Nada’s experience leading technical delivery teams at global systems integrators and within large multinational corporations gives her unique insight into delivery excellence and transformational leadership. Nada spent 8 years at Appirio, where she managed large customer programs and led the company’s North American professional services organization. Prior to this, she spent 20 years at General Electric where she held various leadership roles, built a high-performing global team across 4 continents and developed a Sales Leadership program focused on Value Selling. Nada has a reputation for recruiting, developing and inspiring teams in fast-paced, high-growth environments, and building global teams that deliver great results. Nada lives in Connecticut, but spends as much time as possible in New York City or globetrotting with friends and family.
Why are you passionate about helping people-based businesses?
I am passionate about people-based businesses because people are what matters. I enjoy working with passionate people who are continuous learners and like creative problem solving. I believe in establishing a collaborative and supportive environment that encourages and inspires people to pursue their passions personally and professionally.
Throughout your career, you have been accountable for direct management of large, complex accounts and managing large account portfolios. What do you think is one of the most important factors for driving customer success?
I believe the most important factor for driving customer success is to become that trusted advisor for your customer. To do this, you need to carefully listen to your customer’s challenges and develop creative solutions to address their specific pain points in a way that goes beyond just simply implementing the technology. While it helps to bring industry-specific experience and solutions, the solution needs to be tailored to the individual customer’s needs. You need to be able to see their big picture and develop a roadmap to help them get there.
As services companies move from managing projects to programs, what is one piece of advice you have to prepare the delivery organization for this transition?
The transition to programs requires an investment in the leaders, roles and infrastructure required to drive delivery at a large scale, and to manage and grow larger accounts. Most organizations making this transition are clear in what changes are required, but they falter in the execution. My advice is to take the time to build a clear execution plan, specifying owners, timeline and specific success criteria in order to make this transition. Also, don’t underestimate the increased importance of industry expertise as you transition to program management. Your team will need to bring not only technical expertise, but be able to recommend and apply industry best practices in order to win and maintain large accounts. Invest in building out your team’s industry skill set and industry specific solutions.
You’ve led successful, highly integrated global project teams. As companies transition to global delivery, what advice do you have to ensure a high quality and alignment of culture?
The best way to maintain high quality delivery and an aligned culture as you scale globally is to empower your teams and reinforce that everyone is responsible for customer satisfaction. It is also crucial to ensure that your team has the tools required for virtual collaboration and has a shared appreciation of culture and working style differences. Finally, celebrate the small and big wins together virtually and in person when feasible.
