Building a Global Mindset: Inspiring Employee Engagement for High Performance

Jeffrey Freedman [00:42:15]:

What I believe is some of the is one of the cornerstones of being a great leader is do you have the ability to be empathetic? Do you have high IQ and more importantly, EQ? Are you able to break down problems? Are you a good coach? Do you listen effectively? These are, you know, kind of the cornerstones of great leaders, I would say constantly in the process of improving on all those things I've just mentioned in my leadership skills, because I don't think I'm done on what it takes to be a great leader.

Alexander Laurin [00:42:49]:

Hello, this is Alexander Lauren. I'd like to welcome you to the biggest Win Sales podcast. Jeffrey Friedman brings over 20 years of leadership expertise in sales channels, marketing, and customer knowledge to his current position as country manager, Proofpoint Canada. Mr. Friedman has executive responsibility for developing, supporting, and executing the sales strategy in businesses across Canada. In this capacity, Mr. Friedman devotes his expertise and efforts to lead Proofpoint in delivering award cybersecurity solutions to clients. Prior to joining Proofpoint, he had a 22 year career at IBM, where Jeffrey worked in a variety of business units. Additionally, he contributes his time generously to the United Way and Sporting Life Ten K fundraiser. Jeffrey. Welcome to the biggest Win Sales podcast.

Jeffrey Freedman [00:43:46]:

Thank you very much. Good day, Alexander. How are you?

Alexander Laurin [00:43:48]:

Good day. I am amazing. Thank you. I was looking over your LinkedIn profile, and in your summary, it says a couple of things I thought were really interesting. One, strategic thinker and a passionate problem solver known for blending speed with Agility. Could you explain that a little bit? Like especially known for blending speed with agility?

Jeffrey Freedman [00:44:14]:

It's a great question. And the reason I have it on my LinkedIn profile because I think it is a skill that is unique, and I think it's very important in today's economy. So too many clients and companies want to move quickly, and they talk about moving quickly and what that means, but they aren't able to execute on that ability to move quickly. So they have a mindset of speed, but they don't actually know what moving quickly means. The additional thing is it's not just about moving quickly. It's about moving gracefully or with agility and pivoting to where there is new opportunity. And so being agile, in my mind means, look, we see where the puck is going in very Canadian analogy, and we're able to get to it quickly and make the course corrections along the way. And I think that's an important notion and skill. And so I've been able to do that in a number of different capacities, and I think that that's really important in today's marketplace, more so than I think ever before because of the speed at which we move and which business models are adapting and changing.

Alexander Laurin [00:45:29]:

I love it, and forgive me, you brought up the word puck, I think of Wayne Gretzky and why Wayne Gretzky was so good at hockey was that he was able to know where the puck was going before it was going there.

Jeffrey Freedman [00:45:43]:

Absolutely. And I think that's exactly the analogy that I think is so appropriate for today and for the way I kind of fashion myself in terms of my leadership.

Alexander Laurin [00:45:55]:

What do you say?

Jeffrey Freedman [00:45:55]:

I'm no Wayne Gretzky, but let's be clear.

Alexander Laurin [00:45:58]:

But I'd like to be wear 99 on the back of your suit. That would be excellent.

Jeffrey Freedman [00:46:03]:

Okay.

Alexander Laurin [00:46:03]:

Sorry. You talk about moving quickly and gracefully. Did that come with years of experience?

Jeffrey Freedman [00:46:13]:

It's probably because I've been ungraceful so many times that I'm getting more graceful as we go on. So I think that each opportunity and challenge that has been put in front of me has allowed me to become more and more thoughtful about this process. And quite frankly, one of the things I became known for was being a turnaround guy and being given challenges in different business units. And by doing so, it has allowed me to say, okay, how do we break down this problem? How do we deconstruct it and therefore rebuild the business and repivot both the strategy and the execution and move quickly to capture new opportunities and grow in the marketplace and after? I'm now probably on my fourth major turnaround, and because of that, you get a bit of a formula in doing so. And it's a loose formula because every situation is different. But you have to think quickly and move, and then you have to try to do it with as much grace as possible so that you can grow in the marketplace and be relevant to your clients at the sales time.

Alexander Laurin [00:47:24]:

Jeffrey, there was another small statement on your profile. I just loved it. Global mindset to foster employee engagement. Cultivating talent locally, regionally, and globally to inspire the next generation of leaders. I love it. So global mindset to foster employee engagement. Just that part alone. What is the key to that?

Jeffrey Freedman [00:47:47]:

So I've had the opportunity to work on a number of global teams. So that meant there were individuals in India, in the Philippines, in Costa Rica, et cetera, and you have to make them. Everyone needs to feel part of the team. So while the team was local here in Canada, you had a virtual team across borders and time zones. And how do you bring them into the sense of community, the sense of success that you would enjoy? And you need to think globally, and the global mindset also.