Leading Executive Advises San Francisco Students To Stay Relevant In The Market
In a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, "leadership" and "the ability to work in a team structure" are the top qualities employers look for when reviewing a candidate's resume. San Francisco business majors looking for tips on leadership skills can benefit greatly by reading what Liz Wiseman had to say in a recent interview. An award-winning Bay Area executive, Wiseman has been named one of the top 10 leadership thinkers in the world.
What is your background and education?
"I'm a Northern California native and graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in business management and an M.A. in organizational behavior. I later worked for Oracle, where I was thrown into big jobs and was given a steady stream of new challenges, including becoming a manager at age 24. I eventually led the global human resource development function and was VP of Oracle University."
What type of services does your company provide?
"Wiseman Group is a leadership research and development firm. Our mission is to develop leaders who can take on the world's toughest challenges. I research and write management books that help leaders create an environment where people do their best thinking and work. Our practitioners and partners offer seminars, workshops, assessments, and coaching based on these books."
What advice can you offer to business students?
"Many new graduates enter the workforce passionate about what they want to do. Instead of telling your managers what you want to pursue, find out what their biggest problem is and help them solve it. You will build a reputation for someone who 'gets it' and gets the most important things done. It will make you relevant and valuable and will open up many opportunities for you. Technology has allowed business cycles to spin so fast that many professionals don't face the same problem twice. Innovation cycles are spinning faster too, which means the state of the art doesn't stand still. Information and knowledge are becoming obsolete faster, which means that we as professionals can become obsolete faster too. If you go to work in a technology or science related field, only 15 percent of what you know today is likely to be relevant in 5 years. In this environment, success is determined not on what you know, but how quickly you can learn."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.
