Movable Ink Leadership & Management

Describe your leadership philosophy as it relates to employee engagement.

For me, engagement is about making sure every team member feels valued, heard and set up to succeed. The business development representative role can be tough, so I focus on connecting their work to the “why” behind what we do and helping them see the bigger impact they’re making. I give my team the trust and autonomy to try new ideas, share their perspectives with the wider group and take ownership of their work while knowing it’s okay to fail and learn along the way. I’m always there to guide and support them when they need it.

What types of resources does your team leverage to keep sellers engaged? How does this engagement directly impact their success and the success of the business?

In addition to weekly one-on-ones focused on pipeline generation, we invest in ongoing enablement and peer learning. Our enablement team provides training on product education, selling techniques and best practices, which helps the team stay up to date and confident. We also pair new team members with senior mentors so they can learn from their peers and ramp up quickly.

My goal isn’t just to drive the pipeline, but also to coach reps for the next step in their careers. When team members feel supported and see a path for growth, they stay motivated which translates into business results.

What advice would you offer to leaders in your field eager to drive greater engagement on their sales teams?

First, be present and truly listen. There’s nothing more demotivating than feeling like your leader isn’t engaged. I make it a priority to stay fully present in one-on-ones so I can understand what each person needs to succeed. Second, understand individual motivators. It’s easy to assume everyone in sales is driven by money, but that’s not always true. Taking the time to learn what motivates each individual helps me tailor my coaching and keep my team engaged.

Finally, be intentional about recognition. Celebrating wins is important, but I also try to recognize effort and creativity. Those moments of acknowledgment can make a huge difference in how connected and valued someone feels.

Movable Ink leaders can encourage teams to approach challenges collaboratively and think beyond short-term solutions. By starting with an ideal outcome and working backward together, managers can help employees evaluate different paths, stay focused on broader goals and develop stronger problem-solving skills.

“It’s easy to look at a challenge and gravitate towards the quickest fix, which often is the fix that would produce immediate results but won’t be sustainable in the long run. I’ve cultivated a habit where when faced with a problem, I work with my team to brainstorm what the ideal solution would be if time, budget and resources weren’t a constraint. From there, we brainstorm. Working backward from the ideal solution to determine the two to three paths that we could take to achieve that solution, helps my team and I collectively focus on the end goal instead of the quick fix — and has been a transformative way to solve challenges that arise.”