Lesley Ronaldson

Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to do this podcast.

Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to do this podcast.

Congratulations. And also, I love that I think work-life balance is gone now. We call it work-life harmony here.

Congratulations. And also, I love that I think work-life balance is gone now. We call it work-life harmony here.

It's not a balance anymore. I mean, sometimes it's just it is what it is. There's days where I leave at three o'clock to go to maybe a school show. And there's days where I maybe have to work till nine or ten at night and I make it work. It's the nine to five is out.

It's not a balance anymore. I mean, sometimes it's just it is what it is. There's days where I leave at three o'clock to go to maybe a school show. And there's days where I maybe have to work till nine or ten at night and I make it work. It's the nine to five is out.

Yeah, one of us should have a good time.

Yeah, one of us should have a good time.

Well, there's a lot going on. I suppose I'll stick with work for this one. I'm just back from a trip from the US. We had a new CRO join Gong last September, and there's been a couple of changes on the leadership team. And he has a huge belief that sometimes I'll talk about my team and my team is my directs, as in my managers, my directors, my reps.

Well, there's a lot going on. I suppose I'll stick with work for this one. I'm just back from a trip from the US. We had a new CRO join Gong last September, and there's been a couple of changes on the leadership team. And he has a huge belief that sometimes I'll talk about my team and my team is my directs, as in my managers, my directors, my reps.

But he wants us to focus on the first team and my first team should be my peers. So we went to the US for three days and I have to really commend him. He kind of left us to our own devices a lot. There was a lot of downtime, a lot of meals, a lot of activities and sports and quite a loose agenda. So what happened was there was a lot of conversations that weren't about work.

But he wants us to focus on the first team and my first team should be my peers. So we went to the US for three days and I have to really commend him. He kind of left us to our own devices a lot. There was a lot of downtime, a lot of meals, a lot of activities and sports and quite a loose agenda. So what happened was there was a lot of conversations that weren't about work.

I would say I came back from that trip and there was 10 of us plus him. And I can tell you a personal story about every single one of those leaders. And I had a lot of aha moments of aha. That is why often you come across on a call the way you do or that is why we had maybe that bit of friction last year over an account.

I would say I came back from that trip and there was 10 of us plus him. And I can tell you a personal story about every single one of those leaders. And I had a lot of aha moments of aha. That is why often you come across on a call the way you do or that is why we had maybe that bit of friction last year over an account.

He also talked about the five dysfunctions of a team, which was really important. And actually, we all read the book before we got there and The biggest one, the foundation is trust. And I left that trip with way more trust, way more understanding. You know, we talked about kids and partners and the age that we're at, the age profile. A lot of us have sick parents.

He also talked about the five dysfunctions of a team, which was really important. And actually, we all read the book before we got there and The biggest one, the foundation is trust. And I left that trip with way more trust, way more understanding. You know, we talked about kids and partners and the age that we're at, the age profile. A lot of us have sick parents.

So talking about that and kind of where we are in our lives. And honestly, it was a brilliant trip. I love the no agenda piece. And I'm actually going to mirror it here in EMEA because I think although my leaders are close, it's really important to step away from the number, the data and the drive and just breathe and be and let them get to know each other.

So talking about that and kind of where we are in our lives. And honestly, it was a brilliant trip. I love the no agenda piece. And I'm actually going to mirror it here in EMEA because I think although my leaders are close, it's really important to step away from the number, the data and the drive and just breathe and be and let them get to know each other.

Because again, you build that trust, then conflict is easy. You can debate, then commit. And that's what we want to do here.

Because again, you build that trust, then conflict is easy. You can debate, then commit. And that's what we want to do here.