Summary:
In this conversation with Thuy Vu, Lisa reflects on her career and the different strategies she’s employed across industries and sectors. The similarities and differences might surprise you!
Thuy
You were at Intel for 19 years. You spent a big chunk of your career there. How would you say your role as leader has evolved from organization to organization? You went from Intel to the Wesley Group, at National Grid, you also founded the nonprofit Upward. What were the biggest challenges, for example, as a leader at Intel, and how do those compare with your biggest leadership challenges now?
![Lisa_Lambert Lisa_Lambert](https://techdiplomacy.org/globalmentornetwork/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Lisa_Lambert-150x150.jpg)
Lisa Lambert
Well, I think at Intel, you know, it's a big brand tech company. It's a kind of a blue chip brand in the tech world, and technology companies in general have a very different culture. They're very results-oriented, they're very competitive, they're very visionary, they're very innovative. So I think to be successful at a company like Intel, you need to have those characteristics, right, you need to be able to look ahead. This is one of the things that we were asked as part of Intel capital is where is the puck going, to use the hockey metaphor. Where is the industry going? Having some vision, and I think having vision is all about the relationships you have, because we got ideas for various projects that we worked on, whether they're innovation projects, or business development projects, or even investment companies, we got ideas from the people that we associated with. Part of it is what do you know about tech, but the other part of it is who do you know in tech that can help realize the vision? And so I think being assertive in that way and being willing to step out of your comfort zone and kind of think out of the box about new ways of doing things is important if you're going to work in a tech company.
Now, in contrast, working in an energy company and your regulated monopoly like National Grid, so utility, innovation and kind of that blue sky mindset and culture, where you're always thinking about the next big thing and how you can innovate yourself and reinvent yourself isn't the norm here. I mean we're a regulated monopoly, which means that our priority is safety, security, making sure we can deliver our product in a way that meets the needs of our customer but also protects our customer. So it's much more focused on how do we deliver our service very well, as opposed to how do we reinvent the way we deliver our service. And so I think to be successful here, you have to be aware of that and you have to work with people where they are, and at the same time you need to push a little bit but you need to create some pull because people need to believe they can trust you, that you're going to help them achieve their mandate, and that you're not going to create something that is disruptive in a way that prevents them from being successful. So it's a completely different paradigm, completely different culture. But I think good leadership skills work in either environment, you just have to know how to apply them and when.
Now, in contrast, working in an energy company and your regulated monopoly like National Grid, so utility, innovation and kind of that blue sky mindset and culture, where you're always thinking about the next big thing and how you can innovate yourself and reinvent yourself isn't the norm here. I mean we're a regulated monopoly, which means that our priority is safety, security, making sure we can deliver our product in a way that meets the needs of our customer but also protects our customer. So it's much more focused on how do we deliver our service very well, as opposed to how do we reinvent the way we deliver our service. And so I think to be successful here, you have to be aware of that and you have to work with people where they are, and at the same time you need to push a little bit but you need to create some pull because people need to believe they can trust you, that you're going to help them achieve their mandate, and that you're not going to create something that is disruptive in a way that prevents them from being successful. So it's a completely different paradigm, completely different culture. But I think good leadership skills work in either environment, you just have to know how to apply them and when.
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