Unlocking Your Team’s Potential by Angela Shaw

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Unlocking Your Team's Potential with Angela Shaw: Discover the Secrets to Success in the Global IT Legal Services

Are you a leader looking to unlock the potential of your team? Angela Shaw, the IT Senior Associate Director for the Global IT Legal Services Team at Beringer Ingelheim, has amassed plenty of insights from her 21-year career experience (nine of which are specifically within IT) with this leading pharmaceutical company.

About Beringer Ingelheim

Established in 1885, Beringer Ingelheim is a globally recognized pharmaceutical company counted among the world's leading producers. This family-owned business headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, focuses primarily on three areas: human pharma, animal health, and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing. Boasting a global workforce of over 52,000 employees, Beringer Ingelheim takes pride in being a patient-centric organization that aims to improve the lives of humans and animals alike.

Why Stay 21 Years in Beringer Ingelheim?

In this resume, the question arises—why has Angela Shaw chosen to stick with Beringer Ingelheim for such an extended period? Angela provides a two-part answer to this. Firstly, Beringer Ingelheim offered her opportunities to drive her career development significantly. Secondly, she was motivated by knowing that her daily work contributes to a broader mission of bettering lives, irrespective of her role in the IT department.

The Pursuit of Passion in IT Career

Taking us way back to her high school years, Angela highlighted a pivotal conversation with her guidance counselor who advised her against her desire to pursue computer technology, insinuating that she would find herself flipping burgers her whole life. Fast forward to this decade, Angela realized that she wanted more passion in her career and identified her underlying passion—being a computer nerd.

The Secret to Unlocking Your Team's Potential

Motivation and Drive

Sharing her insights on unearthing your team's potential, Angela emphasized that the secret lies in having a team that possesses both motivation and drive towards common goals. Cambridge Dictionary defines motivation as the willingness to do something, while drive refers to a planned effort to achieve something. Let's dissect these concepts more through Angela's practical tips.

Angela's Tips to Motivate and Drive Your Team towards Success

  • Ensure Alignment with Strategic Goals: Ensuring your team understands the strategic goals is crucial in maintaining direction and reducing aimless wandering. Angela recommends making goal planning a team event. She also stresses the importance of concerted monthly roundtable discussions and an annual review to assess progress, celebrate accomplishments, provide clarity and ensure the team is aligned with the company’s strategic goals.
  • Invest in Employee Development: This takes various forms for Angela's team, including IT knowledge hours, focused development exercises, and preparing teams for the future needs of the organization. By keeping employees informed about the latest in their respective areas and conducting relevant, non-technical talks, the team remains ready for any future changes.
  • Maintain Motivation through Flexibility and Diversity: Angela shared the importance of having a flexible and diverse team to keep motivation levels high. This involves cultivating a team that can adjust to varying business needs and encouraging them to take on tasks outside of their core job. Beringer Ingelheim fosters such flexibility and diversity through programs like Women in IT, dedicated to mentoring and building female IT talents.

Angela's practical insights serve as a valuable guide for leaders and managers aiming to unlock their teams' potential and drive them towards success. By maintaining a focus on aligning with strategic goals, fostering employee development, and promoting flexibility and diversity, leaders can motivate their teams and ensure they're fully equipped to thrive in their tasks.


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