career

I love this topic because it is a reminder that we are the owners of our plan for work and life! My guest in this segment was Lindsay Zwart, Microsoft General Manager of the US SM&SP National Sales Organization (NSO).

Lindsay is an advocate for women in leadership roles. She told me why that advocacy is so important to her.

We also talked about:

Why Lindsay believes women need to put more emphasis on building their brand and why she believes that it is important for career success.

To be successful, we certainly cannot go it alone. I asked Lindsay to share her advice for networking effectively – inside and outside of any organization where you work.

How Lindsay’s international experience has been of value to her working for Microsoft and how she leverages experience that in her career.

Lindsay also shared her suggestions for women to help them identify their next roles and once those roles are identified, how to create a plan to get there.

Finally, we talked about work/life balance because Lindsay is an extremely busy executive, as all the women in this leadership series are. Lindsay talked about how she maintains the balance between work and her home life. Good stuff!

Enjoy the interview!

This episode is sponsored by Hubspot.

HubSpot CRM makes it easy to organize, track, and grow your pipeline. And it’s free. Forever! You should give it a try right NOW!

About Lindsay:

Lindsay Zwart is General Manager of the US SM&SP National Sales Organization (NSO) at Microsoft. Lindsay’s team manages Corporate Accounts Licensing and in SMS&P, Software Asset Management, Sales Excellence and CTM Strategy. Lindsay previously led the U.S. Dynamics Partner, Industry and SMB Sales organization, the Dynamics Country Lead for New Zealand, and led the consulting team within the Microsoft Services organization. Lindsay worked for IBM before joining Microsoft. She enjoys working in a vibrant, collaborative environment, and is an advocate for supporting women in leadership roles and empowering people through trust and accountability. When not working, Lindsay enjoys time with her husband and two girls, ages 12 and 9, keeping busy with sporting activities and adventures.

Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn and Twitter

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Having a strong network is tantamount to success. That holds true whether you want to secure the next promotion, close the big deal or land a new job.

As I have talked about in other posts, keeping your network healthy and well tended is as important when you don’t have a job as when you do. If you don’t think so, just talk to a few folks who’ve found themselves displaced with no network to fall back on. Being out of work AND trying to build a network at the same time is no fun at all!

If you are your own paycheck then it goes without saying that networking is vital to keeping the funds flowing in. An important point often missed by solopreneurs and business owners. If you aren’t networking then you aren’t growing.

Even if you don’t like the idea of having to go to networking “events” remember that there are lots of ways to network these days. Social media tools like Twitter provides a very different way of getting to know others outside of your world.Your network is kind of like your garden. You need to plant new seeds, water and nurture them as they grow, and you need to be sure to weed out the dead stuff when necessary.

As we are poised to move into another New Year, now is a great time to ask these 5 things:

What seeds do I need to plant to build and strengthen my network in order to grow my business or move my career to the next level?
Who are the people in my network that I need to spend more time with to build a stronger relationship that will benefit both of us?
What technology do I need to learn in order to extend my network reach?
Who is on my contact list that needs to go?
How can I expand my network doing things differently than I do today?

Remember to keep your network and your networking fresh. If you tend to your garden it will tend to you!

Your Brand | Your Career | Your Journey with Lindsay Zwart

Your Network is Your Garden…Take Care of It

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