Name: Robert Meade

Title: Project Director

Organisation: Oracle

Robert Meade is an innovative senior IT leader with a background that encompasses vast experience in the areas of business management, program/project management, services delivery and IT operations. He has successfully completed numerous global implementations and/or migrations of complex business solutions to both cloud and on-premise, as well has successfully recovered several high profile program failures. He also has a deep IT operations experience and, on numerous occasions, coached IT executives on various IT governance domains.

He has an excellent understanding of the requirements and approaches to manage large multifaceted initiatives and a unique skill to turn around failing programs or projects.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Robert's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Having people see your vision the same way as you see it. I find telling stories that people can relate to is an effective way to paint your picture to them. If your team or colleagues can see your vision in the same way then you achieve your goal faster and easier!

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

Leadership is something that just happens when you step up to help. I was presenting at a customer's office during the dot.com boom. When I was finished, I was walking by an office of a senior executive who was frustrated that the new implementation of their global billing system was not working. This had a major impact on their business. As I walked by someone grabbed me and asked me to listen to the issues and situation. From the discussion I was able to see what needed to be done to fix the series of issues and get the project back on track, I offered to help and a team was assigned to me at that point. I was able to resolve the issues and successfully complete the implementation. The success of this program created a reputation that took me on a global path on many large scale programs which positively impacted many people.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I like to learn. I am always enrolled in a course about something. Before I start work, I review my previous evening's lesson. At work, I look at my schedule for the day, prioritize my meetings and workload, conduct my daily 1:1 with someone from my team, address the high priority items. After work (and dinner) I typically will take a new lesson from my course and then wind down with my wife to close out the evening.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Pay it forward. Help young people to succeed by being open to coach and share experience. I realize this sounds a bit "cliche" but I have observed that we need to pass the baton to the next generation and they are not always receiving the guidance they need to receive it. I see the same mistakes repeat themselves and taking time to coach may help the next generation avoid costly mistakes. It is our responsibility to help the next generation be successful.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

"How to Win Friends And Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. This book is a simple read and so impactful to teach how you can express your ideas to different people.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do!

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I recently led a large ERP migration to cloud for a bicycle manufacturer. After all the technology was moved over and verified as working my team had completed their work. However, the customer didn't know how to switch the business from the old system to the new. This wasn't just a technical issue but an organizational issue. They had offices all over the world and many non-technical people. Since I had done this many times, I decided help them craft a cutover plan and communication strategy to the business. It was the right thing to do! If they couldn't successfully move the business over, it would have a major impact. Their success was my success, and to be successful you need to make others successful.