Jen Scherler - Cisco - HR Career journeys

The HR Uprising Podcast

Lucinda talks to Jen Scherler, the Global Head of Country Consultants at Cisco, to discuss her career journey and the evolution of her role within the organisation. Jen shares insights into managing HR activities across 95 countries, emphasising the importance of compliance and the challenges of navigating different cultural landscapes. She reflects on her transition from an individual contributor to a leader of leaders, highlighting the skills necessary for success at this level, such as building relationships and fostering a collaborative environment

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In a leadership role, it's essential to focus on identifying problems and orchestrating solutions rather than knowing every detail. Building a network of knowledgeable individuals and leveraging their expertise is crucial for effective decision-making.

• Establishing strong relationships within the organisation is vital. Engaging in conversations to understand the needs and challenges of others fosters collaboration and creates a positive work environment, enhancing overall effectiveness.

• It's important to see how individual contributions fit into the broader organisational ecosystem. This perspective helps in recognising the interdependencies between different roles and functions, leading to more strategic thinking.

• Having mentors and supporters who can provide constructive feedback and encouragement is invaluable. They can help counter self-doubt and provide insights that reinforce confidence in one's abilities.

BEST MOMENTS

"As a leader, you don’t need to know everything. What you need to do is identify the problem and find the right information to move forward."

"You have to be able to slightly distance everything that's going on and take a step back, being calm and analytical about what the problem is."

"I genuinely care for the people I work with, the people I work for, and the people that work for me. I care about the work we do and the outcomes it drives."

"When I first took the role, the country teams sat in the background. Now, they are fundamental in getting employees onboarded during major strategic projects."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher

The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group

How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)

How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney

HR Uprising Mastermind - https://hruprising.com/mastermind/

www.changesuperhero.com

www.hruprising.com

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at [email protected]

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

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Actus Software

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