Leading with Compassion and Conviction with Jeff Cates – Episode 91

“You have to have vision. You have to be able to keep teams grounded towards where you’re going and what the longer-term path is because it can be really hard, especially when you’re innovating inside a large organization.”

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Episode Summary

Jeff Cates is the CEO and President of Achievers, an industry-leading employee voice and recognition solution that accelerates a culture of performance. Prior to his time at Achievers, Jeff was the CEO and President of Intuit Canada, during which time the company was named a top great place to work in Canada year after year and was also recognized as a top employer for women and millennials. Jeff’s impressive background also includes roles with industry leaders Apple and Hewlett-Packard. In this episode, Jeff and Aviv expound on the democratization of employee engagement, the value of innovation and the role that passion plays in leadership. Finally, Jeff shares his insights on the importance of wanting to do good, give back and truly connect with people as a leader.

Essential Learning Points:

• 00:46 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Jeff Cates who shares what he enjoys most about his work at Achievers and the work they are doing to hear the voices of their employees
• 07:24 – Jeff expounds on employee engagement and the philosophy that shapes his approach
• 14:07 – Jeff speaks to where his passion for leadership and helping people came from
• 17:08 – Formative moments from Jeff’s early career with Apple and Hewlett-Packard
• 24:08 – Jeff reflects on the importance that innovation has played throughout his career
• 30:07 – Jeff details the guiding principles that are critical for building high functioning leadership teams
• 32:56 – A moment where Jeff showed courage as a leader
• 35:18 – Jeff highlights the different challenges posed from working in a large and a small organization as well as insights he has gleaned from sitting on different boards
• 38:40 – Where Jeff sees himself in five to seven years
• 39:25 – Advice Jeff would give to his younger self
• 42:31 – Two learnings Jeff values above all others and final words of wisdom from Jeff

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