466: Women in Supply Chain, Alexia McLaughlin

Alexia McLaughlin talks about making an impact through innovation; her commitment to cultures of excellence; & her big achievement as an industry rising star.   IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:   [03.52] An introduction to Alexia and her role at Veho. "If Uber and UPS had a baby, it would be Veho!" [05.08] How Alexia began her career in sales, and her journey through roles at Oracle and Jebbit to her current position at Veho. "I never thought I was going to be in sales! That used car salesman connotation springs to your mind… But, when I was coming out of college, a lot of mentors who's careers I admired started in sales. So I thought: 'OK, I'm going to give this a try! I don't know if I'll love it, but I'll learn a lot.'" [09.07] Alexia's experience moving from a big, corporate environment to a smaller, start-up culture. "When you're working for a big company, there's a lot of layers, it's very bureaucratic, there's a lot of structure and process. But I wanted ambiguity. Both of my roles after Oracle you were building as you were steering the ship… It was exciting, and every day was different." [11.08] Making impact through innovation, the importance of 'selling in' to internal stakeholders, and how Alexia successfully led a new business opportunity, navigating the complexity of managing risk, expectation, and leadership buy-in. "When you're on the front line selling, and then coming back to the business to help inform the products and the offerings that we build, that's a role that drives impact – and that's exactly what I wanted." [15.31] From working with mentors to backing your approach with data, Alexia's advice for building career confidence. [17.23] Alexia's biggest career achievement, and why it's vital for women to understand their impact and to share and celebrate their successes. [20.54] The challenges Alexia has faced during her career, and the turbulent nature of sales. "I've had so many times of doubt, thinking: 'I'm done with sales!'… It's an up and down rollercoaster… There have been a thousand little failures along the way." [22.06] How to foster a culture of excellence, and why that's so important. "You have to lead by example… With new hires there's only so much you can do in the training and onboarding process. The rest has to come from them seeing excellence throughout the organization. If everyone is operating at a high bar, you start to learn from observing the actions that are celebrated, the calibre of the team – and if you hire great, hungry people that want to operate at that level, then there's a nice healthy stimulating environment." [24.29] What Alexia's Rising Star award at this year's Women in Supply Chain Awards means to her, and her advice for young women looking to follow in her footsteps. [26.02] The future for Alexia, and her ambition for Veho over the next five years.   RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:   You can connect with Alexia McLaughlin over on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear from more inspirational women, check out 444: Women In Supply Chain, Gina Anderson, 429: Women In Supply Chain, Kameel Gaines or 410: Women In Supply Chain, Julie Tilenius.