Leadership and Power (6-3-26)

Last week we kicked off a series based on reflections I’ve had from working in a central role. This week we will look at leadership and power.

In my previous role in the business, I was a HCP marketer on a brand team. I had explicit and formalized power in that role. I had a dedicated budget that I was responsible for. I had the ability to make decisions. In some ways, this made things easy, because if push came to shove, I could just make a call.

I don’t have formalized power in my current centralized role. I don’t really have a budget that’s truly mine. I’m working across business units and functions, and I have no explicit power or control. Let’s be real, no one actually has to listen to me. I can’t just make a call the way I could in my former job. Instead, I have to be more thoughtful and intentional about creating a compelling vision, building trust, bringing others along, and giving people reasons to actually want to come along on this journey.

Let’s make some connections. Think about your favorite leaders you’ve ever worked with. Think about the people you would be willing to follow. How many of them would you follow primarily because they have official power? I’m guessing that number is low. How many of them would you follow because they did things like care for you, had a vision, brought you along, etc. regardless of them having official power? I’m guessing that number is a lot higher. I’d also argue these people are the true leaders.

While having official power can be nice, it is easy for it to be a crutch or a cheat code. If we overuse it, then we risk people feeling like they aren’t heard or valued. Being forced to influence without authority is the true test of leadership. All of this has led to some reflection questions like, “What does my leadership look like? How can I lead in a way that will make others want to come along? Where do I need to lean on power vs influence?”

The challenge- Will you take the time to reflect on how you are leading?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Embracing a Broader View of Leadership and Support (5-27-26)

Recently, I had a conversation with someone who is working in a central function for the first time when they have spent the rest of their career “in the business”. This led me to reflecting on what I’ve learned from working in a central role. This week is about embracing a broader view of leadership and support.

Let’s start by talking a bit about what it means to be in a central role vs working in the business. If we oversimplify things, central roles are there to support and enable other roles to deliver for the business. If you work in the business, you generally are accountable for making the decisions that drive results and revenue. Another difference is that typically central roles are more focused on driving a capability and thus support a wider variety of stakeholders across business units. For example, in my role, I’m responsible for leading AI efforts across the entire market research function.

If I’m being honest, it’s sometimes hard to navigate this idea of leading efforts and supporting so many different groups of people. What exactly does leading look like in this space? My inner critic whispers, “Andrew, if you’re leading AI efforts and supporting these people then you should be able to lead from the front and be all things to all people.” The other day someone was sharing something awesome they were doing in the AI space, and I hadn’t really been involved in it. I was excited for them, and I felt guilty that I wasn’t doing enough for them at the same time. Ultimately, I shared the work with some other folks to spotlight how great it was and spotlight how we might be able to adopt this as best practices. However, my inner critic was like, “You should have been there to help shape that or you should have been more involved to provide value.”

Let’s make some connections. Even if you don’t currently work in a central role, I’m assuming you have an inner critic. I’m also assuming that your inner critic has probably whispered similar things to you. My inner critic still whispers. However, this role has done a great job of broadening my view of what leadership and support looks like.

I’m becoming more comfortable that I don’t have to be all things to all people, because I’ve expanded my beliefs on what leadership and support can mean. I’ve learned that leadership doesn’t always mean being out in the front. I’ve learned that being supportive doesn’t always mean being hands on. Sometimes, leadership and support are working behind the scenes to remove barriers. Sometimes, leadership and support are creating space, so other people can step into it and embrace their awesomeness. Sometimes, leadership and support are shining the light on others, so they are seen.

The challenge: How will you embrace a broader view of leadership and support?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Legos, Change Management, and Knowing What You are Building (4-15-26)

This week we are going to kick off a series focused on Legos and change management. By the end of this, we will build concepts that you can leverage to lead change management efforts. The first entry in this series will be about the importance of knowing what you are building.

Imagine for a minute that I dump a bunch of Legos in front of you and ask you to build something that is faster. I then tell you that it’s important you get this right. If you miss there will be negative consequences. From here, I don’t give you any additional clarity. How would you feel? What kind of a thing would you build?

Now, assume I go back to you and I show you this picture of a rocket house, and say this is what we are trying to create. Would you have naturally built something like this? How much rework would you need to do to create something like this rocket house?

Let’s make some connections. If you were in our Lego situation above, I bet you would have felt frustrated. You also likely would have wasted a lot of effort creating something that looks nothing like the rocket house. At the end of the day, one of the most important steps in change management is being able to articulate where you’re going. If we are unclear on where we are going, we can’t build something to get us there.

Think about your experiences at work. How often has there been an organizational effort that was unable to paint a clear picture of where the company is trying to go? The company might use all the right buzzwords. They might say, “We are transforming. We are trying to move faster. We are trying to deliver better experiences. We are becoming more agile.” The buzzwords are not the same as clear direction. As leaders, we need to be able to articulate a clear vision if we want to lead people to new destination.

The challenge- How will you paint a clear picture of where we are trying to go?

Bonus thought

For the record, I’m not claiming I’m perfect at change management. The reflections from this series are reminders for me as much as they are for anyone else. This stuff is hard and requires intentionality to do it well.
If you recognized the rocket house as Emmet’s dream house from The Lego Movies, then you get 579 bonus points.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Seismic Chess and Preparing for a Shifting Board (3-4-26)

Last week was about chess, glorps, and dealing with obstacles. This week we will talk about seismic chess and preparing for shifts.

Cam has an older chess board that has been ripped in half. Instead of throwing it away, we now use this board to create new versions of the game. One of the iterations is seismic chess. In this game all of the normal rules apply, but there is a 5 minute timer. When the timer goes off, we shift one half of the board down and one half of the board up, so they are no longer a square but create a brand new shape. This timer keeps repeating until the game is over.

Anyway, I was playing the game with Cameron. I knew the rules. I knew the board would shift. Still, I hadn’t factored that into how I was playing the game. Everything was going fine until the timer went off. When it did the board shifted and all of a sudden I was at a major disadvantage. Cameron beat me in the next move. Now, I could complain and say he was lucky, but the truth is that he anticipated the shifting board better than I did.

How does this connect to work? Right now we are all playing the game the best way we know how. At the same time, AI, political environment, changing consumer demands, and so many other factors are combining and it’s only a matter of time before the entire board massively shifts. It’s hard to evolve. At the same time, if we aren’t making the right moves NOW then we will find ourselves in a place of disadvantage when the board moves. Here are a few things to think about. How might the game board change in the future? What are you doing now and how will that be impacted when the board moves? What could you do to put yourself in a better position?

The challenge: How will you prepare for the shifting board?

Bonus 1: I know I mainly used this metaphor to connect to work, but it can connect to life too. Think about the different ways your board could shift. Maybe you are getting older. Maybe you are retiring. Maybe you are starting a new family. Spending time to get ourselves right puts us in the best position to move with these shifts.

Bonus 2: I recently had a convo like this with my boss. I shared that I can feel the board shifting and that changes my job. Year 1 was all about casting a dream for where we are going with AI and building infrastructure. Year 2 was about making that dream tangible by leading product strategy. In year 3, the river is coming and it’s my job to help us navigate it so we ride the wave instead of being swept away. I’m trying to think through how I can continue to pivot.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Blog #650- Central Air, Systems, and Being a Leader/Technician (8-6-25)

This is going to be the final entry in the series about replacing my air conditioning. Last week we explored how leaders can create a cooler and more comfortable environment. This week I want to dive deeper into this idea by exploring central air conditioning as an integrated system and being a leader/technician.

When my air conditioning was broken, my thermostat still worked. We could set it to the desired temperature. However, some parts of the integrated system didn’t work. It was pushing air around, but unable to cool the air. As a result, even if we had the temperature set where we wanted it to be, the system was unable to deliver those results. The technician knew the thermostat was fine, and also knew the only way to achieve the desired result would be to upgrade the parts and system.

What does this have to do with work? A thermostat is a lot like a vision. The thermostat/vision can be set clearly and correctly. However, the vision doesn’t matter if we haven’t set up the pieces and processes in a way that enables us to achieve that vision. Have you ever encountered a situation where a vision couldn’t be achieved in the current system? Maybe, you were asked to move faster, but our internal processes were not set up to enable speed and there were not the right tools to be more efficient. Maybe you were asked to be bold and take on more risks, but the processes and governance around you didn’t empower you to make decisions. The system must be designed to support the vision.

With this in mind, great leaders aren’t just people who set the thermostat. Great leaders aren’t just people who create successful environments with words. Great leaders are the technicians who ensure the other pieces and processes will lead to achieving the vision. Great leaders are the ones who say, “We want to move faster, well X is getting in the way. X either needs to be removed or replaced by something that gives us speed. Let’s take Y process and totally reimagine it to fit our needs vs the way we’ve always done things.”

The challenge: Will you be a leader who just sets the thermostat (vision) or will you be the leader/technician who builds a system that leads to success?

Bonus: This is blog #650. Thanks so much for reading and encouraging me throughout the years to keep writing. I appreciate you all being part of this journey! If you have any favorite blogs or topics, I’d love to hear about them.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Leadership and Outside vs Inside Temperature (7-29-25)

Last week was about patching holes vs installing a new HVAC system. This week is about leadership and the temperature outside vs creating the temperature inside.

The first day that our air conditioning stopped working, the temperature only went up a couple of degrees. It wasn’t too bad. Then, as the temperature shot up outside, the temperature inside kept getting hotter and hotter. Throughout this, we tried to do the same things around the house we would normally do like clean, cook, etc. However, we struggled as the environment around us became hotter and we became more tired and irritable. Once the new AC unit was installed it took time, but eventually the inside of the house became cooler even though the outside was hot as ever. Once things were cooler, it was just a bit easier to do all our normal things around the house.

You might be wondering where this is going. Air conditioning does not stop heat. Instead, it creates a space where it’s just a little bit cooler. That cooler space is more manageable, a little more comfortable. It makes it a little bit easier to do the things you need to do. Similarly, good leaders don’t stop the heat. Good leaders don’t have the ability to wave a magical wand and remove all environmental obstacles, internal hurdles, etc. Good leaders do create a space that is a little more comfortable. It’s a space that makes it a little bit easier to do the things you need to do. Maybe they do this by bringing clarity to the situation. Maybe they do this by bringing in compassion. Maybe they do this by making clear trade-offs. If you’re lucky your leader does all these and more. The bottom line is that the best leaders create the spaces where it’s a bit easier to have success.

The challenge: As a leader, how are you creating a “cool” space for people to flourish?

Bonus observation: I see a fair amount of people getting burnt out from always being in the heat. It’s easy to say it’s their fault, because they didn’t prioritize their work, they didn’t make trade-off decisions, they didn’t handle the stress well, etc. I understand there is some accountability on the individual. I would also argue that this is actually more reflective of a leadership failure within the organization/system. If the leader is clear on the vision and makes clear trade-offs concerning what will and won’t be worked on by their team, then this creates a “cooler” environment where it is easier for employees to stay focused on the right things. It’s easier for employees to focus on the value add work and not burn out. If the leader doesn’t make these calls, then they are letting all the heat in from outside, which contributes a lot to stress, burnout, and more.

Positive real world example. I went to my boss a couple of weeks ago and talked about how I was drowning in work, and how I wanted to make sure he and I were aligned on what matters most. His response was, “What are the 3 most important things you need to execute to provide value to the organization?” I told him, and we aligned on those 3 things. Most importantly, he acknowledged the trade-offs. I’d go all in on those 3 things and we’d be okay if everything else was either slow and/or did not get done. Included in the “don’t worry about it pile” were the emails and asks he had sent me about things not related to those 3 key focus areas. When he aligned on the trade-offs, he stuck by that even when some of his requests were now going to be ignored 😉 That’s what prioritization and making trade-offs looks like. That 5 minute conversation and alignment quickly made the temperature cooler. It made it easier for me to focus and do the things I needed to do.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Goals and Means (1-22-25)

Last week was about discussing goals with others. This week is about being clear on the means we will use to achieve those goals.

I mentioned last week that one of my goals is to get stronger, more specifically it’s to increase the amount of weight I lift on a weekly basis by 15-20% for the year. At this point, the outcome is relatively clear. However, the means to get there are not so clear, and the means matter. I could increase my strength in a lot of ways. I could take steroids, which likely wouldn’t be good for me or my family. I get super grumpy when I take steroids for poison ivy 😉 I could cheat by sandbagging my baseline, which would make any improvements larger than they are. I could follow a variety of exercise splits (push/pull/legs, full body, etc). I could workout 10 minutes per day or 3 hours per day. The means matter. Some of them are cheating. Some of them have negative impacts on me and others. Some of them involve making other trade-offs I would need to consider.

What does this have to do with work? Often, we are clear about the outcomes we want, but we are not as clear about the behaviors and means we want to see as people deliver those outcomes. Have you ever seen someone deliver the desired outcome, but leave a trail of dead bodies on the path to get there? I have. Have you ever seen someone deliver the desired outcome, but they caused way more chaos and fire drills than were necessary? I have. Have you ever seen anyone deliver an outcome, but they didn’t collaborate or inform folks along the way? I have. When people reach the outcome via poor means, that’s not a success and it likely does a fair amount of damage along the way. The means matter. As leaders and colleagues, we all need to be clear about the behaviors and means that we hope to see from each other.

The challenge: What are your goals? HOW will you go about achieving those goals?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Patio Furniture, Making Decisions, and Establishing Requirements (5-15-24)

Last week was about patio furniture and designing spaces to drive behaviors. This week is about patio furniture, making decisions, and establishing requirements.

Before purchasing the new patio furniture, my wife, kids, and I had a few conversations about what we wanted out of the furniture. We had talked about A LOT of different things. It began to feel a little overwhelming. Then, I sat down with my wife and we whiteboarded requirements. I’m dead serious. Few things are better than whiteboarding with a loved one 😉 We listed what were requirements vs nice to haves. The initial list of requirements was too long, so we ended up narrowing it down to 3-4 things that we absolutely needed to have. This level of clarity made the buying decision less overwhelming and so much easier. Now, we could look at all the options and say, “Out of all of them only X number meet our 3-4 requirements. If those meet our requirements there is no longer a wrong choice. Let’s just pick one and go.”

What does this have to do with anything? It’s easy for major projects or big decisions to feel daunting. It’s easy to become paralyzed by all the pressure that comes with these. I believe that most of the time when big projects or decisions are daunting, it’s because we are not clear enough on what success looks like. If we can clearly articulate the 3-4 things that would make us choose one option over another or if we can outline the 3-4 things that will make a project successful, then it’s so much easier to deliver.

The challenge- Have you identified the success requirements?

Bonus real world application– The other day I was talking to someone about skill development. They listed off about 10-15 topics that they could focus on. It was A LOT. They asked me which ones I thought we should invest in. Instead, I asked, “What is are the 2-3 things that these people need to be able to do.” They responded, “They need to be able to do X, Y, and Z.” My next question was, “Can they already do X, Y, and Z?” The person replied, “They can already more or less do Y and Z. X is the biggest gap.” This gave us clarity on our requirements. We didn’t need to tackle everything. We needed to create interventions that would drive the knowledge and enhance the skills, so people could do X. All of a sudden an overwhelming list of 10-15 things, turned into a much more manageable 3-4 things to do.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Brand Extensions and Personal Branding (5-2-24)

Happy Thursday!

I thought I was done with the series on personal branding, but then the universe tapped me to write this one about brand extensions and personal branding.

What if I told you that Tide was going to open a laundromat? Would that make sense to you? I’m assuming you could see how that would fit with the Tide brand. The Tide brand stands for cleanliness and dealing with tough stains. Tide deals with tough stains as a liquid detergent, pods, and a to go pen. Having a Tide laundromat, isn’t too much of a stretch because of what the Tide brand stands for. If I told you that McDonald’s was going to open a laundromat, that would probably be a harder one to figure out 😉

What does this have to do with personal branding? If Tide only looked at itself as a laundry detergent, then it would have just stayed in that narrow space. Instead, Tide saw itself as a stain fighter, and realized that it had the opportunity to compete in any spaces that fight stains. On the personal branding side, I’ve had people in the past tell me that they wanted to expand and evolve their brand to help them switch career paths or do something different. They wanted to figure out how to do this in a way that made sense to other people, so those people would be willing to hire them and give them a shot. I think this comes down to two things. How narrowly do you define your brand? How well can you connect your brand essence to where you want to evolve?

I spoke to someone once who had a background as a scientist and was trying to establish themselves more as a marketer or market researcher. They were having trouble connecting their brand as a scientist to marketing. I explained that if they just saw themselves as a scientist, then there wasn’t much of a connection, because when people hear scientist they think of lab coats and experiments. If their brand is about being curious and about being intentional about testing hypotheses and leveraging data to make sound decisions (aka the scientific method) they start to sound like someone who works in market research or in marketing strategy. They had to step away from their initial narrow depiction of themselves, and then connect their essence to the problem needing to be solved.

The challenge- If you’re looking to evolve your brand, how do you define your brand? How do you connect your brand essence to where you’re going?

Bonus thought- During my Lilly career I’ve worked in sales, training, communications, market research, marketing, and my current market research innovation and capabilities role. On the surface, those things are very different from each other. On the surface, those brand extensions don’t make any sense. However, I don’t define my personal brand by a specific role. I’m a spark igniting storyteller. I tell stories that MOVE people. That’s what I do and enjoy doing and am good at doing. Using my energy and storytelling to move people is the golden thread that connects everything I do. When I’m on stage performing poetry, I move people to feel something. When I write blogs I move people to think differently. In sales I moved customers to try products. In training I moved learners to develop skills. In communications I moved people to think/feel/do certain things to accomplish organizational objectives. As a brand market researcher I moved people to make good business decisions, and there is something magic about this that brings me a lot of joy. In marketing I used tactics and channels to tell stories to move customers to do something. In my current role I try to lead people to take action to build a new future we are only beginning to imagine.

Bonus poem– I stumbled across a poem I performed about being in market research. It has some great tie ins to the essence of your brand and how it connects to opportunities. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-embry-979831b7_marketresearch-research-analytics-activity-7191644032991662080-QvGT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Personal Branding and Delivering Experiences (5-1-24)

This will be the last in our series on personal branding. Last week was about brand vs image. This week is about personal brands and delivering experiences.

I’m about to ask you to think about specific people. These can be people you personally know, or they could be people you don’t know personally.

Think of a person who is always comes through in a clutch moment.
Think of a person who is insightful.
Think of someone with a great business mind.
Think of a person who is an inclusive leader.

For each of those people, take a second to think about what they specifically did that made you associate them with that trait. For example, you didn’t think someone was insightful, just because they told you they were. They did something and created an experience that made you stop and say, “Whoa. That made me think differently. They have something special.” I can think of a very specific person. They do an incredible job listening and looking at the entire situation, and then they ask questions that challenge my assumptions. I walk away from every conversation feeling smarter, because they asked questions to guide me to a new realization.

How does this connect with personal branding? I’m assuming that in each of those situations you could quickly think of someone. That means they have a strong brand associated with that trait 😉 I’m also assuming that you could think of specific things they have done to make you feel that way about them. Said another way, they created experiences with you that influenced the way you see them. Now, reflect on the personal brand you want to have. What do you want to stand for? What actions are you taking to reinforce your brand? What kind of experiences are you creating for others, and do they support the brand you want to create? The experiences we create with others don’t have to be large gestures. Instead, it’s often the consistency of small experiences we create that reinforces our brands with others.

The challenge- What actions do you need to take and what experiences do you need to deliver to make your brand a reality?

Bonus– Since you’ve already though of some cool people today, why don’t you drop them a line to let them know you were thinking of them.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry