Leadership Reflections: Career Journey, Trust Factors, and Role Models

March 6, 2024

During her interview, Liz Wiseman delves into the trajectory of her career. Renowned for her bestselling works, “Multipliers” and “Impact Players,” Wiseman explains the pivotal role of trust in leadership and the importance of female leaders.


She is currently serving as the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm based in Silicon Valley. Wiseman’s journey began at Oracle Corporation. There, she held the possition of vice president for 17 years, leading global human resources department at Oracle University.

Reflecting on her career path, Wiseman shared with The HR Observer, “The work I do now is the work that I wanted to do right out of college,” revealing her initial aspirations to focus on teaching leadership, which later evolved into executive coaching following her tenure at Oracle.

A graduate of Brigham Young University in 1986, Wiseman’s transition from team leeadership to her current role was fueled by a desire to puresue her original passion for leadership education.

Throughout the interview, Wiseman talks about the challenges of establishing trust. She explains the significance of leadership role models, and also advocates proactive investments in leadership development.

Liz was inspired by her observation of leadership dynamics at Oracle. There, she noticed varying impacts of brilliant individuals on their surroundings which inspired her to write her best-selling book the “Multipliers.”

In this interview, Wiseman stresses on the role of indispensable nature of trust in leadership. She explains that unlocking team intelligence, and demonstrating trust in team members, helps leaders bond with their employees. However, she acknowledges the complexities of trust establishment in diverse contexts, particularly across gender and cultural differences.

Wiseman discusses further the critical need for female role models in leadership while being cautious against imitation. She stresses the signficance and the value of authentic leadership.

Moreover, she highlights the importance of identifying emerging leaders and providing them with challenging opportunities to facilitate their development.

Editor’s Note: This year, The HR Observer celebrates International Women’s Day by rolling out different perspectives on how to empower women.

 

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