#HRUprising, Effective Teams, Guest Conversations and Highlights, Management & Leadership, Organisational Development, The Career Journey of a CPO Series

Podcast Episode 255: Cisco- with Jen Scherler

8 hours ago

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This Episode: Cisco– with Jen Scherler

Lucinda talks to Jen Scherler, the Global Head of Country Consultants at Cisco, to discuss her career journey and the evolution of her role within the organisation, in the sixth episode of the Career Journey of a CPO. Jen shares insights into managing HR activities across 95 countries, emphasising the importance of compliance and the challenges of navigating different cultural landscapes. She reflects on her transition from an individual contributor to a leader of leaders, highlighting the skills necessary for success at this level, such as building relationships and fostering a collaborative environment.

Key Takeaways

In a leadership role, it’s essential to focus on identifying problems and orchestrating solutions rather than knowing every detail. Building a network of knowledgeable individuals and leveraging their expertise is crucial for effective decision-making.
Establishing strong relationships within the organisation is vital. Engaging in conversations to understand the needs and challenges of others fosters collaboration and creates a positive work environment, enhancing overall effectiveness.
It’s important to see how individual contributions fit into the broader organisational ecosystem. This perspective helps in recognising the interdependencies between different roles and functions, leading to more strategic thinking.
Having mentors and supporters who can provide constructive feedback and encouragement is invaluable. They can help counter self-doubt and provide insights that reinforce confidence in one’s abilities.

Best Moments

“As a leader, you don’t need to know everything. What you need to do is identify the problem and find the right information to move forward.”

“You have to be able to slightly distance everything that’s going on and take a step back, being calm and analytical about what the problem is.”

“I genuinely care for the people I work with, the people I work for, and the people that work for me. I care about the work we do and the outcomes it drives.”

“When I first took the role, the country teams sat in the background. Now, they are fundamental in getting employees onboarded during major strategic projects.”

Valuable Resources

Find out more about Actus solutions:

Actus solutions

The HR Uprising Podcast | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher

www.hruprising.com
The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group
HR Uprising Mastermind – https://hruprising.com/mastermind/
New Info-book: Rethinking Performance Appraisals

Additional free HR Resources

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About The Guest, Jen Scherler

Jen Scherler joined Cisco in 2013 after nearly 17 years at Siemens in their Enterprise Communications Division. Over her tenure at Cisco, Jen has advanced through various HR roles, engaging in extensive HR business partnering across all functions in pan-EMEAR roles. As of December 2022, she serves as the Senior Director – Head of Country Acceleration, leading a team of 40 Country Consultants. She oversees compliance, change, and employee experience offerings across more than 90 countries globally. Jen provides strategic vision and direction, focusing on operational excellence and building strong partnerships across People and Communities to deliver an exceptional employee experience.

Jen holds the title of Chartered MCIPD and has a BSc in Business and Psychology.

Connect with Jen…

Her LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-s-g/?originalSubdomain=uk

About The Host

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles. Lucinda, for over 10 years as CEO of Actus Software has worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. Certainly, it was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

How To Be A Change Superhero – by Lucinda Carney