Gerri Elliott was a key new Cisco hire in April 2018, for the first-ever executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer position. She’s a seasoned IT executive – Juniper, Microsoft and IBM – in addition to founding and leading Blacktara, a consultancy and provider of advisory services for technology companies, for three years. As a leader, she aspires to develop other women leaders through Broadrooms.com, a site devoted to executive women who serve or want to serve on corporate boards.

Most recently, Elliott became a Top Gun 51 award winner. She shared her thoughts about next generation channel leadership with Channel Futures.

Cisco’s Gerri Elliott

Channel Futures: What are your strengths as a next generation channel leader at Cisco?

Gerri Elliott: First of all, it is an absolute honor to have been recognized as a Top Gun 51 award winner. Truly, this is a team award. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I can honestly say that the team at Cisco is the best I’ve ever worked with in my career. Our partner ecosystem is also a big part of that. So, I share this award with my team and our amazing partners.

I would say that the biggest strength that a channel leader – or any leader for that matter – must have in today’s dynamic environment is their ability to embrace change. I would submit that we are going to see more change over the next five years than we saw over the last 50. So, leaders must be able to articulate the evolution of our customers’ expectations and the digital transformation we’re facing, inspire your teams to walk toward the disruption, and celebrate the milestones along the way — that is how we will all win.

CF: Cisco isn’t new to having a channel organization, and a traditional channel partner model/framework. But that’s changing as Cisco undergoes its own huge business transformation. What must to be done, and what are you doing, to keep the channel front and center internally at Cisco, to help partners transform as Cisco transforms?

GE: Cisco is undergoing a huge business transformation because our customers’ expectations and needs have shifted. It’s not just about us, and what has always been the strongest tie between Cisco and our incredible partner community is our passion for serving our customers. This hasn’t changed, and neither will the importance of our partners in our go-to-market strategy. We are on this journey with our partners and are committed to enabling them – no matter where they are in their own journey – as we both approach new opportunities.

CF: You’ve been a business leader for a few decades. What are the qualities of a next-generation channel leader — for those aspiring to leadership in the channel?

GE: A few decades? Actually, more than four decades! What I think will be the secret – or not-so-secret – sauce for a next-generation leader is to constantly find ways to bring fresh ideas and different perspectives to each conversation, and I believe you can only do that by prioritizing full-spectrum diversity. When I say full-spectrum diversity, I mean gender, race, orientation, age, experience, and everything else that makes a person unique. The ability to …

… welcome varying perspectives – weigh each of them, challenge your own thinking, and push the envelope – will allow a leader and their teams to uncover the best and most creative solutions.

CF: You recently wrote a blog – From the Bike to the Boardroom, Leadership Lessons from my Peloton – and said there were transferable lessons learned that you can take to the business world. What lessons (name one, two… ) are applicable to next-gen channel leaders?

GE: All of them! But if I had to name the top two from my perspective, I would say the first one is “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you” and the second would be “Inhale confidence, exhale doubt.”

In my mind, these go hand in hand. A great leader must bring the right people together and the right tools to solve problems, but the best leader will do the same with confidence even if what [they] are faced with is uncomfortable and new. That leader will embrace the challenge, lead through ambiguity, and influence the right change. They will exude confidence and positivity when their team needs it the most – when the stakes are high – knowing that it will be worth all the hard work when it’s all said and done.

CF: Broadrooms.com is about developing female leaders and creating more diversity in business at the highest levels. How do the goals and objectives of Broadrooms apply to developing top female next-gen channel leaders?

GE: What we strive to do at Broadrooms is connect and share. Throughout my career, there were many times when I was the only female in the room. That happens more than it should, and that can make that person seem like there aren’t others out there that are like you. That is absolutely not the case. So, our goal is to connect these amazing women and empower them by providing them with opportunities, education and best practices so we can all learn from each other and grow. Next-gen leaders – both female and male – can take a page out of this book. How are they connecting people, welcoming new perspectives, and enabling and empowering their teams? Figure that out and you are well on your way to becoming the next-gen leader you aspire to be!