As we shared in our Celebrating Female Trailblazers in Learning & Development article, we had the opportunity to interview inspiring female leaders in L&D. We loved sitting down with Lisa Sallstrom, one of our valued partners at ASCM, to hear her words of advice on developing leadership qualities and aspiring to leadership positions.
Can you please tell us about your role at ASCM?
I joined ASCM back in 2008 and I am currently the Executive Vice President of Products and Services. I had previous experience with another trade association where I was managing certification and business development. I saw the opportunity at ASCM aligned very much with my career goals and current experience. This role has allowed me to grow in the incredible industry of Supply Chain, which touches almost every aspect of a person’s daily life. I initially started out as Director of Certification, and since that first position, I have experienced 3 promotions in my career at ASCM.
How does your organization partner with HC?
We’ve been partners with Homes Corporation for probably more than 20 years now. Holmes develops and manages the learning system components for our 4 certifications. We just launched a new certification last year! And the learning systems are the recommended way for professionals to prepare to pass their certification exam. We have really appreciated the support from our Holmes partnership. We’ve navigated together not only the recession back in 2009 and 2010 but also the recent pandemic. We both emerged stronger on the other side as we worked through those challenges and partnered together.
Why do you enjoy working in L&D?
I’ll start with the L&D aspect first. I think L&D really provides the tools and resources that individuals need to achieve their career goals, because it is ultimately through learning that you advance. It’s heartwarming to hear these success stories. In fact, just this morning I received an email with another story from an individual who graduated with a supply chain degree, went on to get her CSCP certification, and then doors were open that she never thought possible. I love hearing these stories of how our certifications have changed peoples’ lives. So, that’s L&D for me.
And now marry that up with Supply Chain, which I think is a very fascinating industry! It’s always changing, and it has its tentacles in almost every aspect of our daily lives, from the food that we eat to the clothes we wear. For example, do you know where was this sweater manufactured? Where were the raw materials gathered? Were they gathered sustainably? These aspects of the supply chain are very interesting, and many people may not think twice about them. Improving supply chain processes by having more educated workers, and streamlined corporate operations, truly has a global impact on the availability of products and resources for everyone. And ASCM is perfectly positioned, at the forefront, to be an influencer and voice of record for supply chain.
How are women redefining leadership qualities in your industry?
I think our industry, regardless of whether we’re talking about men or women, has had to redefine leadership qualities due to all the changes over the last three years. In fact, there have been significant changes in the last year alone with the evolution of AI. Given that, I think inclusive leadership is even more important; the ability to understand the benefits of diversity and how to build high performing teams that foster equity and inclusion. There’s a lot of data out there now showing that organizations that have a diverse workforce exceed the performance of other companies who may not have such a diverse workforce. There is a competitive advantage to having diversity in your teams. And I believe women can help to foster inclusive leadership throughout the organization.
I also think women bring to the table emotional intelligence. Studies are also finding that emotional intelligence is becoming as important, if not more important, than IQ in forecasting the success of an individual. The ability to manage not only your own emotions but also understanding the emotions of the people that you’re communicating with helps to build relationships and defuse conflict. As a role model for the organization, I think it’s so important to have the emotional intelligence to be able to lead with confidence.
And then, finally, I would say technical expertise is another critical quality. And I don’t just say this because of my computer science experience. What I’ve seen, even in just the past 18 months with the advent of ChatGPT, AI is permeating everything we do, regardless of industry. And I think all industries are becoming much more reliant on technology and technological advances, including Blockchain and 3D printing. So, having technical skills and an understanding of how technology affects your business is very important, I think this is also a leadership quality that women can embrace and bring forward into their organizations.
What advice do you have for aspiring leaders?
I wanted to share three different pieces of advice.
First, I would strongly recommend seeking out someone who can serve as your mentor or coach. This person will be your sounding board and your cheerleader. They will inspire and support you and provide you with new thought processes you may not have had on your own.
Second, and this is easy to do: read. Read books about leadership. There are so many great books and articles out there. Even if you come away with one or two nuggets of advice that you can begin to implement in your life, that’s a win. And you will begin to grow and add new abilities in your arsenal to be a great leader.
Third, and yes, this is a little plug for associations, volunteer. Speaking from my own experience, volunteer opportunities with your professional association provide you with ways to build your leadership experience at a very low risk. Seek out those opportunities where you can join a committee, or you can lead a task force and begin developing those leadership qualities that you may not have the opportunity to do in your daily job. These experiences go directly on your resume, and you can begin to demonstrate that you have these qualities. And, speaking from my own experience, they are fantastic growth opportunities. You’re stretched in different ways than you may not be in your current role. And it will be worth the extra time you’re putting into those opportunities.
