Lenovo Spotlight: Steven Peeters

?“In our continuously changing world, Lenovo will allow you as a person to grow beyond yourself in an environment of trust and respect between peers and leaders."

LinkedIn profile:?Steven Peeters

What is your current role?

I am currently a Sales Leader for the Lenovo 'uncovered' ISG SMB business in the North region. In my day-to-day job, I work closely with my colleagues from the Baltics, Benelux and Nordics to manage pricing. I’m focused mainly on the SMB market, but I help wherever needed to support the wider sales team in closing deals. On top of this, I’m also always on hand to support my peers in EMEA, especially when it comes to improving our tools together with the Transformation Team.

To whom do you report in your organization?

My direct manager is Rami Jacob, EMEA SMB Sales Director at Lenovo ISG. But I also have a dotted line to the local CGM’s and channel leaders.

Bio and background

I’m 50 years old and live in Antwerp (Belgium), together with my wife and 19-year-old daughter. Our location close to the Dutch border is perfect for me to commute easily between our offices in Belgium and the Netherlands.

I’ve been working for Lenovo since 2017. Prior to joining the company, I spent roughly 23 years in distribution, which has helped greatly in terms of understanding the complex needs and challenges of our distributors.

What honors, awards or commendations have you won over the past year?

I’ve been invited to the ISG President’s Club later this year and received a special thank you on the Lenovo Rewards portal from Ian, our UKI CGM, for the support I provided when they were in between SMB sales managers early in 2021.

What achievements in your career are you the proudest of?

Together with the whole team (and with wider support from the Transformation Team), we seamlessly moved from our old pricing tool to the all-new portal supporting both IDG and ISG in all geographies, which was a huge achievement. For most people, a tool is just a tool, but doing what our teams have done with Lenovo Partner Hub and Lenovo Bid Portal in July 2020 was close to magic. Being part of the team of UAT testers and trainers was also a great experience.

What's your favorite way to de-stress?

Music, good food and quality time spent with friends are the main things that help me to unwind and disconnect from work. Last year, restoring a 28-year-old motorcycle also helped me to focus my mind on something completely different.

What goals have you set for your own professional development this year? What new skill sets have you added, or training are you taking or plan to take?

The Lenovo 360 journey is a goal in itself, so I’m focusing on how I can help transition our organisation towards the Lenovo 360 end goal. I’m also enhancing my knowledge in analytics by getting up to speed on Power BI and Power Pivot. Both are powerful tools for providing insights and allowing you to make decisions based on numbers – but don’t get me wrong here! I don’t rely solely on numbers and data. I also lean heavily on my own lived experiences and past failures as a base for better decision making.

What's one workplace rule that you always break and why?

I’m incapable of saying no when a colleague asks for help or an opinion, which sometimes leads to me making a mess of my own time management! But I’ll always have time for others and love helping where I can.

How did you adapt to the extra work-related stresses that stemmed from the pandemic?

The pandemic itself didn’t cause too much additional stress in my life, but challenges in supply did. To combat this, an hour-long walk every other morning has worked wonders. Both my wife and I have been working from home since March 2020, so a walk is a great way to unwind and help you think up new ideas when it comes to overcoming challenges.

Describe a time during your career when you doubted your abilities or qualifications and how you overcame that challenge.

There was a period about three years ago when I was in doubt if the step to Lenovo had been the right choice – bearing in mind I left behind what I had been doing for over 20 years and that ‘the other side’ has different rules and challenges. During that period, the team had training abroad and I ended up talking to Rami, my current manager, on how things are going at Lenovo. In that moment I felt that his trust in my capabilities was higher than my own and you could say that after that talk I felt reassured and much more ready to take on the challenges ahead of us. It’s exactly what I used as a quote to describe Lenovo: “there’s so much trust between peers and leaders in our team that no one fears being left behind when they’re in doubt or having a difficult time”.

What tips do you have for boosting your professional social media presence this year?

I completed a course earlier this year on how to communicate on LinkedIn. But the videos on LinkedIn Sales Navigator also help a lot in making sure you’re addressing the right people in the right way. But above all, my most important tip is; try not to turn LinkedIn into a version of Facebook or an endless polling machine!

What show that you recently binge-watched was your favorite and why?

The most recent show I’ve binge-watched was Ozark: a series about a supposedly ‘normal’ family, which ends up in situations that lead them deeper and deeper into the dark side of our society. It’s very addictive because it shows how easily your life can be turned upside down, and makes you think that we should cherish what we have and remember there’s always a price to pay – there’s no such thing as a free lunch!