Listening, empathy, and clarity are three of the five traits that I think are critical to effective leadership. That is in part what drew me to Mursion; these are the skills that Mursion’s simulations impart by immersing you in scenarios that allow you to try out different approaches and then get real-time feedback so you can course-correct and reflect on your approach. Did you make the other person feel comfortable? Were you empathetic? Clear in voicing next steps and your expectations? Research tells us which approach works best, but there’s no better way than trial and error — in a safe space — to discover and master it.
We are living in the Renaissance of Work. Just like great artists know that an empty canvas can become anything, great leaders know that an entire organization — and the people inside it — can become anything, too. Master Artists and Mastering the Art of Leadership draw from the same source: creation. In this series, we’ll meet masters who are creating the future of work and painting a portrait of lasting leadership. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Tim Evans.
Tim Evans is Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mursion, an AI-technology firm whose platform allows teams to practice conversations in order to perfect communications and improve effectiveness. While Tim’s 25-year career has put him at the helm of several AI tech firms, this is the first whose product aligns to his own brand: inclusive leadership and personal connection. Tim holds a Masters in Management from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.
Thank you for joining us. Our readers would enjoy discovering something interesting about you. What are you in the middle of right now that you’re excited about personally or professionally?
Having just joined Mursion, I have to say that what excites me most is our platform. Mursion uses simulations to teach people how to handle high-stress situations by having them practice with human-powered avatars. We’re changing how people learn the communication skills that are critical to successful outcomes. I’m really excited to be part of technology that’s at the forefront of learning science.
We all get by with a little help from our friends. Who is the leader that has influenced you the most, and how?
Robert Kennedy. His passion, his integrity, and how he conducted himself influenced me as a young man and continues to inspire me. He zeroed in on the things that mattered most. Everything he did, he did with intention. As a leader, I have tried to emulate both his passion and his sense of purpose.
Sometimes our biggest mistakes lead to our biggest discoveries. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a leader, and what did you discover as a result?
Like many new leaders, at the outset of my career I tended to be very righteous about how things should be done. I knew the tenets of marketing. I thought I knew the best way to sell. So, I set out to make my sales team do things my way. I quickly discovered that was probably the least effective way to get the results I was so impatient to achieve. People either wouldn’t respond, or they’d go out there and try to do what wasn’t natural for them and fall on their face. You waste a lot of time that way. And I burned through a lot of good people. I learned that being a good leader is not about imposing my will on others, but rather, coaching them to harness their own strengths.
How has your definition of leadership changed or evolved over time? What does it mean to be a leader now?
Leadership has changed. Its hierarchical nature has fallen away. That’s because an entire generation has never known those boundaries. Having grown up accessing information on the internet and voicing their opinions online, Generations Y and Z expect work to be a democracy. They aren’t afraid to contribute their ideas and expect to be asked for their input. That’s a very positive development, one that leaders should embrace. You get a lot more real-time information from people with a diversity of perspectives informing your decisions. You still need to set a course for your team. But you’re not going to be laying down the hammer. Because the world is too complex, too fast-paced, too globalized to benefit from command-and-control leadership. The notion that all ideas can reside in one person just doesn’t hold up anymore.
Success is often as much about what we stop as what we start. What is one legacy leadership behavior you stopped because you discovered it was no longer valuable or relevant?
I’ve stopped trying to change people. Today, I lean into their diversity. I try to learn what makes each member of my team unique; I strive to understand their individual strengths. If you have a big team — say, 80 to 100 individuals — that can be challenging. But I’ve found it can be accomplished by doing some basic things: Be real. Be honest. Be approachable. Because then people know they can trust you. And by modeling authenticity and vulnerability to your managers, you create an environment where people feel safe being themselves. That’s how you get the very best out of your people.
What is one lasting leadership behavior you started or are cultivating because you believe it is valuable or relevant?
In this fast-moving and ever-changing marketplace, there’s always pressure to push your people. I’m trying not to. If I set a direction, I can’t expect people to follow me into the unknown until I win their trust. So, I’m taking time to build relationships — with my sales team, with Mursion’s partners and customers, and with management. Because if I don’t — if I don’t communicate where we’re going, if I don’t wrap my passion around the mission — I won’t win the trust and buy-in I need to succeed.
What advice would you offer to other leaders who are stuck in past playbooks and patterns and may be having a hard time letting go of what made them successful in the past?
Get outside your circle. Most of us spend our careers in one market or industry, developing a network of people who come from similar backgrounds and who think like we do. That’s what I mean by your circle. You need to widen it to include people outside your business who are not your contemporaries and likely take a different perspective. Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities to do so. Next time you go into a Starbucks, for instance, ask to meet the manager. Ask them how they manage their team. It will make you think about things differently. It will get you off your hamster wheel. I do this all the time. I am constantly seeking new ideas from people outside my circle. And stealing them!
Many of our readers can relate to the challenge of leading people for the first time. What advice would you offer to new and emerging leaders?
Slow down! The skills you need to be an effective leader takes practice, and practice takes time. That’s why Mursion’s platform excites me. Mursion gives new and seasoned leaders the space and the time to practice the conversations that are crucial to get right but can so easily go wrong. Leaders get to try, fail, and try again in the safe space of a simulated encounter before they go live in the real world. Each interaction gives them ample opportunity to reflect on what they did. So, if the conversation didn’t go well, they can go back onto the platform and run it again until they feel confident of their skills. If you consider the minimal training that most leaders get — a video! — before they’re thrown into the deep end, Mursion’s product is potentially a game changer. I would also say, in addition to practicing interpersonal skills, that new leaders would benefit from seeking out a mentor. Mentors can tell you the twists and turns that lie ahead. Early in my career I acquired a mentor whom I still talk to every week, just to bounce ideas off him. My learning curve has been a lot less steep as a result.
Based on your experience or research, what are the top five traits effective leaders exemplify now? Please share a story or an example for each.
Listening, empathy, and clarity are three of the five traits that I think are critical to effective leadership. That is in part what drew me to Mursion; these are the skills that Mursion’s simulations impart by immersing you in scenarios that allow you to try out different approaches and then get real-time feedback so you can course-correct and reflect on your approach. Did you make the other person feel comfortable? Were you empathetic? Clear in voicing next steps and your expectations? Research tells us which approach works best, but there’s no better way than trial and error — in a safe space — to discover and master it.
Recently I’ve witnessed the power of applying these skills. A month into her role, one of my team members met with me to say she didn’t want to do the job anymore. Instead of reacting — we had just hired her, after all — I asked what she did want to do. Her dream, she explained, was to start a coffee shop. I listened carefully, to fully understand her motivations. “Let’s make a deal,” I said. “You’ll need money to open your shop. I’ll bring you in, as an observer, to meetings where we’re discussing how to do that. I’ll expose you to different aspects of the business, to market research, to give you the knowledge you need to make your own venture successful.” I didn’t push her down; I responded in a way that showed her she had my support. And guess what? Not only is she still with us, she became my top sales rep. If and when she decides to embark on her dream, she knows she has my support. But I like to think we’ve provided a lot of what she was seeking.
For me, the other two crucial traits for leaders are being passionate and being willing to do the hard stuff. Leadership is really about people. If you’re not passionate about helping others become their best, you shouldn’t be in leadership. Passion can’t be contrived. And you’ve got to have it in order to do the hard stuff, by which I mean, showing up for your people when it’s far from easy for you. I remember a sales rep of mine who was managing our account with Walmart. He had a heavy-duty meeting coming up and I sensed he really needed my support. I flew into Bentonville in a small airplane just as a tornado hit. Everybody in the terminal sought shelter while I sat rattling around in a tin can on the runway. Eventually, the storm passed and I got to the meeting. But by putting my life on the line, I showed him, I showed my team, I will be there for them. Under any circumstance. The trust that action breeds can’t be won any other way.
American Basketball Coach John Wooden said, “Make each day your masterpiece.” How do you embody that quote? We welcome a story or example.
I actually have a signed copy of Wooden’s book. And it makes clear, a masterpiece doesn’t just happen. You have to go about constructing it with intention and purpose. I try to think about what I’m trying to achieve near-term, say, this quarter. Each day’s intention must contribute to that whole. So I don’t let each day just come at me. I don’t let the calendar dictate my intentions. Rather, I consider how I’m influencing and coaching the people around me. Because their progress is what will deliver me to where I want to be thirty days or three months from now. I find that when I’m clear on my near-term horizon, I can make each day an intentional step towards it.
What is the legacy you aspire to leave as a leader?
I have had the good fortune to see 13 people whom I’ve hired and mentored become VPs. That’s my greatest legacy. I hope to see a few more rise to that level. I continue to mentor people who express an interest in leadership, to help them acquire the skills, the knowledge, and the approach they need to be effective. I like to think that, by modeling these things, I’ve had a hand in their success.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience a leadership master at work. We wish you continued success and good health!