When Sharon M. Daniels first started as asenior executive, she thought that all of heremployees would just walk in her officeand tell her what was going on, just as theyhad before she became the leader.
However, that wasn’t the case.
So, when she became president and CEOat AchieveGlobal Inc. in 2004, she set out toshow everyone she had integrity, and sheused her communication skills to guide hermore than 1,000 employees.
Daniels spent a lot of time getting feedback from customers, suppliers andemployees about the state of the company,an international provider of skills trainingand consulting services in customer service, sales performance and leadership.
“I spent a good, solid month just doingnothing but listening to people and talkingabout how we were,” she says. “I think thatwas the springboard, if you will, for how Istarted being a leader here and getting really engaged with all the elements of it. Ithink that helped me from a credibilitystandpoint because then, when I startedcommunicating or sending bigger messages, it was clear. I didn’t say, ‘I talked to50 customers or whatever,’ but I could say,‘I’m learning from customers that thesethings are happening,’ or, ‘Here are somethings that are really important to ourorganization.’”
Those communication skills have servedDaniels well in establishing an environment where employees and managers canspeak freely with her about ideas. Throughher actions, revenue increased 13 percentsince she became president and CEO, andthe company posted approximately $150million in 2007 revenue.
Here’s how Daniels uses integrity andcommunication as her foundation of leadership to take AchieveGlobal to new heights.
