The adventures of an SD manager: The lessons behind the Trophies ??

In my last blog; The rollercoaster ride of change, I shared my hiring strategy: "Attitude Above All." I vowed to be their biggest cheerleader, supporting their journey towards success.

7 new members joined my team, each bringing unique backgrounds and qualities. As expected, they didn't instantly form a perfect team, just as 11 talented footballers won't automatically win this year's championship. It was up to us to build the necessary synergy through trial and error!

Now, five months later, it’s time to recap, celebrate our progress and share the lessons learned!??

1. Be clear about the team culture, lead by example
2. Celebrate wins and challenges transparent
3. Encourage conflict to build trust
4. Understand what is driving each individual to make sure they get recognized ?

Crafting Our Team Culture

I was clear about the culture I wanted: open, constructive, and focused on progress. Wanting to grow as a leader, I encouraged my team to join this development journey.

Instead of micromanaging, I hired people with expertise and fresh perspectives, trusting them to take ownership and tell me how to support their success. This approach empowered them to speak up and fostered responsibility.

It requires intentional effort and leadership from everybody every day!

At the moment, this culture is alive and kicking, but it still requires intentional effort and leadership from everybody every day! By embracing vulnerability, fostering transparent communication—especially in the face of conflict—and celebrating successes together, we built a resilient and high-performing team.

Celebrating wins and Overcoming Challenges

Working in sales has a clear finish line: hitting your number. Daily rejections and challenging collaborations are the norm during the journey towards the end of a quarter. While the team is very results-driven, I want them to enjoy the journey and be aware of all the lessons learned along the way.

Every Monday morning, we review our strategy and set our goals, but now we also take time to reflect on the weekly wins and challenges. We celebrate each other's progress and brainstorm about challenges openly.

I share my challenges and celebrations, Yes I make many mistakes!

This may sound easy, but with seven new individuals, building trust is a journey. Inspired by Brené Brown's Leading with Vulnerability, I share my challenges and celebrations—yes, I make many mistakes! Showing them I’m still learning encouraged the team to be more open, helping build trust and understanding.

Build trust by encouraging Conflict

Crazy but true, it works MAGIC! I may quote Brené Brown a lot, but she just offers valuable insights. At the start, as with any new team, people need time to get to know each other. With all of our differences, it was inevitable that conflicts would arise, most of the time due to different communication styles and interpretations.

Surprisingly often, people (also other leaders) come to me with feedback about others without having spoken to them first!

Talking about people, rather than to them, is unkind! Clear is kind, unclear is unkind!" - Brené Brown.

I always encourage direct communication. I coach the team on having difficult conversations with good intentions, curiosity, and vulnerability. These conflicts, surprisingly, brought the team closer, and now they even laugh about past disagreements.

While you can't force people to like each other, you can expect them to try to understand each other. We had a strategy meeting focused on communication styles and personal goals, driven by 2 members of my team Claudette Kinds and Carlijn van de Weijer . It was one of the best team activities we had!

(more than happy to sent the template, just pop me a message).

Gaining Recognition in a Large Company

Working at LinkedIn offers many opportunities for recognition during big events. However, it's not always easy. Often, loud voices get visibility and opportunities. As a new leader, it was a learning process for me to place people where they excel and ensure they get recognized.

Four months later, I’m proud to see my team being recognized as one of the best in EMEAL.

I missed out on the incredible work done by those who don’t seek the spotlight.

Speaking of "Leading with Vulnerability," I must admit, I tend to favor those who are vocal and clear. When team members speak up in meetings, share feedback, and express their ambitions, it’s easier to recognize and push them forward. However, I realized I missed out on the incredible work done by those who don’t seek the spotlight!

Eric Manzi Loop is a great example. From the start, he worked independently, focusing on collaboration and delivering great results. By taking this ownership, he received my full trust, but it also made me pay less attention to his efforts. When he was recognized by stakeholders for the best contribution in EMEAL, I was stunned—not because he didn’t deserve it, but because I hadn’t been aware of all his great work! This pushed me to understand his strengths better and find ways to help him develop further.

Now, during 1:1s, Eric shares more about his achievements and aspirations beyond his core role. Since then, he has received multiple awards, and I was able to give him new responsibilities that challenge him.

Valdemar Op Het Veld is the opposite. Loud and cheerful, he downgrades his achievements, saying, "Well, that is just normal, I am doing my job." It was easy to accept this, but I noticed how his spark spread across the workforce, making it a great place to work. He not only overachieves on his numbers, he also elevates others when they have a hard time. I admire his humbleness and dedication and feel like it is my responsibility as a leader to ensure this "just doing my job" is known and recognized for the big impact he actually has on many people.

Leaders: Look beyond the surface of your dashboard to uncover the great things your team does. Sometimes, they are not even aware themselves!

That being said, it takes two to tango. It is my role to understand what motivates people and push them outside their comfort zone, but I expect my team to update me about their progress, highlights, and aspirations. If you don't tell your manager, they won't know!

Leaders: Look beyond the surface of your dashboard to uncover the great things your team does. Sometimes, they are not even aware themselves! Below you can find a format I added to the weekly one- to - ones:

1. One accomplishment from the past week
2. One priority or focus for the current week
3. One thing I can do to help them this week ?

And with that, the Journey Continues…….

Although I was initially scared about how seven individuals would become a team, I am incredibly proud to see how, with intentional exercises and, most importantly, time, our team members are growing and glowing individually and together! ??

I haven't figured it all out yet. In the next few weeks, two new members will join our team. But instead of being scared, I am super excited to see how they will add to our team culture in their own authentic way.

Please don't hesitate to share your best practices on how to build winning teams and create recognition!