Guadalupe Duran – Dynamics BG Lead, Microsoft US
In the course of our business, we rub shoulders with high level executives who demonstrate great leadership. Like other smart people, we learn from them whenever we can!
We caught up with Guadalupe Duran in Singapore recently. She took the time to share some of her thoughts, tips and ideas on delegation, successful team dynamics and what’s really important in life.
Here’s what we learned:
Delegation
A good delegator, in Guadalupe’s opinion, is a team player who can sell a vision to others. Someone who takes time to connect and be pro-active in explaining the tasks required for success.
In her words:
“Rather than explaining only what has to be done, it is more effective to explain what you are trying to accomplish. If you can explain this clearly and sell the vision (which you must believe!) then people will better understand what has to be done to reach the goal.”
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Working as a team
Keeping team members aligned requires strategy, says Guadalupe. It’s like putting the pieces of a puzzle together and is about leveraging the strengths in the team.
“I work with awesome people, and we all have different strengths. A strong team is one where you leverage the strengths of the individuals to cover weaknesses.”
“To be successful, you need to be able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Teams should work from the view of the customer: outside in, not inside out.”
“It’s very important to give credit where credit is due.”
Keeping it real
Guadalupe was emphatic that respect should always be conditional on the person, not their title. While politics and networking within large corporations are important by design, growing as an individual is always more important.
In her words:
“To be happy with the work you do, you have to believe in the product you are selling.”
“CXO titles don’t matter to family at the end of the day; roles don’t make the person, you are who you are.”
“True success for me is having a happy family. We need to live today, and plan for the future based on our learnings of yesterday.”
Thanks, Guadalupe!
