what do you think is the biggest challenge a leader faces with regard to managing workforce efficiency?
One thing I love about working with Salesforce is the diversity it offers — full of rich geographic, linguistic, and cultural differences that make it a special and dynamic company. We continue to build relationships working together virtually and adopt effective habits for collaborating both in-region and globally. Today’s workforce is filled with millennials who have different work styles, embracing this sort of diversity is a constant requirement that every leader should embrace.
4. What advice would you give to someone who is taking on a leadership position for the first time?
Transitioning into a leadership role is riddled with challenges from establishing yourself as a strong yet approachable leader to completing your own work and also managing a team efficiently. Leadership roles demand a different skill-set, calling for more collaboration with the team, and entails more of a productive and result-oriented mindset. It’s important that leaders adopt a collaborative mindset and aim for collective success from the team. Developing a productive and results-oriented mindset can yield increased job satisfaction and engagement levels. I’ve learned that you need to be respectful and adaptable to unfamiliar situations and approach things with an open mindset.
5. When it comes to business insights and growing as a leader, which book/author would you recommend?
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, by Liz Wiseman. A must-read for everyone from first-time managers to world leaders.
About Archana Sinha
Senior Director, Marketing at Salesforce India.
Archana brings more than 20 years of B2B Marketing experience spanning a variety of industries and covering all marketing disciplines. Most recently, she was the Geo Marketing Director for DassaultSystemes; she was responsible for conceptualizing and executing marketing strategy, awareness and demand generation across all industries and product lines for DassaultSystemes in India. Prior to this, Archana held marketing leadership roles with Oracle India, IBM, Microsoft, Peoplesoft and J.D. Edwards, managing Enterprise Applications Marketing. Archana regularly participates as a jury member across many industry award programs, and is also a contributing member at Direct Marketing Association of India. She was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Marketing Leaders in 2015 by CMO Asia. She was also awarded Woman Super Achiever for 12th Marketing Excellence Awards in 2013 by CMO Asia.
