Get Social - The Connected Leader Podcast - Ollie Sharpe, VP of Revenue, EMEA at SalesLoft

Michelle Carvill:
Hello, and welcome to the Get Social: Connected Leader Podcast, where I, Michelle Carvill, interview business leaders around the practicalities of how, in this hyper-connected digital age, they are embracing digital technologies to tune in and connect and communicate. You can find all episodes of the podcast, together with show notes, via our website CarvillCreative.co.uk/podcasts.
Michelle Carvill:
In this episode of the Get Social: Connected Leader Podcast I'm delighted to interview Ollie Sharp. Ollie has an extensive leadership background in the technology space. He is known for developing high performing sales teams with a strong focus on fostering talent. Ollie is currently the VP of Revenue, EMEA at SalesLoft, following a tenure leading successful teams at LinkedIn in the UK. Ollie is passionate about the art and science and sales, delivering exceptional customer experiences and shaping culture in hyper-growth businesses. His record of success in disruptive technology environments has confirmed Ollie as an expert in the B to B sales strategy.
Michelle Carvill:
So, Ollie, it's great to finally get you onto my podcast. Wonderful to have you here.
Ollie Sharp:
Thanks Michelle. It's great to be here. Thank you.
Michelle Carvill:
So, Ollie, let's talk a little bit about how we met because we very much met, aligned with social media. I'd written, The Business of Being Social, with David Taylor and one of my team members actually was at a LinkedIn conference. And up on the screen, you were hosting that conference and talking, and up on the screen was my book. And you were referring to this as a really great, useful book.
Ollie Sharp:
Yes. And you're not paying me to come and sell your book, which is fine, but it became sort of a bible for me, The Business of Being Social, because I was at LinkedIn at the time, and we were actually selling LinkedIn Solutions, which is social media. But we weren't selling them around social media. We weren't selling them how I think it should be sold. So, I did a lot of research into what's social media, how you use social media better for sales and all of these kinds of things. And building a brand.
Ollie Sharp:
And I read a few books, and your book stood out to me because it was perfect. It helped me understand at a basic level but also, an advanced level because the way that it was written. So, I became a big fan of yours very, very quickly. And, even so much so that it helped me change the way that we went to market, and it ended up rolling out the new narrative in our go to market, globally, at LinkedIn. I must say that the majority of that came from reading your book. So, my book is still right there next to me on the shelf, and it has got scribbles on most pages of what I used.
Ollie Sharp:
So, I got all my team to read it. It helped us understand because we were advising companies how to actually use social media to sell and build a brand and everything. So, it was brilliant. I even as far as advised clients to buy your book as well. So, I'll expect the commission in the post. It was-
Michelle Carvill:
Well, I mean it was, it did very well. But I have been trying to persuade David to say, "I think we need a version three." Bringing it all up to date around new channels and new things. But that was great. And you yourself, you were leading that team and obviously you are, as well, active yourself on social media as a leader. What were your views? Because I remember doing a couple of talks with LinkedIn around two leaders, around almost getting over the fear of getting out there. And I'd like to get on to talking about leadership generally with you Ollie, because I know it's something that you are very passionate about.
Michelle Carvill:
From a leadership perspective, initially, where do you feel that social media fits in?
Ollie Sharp:
I think, I mean, at one of our events I spoke about the importance of leaders being social. And I did a lot of research into that with, I think it was Brand Frog and a few others.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
And it showed me how important that is because when they did research about trust, trust of marketing message compared to employee message, compared to CEO message or C level person message. And it worked out for types of message, whether it was a product message, whether it was a culture message or if it was something where the company had a negative impact in the press of where it needs to come from. And the power of leaders, CEOs being social is huge. And I think what happens, what people should be slightly aware of, is that if you leave it too late and something bad happens and then, you start becoming social, it's too late if you've not built the trust.
Ollie Sharp:
So, it taught me very quickly, and it's helped me in my current role here at Sales Loft about, especially when building an employer brand, it's huge because you're showing that you're accessible as a person. As long as you get the right message. I mean, there's not being... My brand, I'd say, is not very corporate. It's very much me and what my passions are and what I feel my purpose and values are. So, as long as you're authentic and you're building that, you build trust. And it helps you build a brand, an employer brand, and helps you look at the risk side if something bad does happen. So, it helps in loads of ways. I think that all leaders nowadays should be a lot more social. Luckily, I do work for a very social CEO as well, and he does a great job of it.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah. And, that's heartening to hear that, and you're so right about that trust. And you can't just, "Oh okay, now I need to get in there." It takes time, doesn't it? For people to get to know you like you, and trust you. So, the sooner that journey starts the better, and I know in some of the talks that I did with you and the people that you brought into LinkedIn, there was fear. But a lot of it was you just got to get over that fear and start doing something and just get out there.
Michelle Carvill:
So, with regards to leadership, because I know culture, leadership, trust, these are all very important aspects of being a leader, building that trust, being accessible, being connected to your team. And I know this is something that you really champion. Can we talk a little bit about that Ollie? This podcast is all about being a connected leader. Yes, being visible and connected and accessible via social technologies. But what about particularly now with COVID?
Michelle Carvill:
I think things have changed. There's been a lot of organizations having to reset and rethink about how they manage their teams, whether remotely or, there's going to be more anxiety. There's going to be more uncertainty. Now, more than ever, leaders really need to be stepping up as almost being very connected and being very accessible. Do you want to talk a little bit about those areas?
Ollie Sharp:
Yeah. I think, I mean for me, I think there's never been a time where compassionate leadership has been more important. And Jeff Wiener used to talk a lot about this at LinkedIn because showing the empathy of actually understanding what people are going through, but being compassionate enough to actually being able to impact that and take that pain away from them. And there's a lot of people at the moment, and from research has shown, that it's more the younger generation that I think have found it harder, that we've got to understand how it is for them. Just because I'm okay because I've got a family and a garden here, and I've got a dog to walk in the morning doesn't mean everybody is.
Ollie Sharp:
So, I've got to make sure that the people are kept sain, kept happy. And I've done quite a few talks around sort of the mental wellbeing in sales. And I think that this at the moment, it's not just about making sure, I mean, research shows that the happiest someone is the more productive and efficient they are. It's not that successful people are happy. It's happy people are successful. So, as a leader I think the job is to make sure that you concentrate on the happiness of your team.
Ollie Sharp:
And that doesn't for one minute mean letting up on lowering expectations. It's about setting your expectations very soon on of what you expect from someone to do work, but then getting the best from them. Making sure they're happy, you're empowering them, you're giving them the support that they need. And understanding their situation, which is where compassion comes in. That's, to me, what's... It's not for everybody. That's how I see myself, and that's how I see leadership going, and the type of organization I want to be aligned with.
Ollie Sharp:
Others will say that sales leadership isn't that, it's about a numbers game and things like that. You can't take that away from sales, but the same time, you've got to make sure, in my view, that you're concentrating on keeping connected within your team and that is being accessible. It's making sure that we keep having the conversations. A lot of talk about Zoomer fatigue at the moment, which is tricky because we try to do things as a team to stay connected as a team, and for me to be on those. But what do you do? What's the first thing you say is, "Right, well let's do a Zoom." It's like, "Oh, I don't want to do another Zoom."
Ollie Sharp:
It's hard finding things, maybe being quite creative and imaginative, but yeah, I think that being a connected leader at the moment... Well, you've got to be connected still with the clients and the prospects and the industry influencers, keep out on social, but team is very, very important. I mean, it's no matter how big a brand you have out in the market, if you can't keep your team happy and motivated, then it's going to be a tough ride.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, it is. Because it is so difficult, and I don't expect you to have all the answers, but have you got any insights or anything that's working specifically well for you and your team at Sales Loft? What could people practically even try to start doing? Could you, I mean, you mentioned Zoom and I know we're all kind of shackled to digital coms at the moment. But are there other things that you may have explored doing?
Ollie Sharp:
I mean, yeah. I'm going to say some of the team have got together and we can't say whether they can get together or not outside of work, and it's outside of work house, so that's fine. It is tough. I mean, one of the people this morning mentioned maybe we do a... We try to have weekly drinks. But it's starting to phase out. People aren't turning up to it. But someone said, "Why don't..." We talked about doing it every other week or once a month, but making it more special. And you can do things like maybe a cocktail class or bread making class where you get everything sent to your house.
Ollie Sharp:
I think, for me, they are the little things. They're good, they help. I think, to me, it's more about an emotional connection. That is where I believe the real, I don't want to say power, where the real strength of the good culture lies because it's, if we all feel emotionally connected and I've had people in my teams start during lockdown, and they've never met some of their team, but they've said they've never felt as welcomed. And as they belong in a team, as they have with us and they've worked for three other companies in the past.
Ollie Sharp:
So, I think that emotional connection is the biggest thing that I would emphasize and push. And to me, that has to come from the leader. We do something what we call a MEPS check-in, where we will, there's mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. And it's from Schwartzen Law's Peak Performance Pyramid, where they did research about how people are at their peak.
Michelle Carvill:
Wow.
Ollie Sharp:
And it's about making sure that people are, I mean, the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual is about having your values and knowing your purpose. It's about making sure you're spending time with your loved ones, making sure that you're taking breaks from your computer. And if you look at that, it's what drives mental wellbeing as well, or impacts mental wellbeing.
Ollie Sharp:
So, what we will do, and we did it last week because I had some personal things going on. My mom was ill. I'd forgotten about these things. I'd forgotten I'd stopped spending time on myself, and really not spending time on myself, spending time to do what I wanted. And making sure that I was doing the physical activity. I'd stopped playing tennis and going for runs and stuff. And in fact, I wasn't happy.
Ollie Sharp:
And so, last week when we did our stand up, we did a MEPS check-in where you talk about which of these levels do you have the rituals in place and which ones do you need to work on more to make sure you are at your happiest and at your peak.
Michelle Carvill:
I love that. I love that.
Ollie Sharp:
It makes a big difference, and we also did it when Caroline Platt committed suicide because I think that is something where people aren't... Somebody that didn't have someone to talk to. So, if you can create an environment in the work space where people can talk about it, and there are things that my team will come out with and go, "I've never told anyone this. I've never told a work colleague this." And that builds that sort of that family where... And this isn't about keeping so they don't leave. It just make sure people are happy.
Ollie Sharp:
And one of the best books I've read, apart from yours, is The Happiness Advantage by Shaun Acre. And that's brilliant because it looks really about the science. I think he's a Harvard professor that looks at the science of happiness and how it impacts the work that people do, and stuff. And also, it impacts the health. Let's be honest, everything is about health. If we're not healthy, it doesn't matter how much money we own or anything like that. We need to be healthy.
Ollie Sharp:
So, it has a big impact, so that's why I am so focused on being connected with the team emotionally to make sure that we're all the happiest we can be.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, and from a success perspective, I love that, happy people are successful. It's not success makes you happy. And that's playing out in your role, isn't it? And, you see this commercially. It works.
Ollie Sharp:
Yes. I believe so, and I mean, it impacts... Even, I believe it also even impacts how we go to market, how my team sells and everything. And I like to also note, my first sales job was door to door sales. And one of the biggest learnings there is it's a numbers game. You have 100 doors and 10 people will buy from you. You've just got to find them. So, if you get to 50 doors and everyone's said no, you're a lot closer to those yeses. However, if you're letting it impact your mental state going, "Oh God, I need to close something. I need to sell something." You probably won't sell them.
Ollie Sharp:
So, when we're going to market, I know if I'm keeping my team happy and stuff, but they know the expectations that's required of them, they're speaking to clients and keeping to our core values. And showing, portraying that happiness. People want to deal with people that happy. We all want to be with those people that are happy, not the people that are stressed or anything. We want to support those, but it's easier to be a magnet or magnetized to those people that are happy and smiling.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, and I suppose it's not that... It's authentic, isn't it? It's because people feel whole, comfortable, valued, grounded, just being allowed to be who they really area. There's no performance with it. All that really drives that happiness. This isn't about putting on the shiny face, is it? And saying, "Ooh, look at me. I'm all happy." Because underneath a lot of that kind of façade can be a lot of pain and anguish. But this is really about just allowing people to speak honestly, be valued, be heard, be heard at a senior level, that connection. I mean, we've all been there, where there's that kind of, you just don't feel heard.
Michelle Carvill:
And there's studies about that. Isn't there? Lots of studies about that. People just want recognition. They don't necessarily want more money. They want to be recognized that you're doing a good job, or maybe you need some support. Having that connection, critical.
Ollie Sharp:
I also think that having a diverse culture helps. And it's not necessarily diversity in race or gender. I mean, they are important as well, but diversity and cognitive diversity and different personalities. Rather than thinking culture fit, and culture add. And what I did when I built the team at Sales Loft was really concentrate on that.
Ollie Sharp:
So, we took the team to Atlanta in the second week, and everyone was commenting about how different people were, but when they came back, they were like, "Everyone's different, but I love every single team member." And they got on fantastically, and it makes... What I did wrong at LinkedIn, one thing when I first went into management, I built a team and it wasn't diverse. And it was pretty much everyone was very, very similar.
Ollie Sharp:
Then, when you start trying to diversify from there it's really hard because then, people don't feel as welcomed. So, the more diverse a team you can build from the start, and let people be themselves. And then, because they're so diverse, it's not a case of do they fit with the team, it's, "Right, okay. Well, everybody fits [crosstalk 00:17:53]"-
Michelle Carvill:
Somebody will always fit. Yeah, love that.
Ollie Sharp:
Exactly. So, it's building that culture where everybody has the common themes and the common values, and purpose. But at the same time, making them diverse as possible. And people that know my team or people within my team often comment on that, but can also say, "What great people." Which is where, I believe, makes me proud of the team.
Michelle Carvill:
How do you orchestrate that then, Ollie? Was that something that you... You say you did it, you felt it was wrong. You didn't do that quite the same at LinkedIn. What was the shift?
Ollie Sharp:
I think that things have changed since I started in leadership, that diversity became more of an important subject and it was maybe that I was more blind to it before. Maybe, I don't know. I think that I wasn't... We all progress as leaders, and we develop and we learn different things. And I think that's something I wasn't aware of in the beginning, about how important and impactful a diverse team can be. By the time I had left LinkedIn, I think we'd solved that problem. We built that diverse team, but it was when I first went to LinkedIn and actually, when I first went into leadership and built my first team, it wasn't. I wasn't successful with that. And I wasn't aware of the important of it. Now, I am.
Ollie Sharp:
And when I come to recruit, it's when I have people at late stages, I often think, "Okay, what are they adding that I don't have in the team?" And it's whether it's somebody that it's even so much as someone that's married with kids? Not what age, it's not about age, but married with kids. That's another diversity that I didn't have with my first round. So, making sure I have that so that if I have someone else, they don't feel like they're coming into a team that it's all the same. So, often, just thinking to myself in skills and sort of the personality side or the diverse side, what do they bring that no one else has, is how I've managed to build a diverse team.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, and just going back to the mental health then. I mean, everybody's going to feel accepted to somebody, kind of maybe like me, or similar to me.
Ollie Sharp:
Or, we're all just so different, there's no one like anybody.
Michelle Carvill:
I don't know why that is ringing. Oh. Ah, how's that come on my phone on the computer? Sorry about that Ollie. I'll have to cut that out. So, just going back to the mental health, you've said you've been doing some talks about mental health, particularly in sales. Do you want to just talk about that a little bit?
Ollie Sharp:
Yeah. I mean the Institute of Sales Management did some research because I mean, there's thousands of days lots in Britain down to mental wellbeing issues, anxiety, et cetera. And the Institute of Sales Management did some research to look at what were... because sales is one of the main industries, and I think it's HubSpot did this original thing that I think sales account manager was either second or third highest stressful job, or it was definitely top 10. I can't remember where it lied.
Ollie Sharp:
And Institute of Sales Management did some further research to look at why people felt stressed, and how many people actually had considered coming out of sales and changing their job because of pressures and mental anxiety. And I think if you look at the curve that, I can't remember what it's called, but there is a specific curve that looks at where we're at our peak. If you've not got enough work on, you're not at your peak, but as soon as you get to being busy, it's easy to go over that peak at the top to being stressed. And that's what drives burnout.
Ollie Sharp:
And I think sales, with all the things that happen in sales, there's lots of pressures. We carry targets, we've got expectations. It's a lot of driving yourself. So, there's lots of pressures involved with it. So, when they did the research things that came out quite high on reasons for it was workload, targets, leadership style, and leadership style was quite prominent. And when you actually look at the other factors like targets, pressure around targets, leadership style can impact those as well.
Ollie Sharp:
So, it wasn't just leadership style. But I think about three out of the top five were impacted by you could actually change leadership style to reduce the impact of those.
Michelle Carvill:
Of those others.
Ollie Sharp:
I'm not saying targets aren't important, but it's the way that we think about them that makes a big difference. So, I did, from that, I looked at that research and there's a book called The Game Plan by Dr. Steve Bull I think it is. And he's a sports psychologist that's done a lot of work with the England Olympic teams, et cetera. But he also consorts with CEOs and businesses to help build sort of mental strength. And puts it into four areas.
Ollie Sharp:
And those four areas he uses, they're very, very prominent in sales. Like when you're going... Well, losing a deal. So, turn around time, as he calls it. And he puts models in place to handle these situations. And as a leader, this is really important, because it builds resilience and I've done a lot of reading around resilience as well. And it's like when somebody loses a deal, it's very easy to either go, "Well, that's crap. You need to learn from it." Or too, other leaders will try take it away from them and just go, "That's okay, don't worry about it." But the right way, what you've got to do is you've got to rebuild their confidence. So, he puts a confidence peak chart in place where there's a mountain range and they talk about past successes. But you've also got to learn from the past as well. Learn from what's happened. What can we learn about this? What can we do about it now to turn it around? And what can we learn from it?
Ollie Sharp:
And it's like the [inaudible 00:23:55] book, Black Box Thinking, about always learning from mistakes.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
So, there's certain models he puts in place that I talk about in my talks. And, it makes a big difference, and if you're aware of those as leaders and the situations that can arise, it's like positive thinking and stuff. It does impact how I lead my team. So, if someone has a bad time, I will sit down with them and do certain things to help them get over it. But to learn from what's happened. And I think it's important. I think it's very important.
Michelle Carvill:
It's critically important. I mean, when we look at the issues that, like you say, that impact health and wellbeing, mental health is, I mean, we've got rising suicides. We've got rising depression. We've got rising challenges. I mean, goodness knows what's going to come out of this COVID scenario. So, I think leaders who have that responsibility to safeguard, for want of a better word, their team, to nurture and to be there, or at least just to be informed and aware of their actions and how that can be impacting others. It's critical, isn't it? And then, if they can do something about it, even better.
Ollie Sharp:
Yeah. And it's also about bringing in the external factors as well because just someone can be having a time at home or anything that impacts how they work. And I've done some talks with a lady called Angie Bow, that runs a business that helps companies with mindfulness and stuff. And she tells of a story where she was working with one business and the leader had a salesperson that was always very, very successful. Then, all of a sudden started going downhill and wasn't doing very well. And lots of leaders would just go, "Right. You're not doing a good job. And we're going to put you on a performance plan. And all these kinds of things." When actually sat down, the person was having major issues at home that was, actually being made homeless or something like-
Michelle Carvill:
Gosh.
Ollie Sharp:
And was really struggling to pay bills. And once they actually listened and help them with that, their performance got straight back up. So we shouldn't assume that it's laziness. They can't do the job. There could be things that, I mean, we've all had... I mean, I think we're probably not telling the truth, if we say that we've never had a day where we've turned up and thought, "I can't be hassled with this."
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
It happens, and we're human. We're going to have those days, and I often, when I speak to companies, I was helping this company that have a mental wellbeing app. And when we spoke to companies we found some companies just went, "We don't have a problem." We're like, "Okay, how do you know you don't have a problem?" "Well, nobody tells us they've got a problem."
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
That's the problem. You've got to look. We're in an environment where people can say, "I have an issue." So, yeah, there's big problems out there.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah. And are you asking? Because a lot of people just want to, "We don't have a problem. Nobody's telling us anything." Well, what are you doing-
Ollie Sharp:
No one checks that box.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, nobody's asking. Wonderful. So, Ollie, that's really great. And that connection is absolutely critical and it is compassionate leadership that you talk about, is going to be so needed. It's always been needed but even more so now, isn't it? As we move through this pandemic and this level of uncertainty. And I've been in organizations where I've voiced some of these concerns about teams and I've almost been told I'm a softy. "Oh, you're a bit of a softy because you're concerned about that." But actually, it takes great courage, doesn't it? For leaders to give of themselves and be that connected, and open rather than-
Ollie Sharp:
I believe so.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
I think it's a big thing to be open. I am very open about what's happened in my past. And whether it's a number of miscarriages that me and my wife had, or cancer in the family, things like this. I'm very open about those. And I think it impacts how people can feel open. And Google did do some research to find what makes a team the highest performing, and it was only when one of their leaders talked his struggled with cancer when he was an offsite, that they actually realized that that openness creates that team environment. And it's a huge thing. It's something that, I think, that you're right.
Ollie Sharp:
I think people go, people may think that that leader is a soft leader, but I also believe, and I mentored someone that I was talking to before this call. And I also believe that having that style of leadership, if you do get pissed off, people listen to you more. So, I am very rarely annoyed.
Michelle Carvill:
Yes.
Ollie Sharp:
But if I am, then people go, "Oh, he's annoyed." Because they know it's important. So, that becomes more powerful, and I think the more people get behind you as a leader and they see you as a leader, not a manager, that's so important. People will work for those people, and they'll put more effort in and more work.
Michelle Carvill:
I mean, you want-
Ollie Sharp:
I believe.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, and as a leader, you need those people to follow you, don't you? You shouldn't be dragging them, and they shouldn't be shackled to you. It's, they are... You're guiding them, and they are very happy to be led. It's human connection. Isn't it? That's what we're talking about. That openness creates human connection and trust. When it all boils down to everything, that's kind of all there is.
Ollie Sharp:
I think you can also, it is important that you develop and push people as well because if it's a case of, "Okay, well they're just happy." There are other things that people need to develop. Not to develop, to be happy and to progress. And if you're just concentrating on happiness you're not pushing them to be better. You're not developing them to be better. They become stagnant. They'll soon realize that, "Yeah, I'm just happy. But I'll move on." But I think if you can get that right mix.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
Then, I think that's what works. Or I believe what works. That's where I've felt motivated before for the leaders.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, it gets the best out of people, doesn't it? People want to give their best, and do more. We all feel better like that when we're motivated. That is brilliant. So, I've got some questions for you that I like to ask, just given that you are so open. Let's find out a little bit about Ollie, leader on this podcast.
Michelle Carvill:
So, these are very quick fire questions. And I know you read a lot of books, so I know one question you could say. So, it's going to be a tough question for you. So, I'm going to start with a rather large question. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Ollie Sharp:
My wife often laughs at me about this. I would love for people to be more aware. And I know there's big problems in the world. I know there's COVID and all of these kind of things. I'm not taking anything away from those, but I think that the lack of awareness, at many different levels in emotional intelligence, but also of people that stop at the top of an escalator and start looking at the map. That's a lack of awareness because there's people behind them. So, lack of awareness, and just sort of being... It brings in the compassionate side and stuff as well. But yeah. I'd like for everybody to be aware, would be lovely.
Michelle Carvill:
Yes, yeah. Love that. Love that.
Ollie Sharp:
And maybe that would probably impact that bigger problems in the world. Obviously not COVID. Well, it might because it may stop COVID quicker.
Michelle Carvill:
It might.
Ollie Sharp:
But, it would also change the bigger problems in the world. But I think it's probably awareness.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, wonderful. And this is your tricky question for you, Ollie. Which book have you read-
Ollie Sharp:
Your book.
Michelle Carvill:
Which has inspired you recently? You haven't read my book recently, have you?
Ollie Sharp:
Well no, I read your most recent book recently.
Michelle Carvill:
Oh, you did read that? Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
So, I did read that. In all honesty, a book that you will have read, I would think, The Monkey Sold His Ferrari, I think. It was at a time that I realized I maybe could have been happier, but it taught me a lot about myself. Normally, when I read a book I'm forever scribbling in the book. No one wants to buy a book off me because it is literally just scribbled all over. However, this one, and normally it's just sort of highlighting areas that are important that I would use again and stuff. With The Monkey Sold His Ferrari, I actually wrote pages and pages of notes of learnings about myself.
Michelle Carvill:
Wow.
Ollie Sharp:
It wasn't repeat in the book. It was things that while I was reading it I was going, "Okay, yeah." I learned things about myself like certain things around my expectations of myself, where that comes from and who am I trying to please? And it got really deep.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
I was like, "Whoa. Whoa." [crosstalk 00:32:53] so, Robin Shaw, The Monkey Sold His Ferrari I thought was fantastic. I've advised some of my team to read it, and every one of them has just been like, "That's just amazing." It's a fantastic book.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah. You've got to do a workshop, Ollie, on that. That's a workshop. You workshop that book.
Ollie Sharp:
It's fantastic.
Michelle Carvill:
Fantastic, brilliant. And it is a sensational book. And last, but certainly not least, what's the best piece of advice you have been given to date?
Ollie Sharp:
Been given or will live by? What's the best bit of advice...
Michelle Carvill:
You can choose.
Ollie Sharp:
I think one that I sort of think about myself a lot, it's about just treating others how you want to be treated. And it is at every level. And I think that we get the best from each other by working together on anything. And it was one thing I realized, and I had that mentality because when LinkedIn became a big company and I would help others, and I'd expect just to help me where I needed it. And it's amazing how impactful that is, especially when it comes to looking for a job. All of the opportunities I had were through my network. My job came through someone saying, "Ollie's fantastic. Great to work with, great for our culture."
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah.
Ollie Sharp:
And it's just treating others how we want to be treated is a huge thing. And no matter who they are, absolutely, at any level, whatever they are. I think it's very important and it makes for a happier life for everybody. And we'll all get on well.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah. Wonderful. I love, love, love that. So, that's it for our podcast Ollie.
Ollie Sharp:
Thank you. I've really enjoyed it.
Michelle Carvill:
Yeah, me too. And we're talking about the connected leader on so many levels there. So many insights, such powerful insights, honest insights. And that is all about what this podcast is about, being connected. Not just through social technologies. They are but vehicles, but it's what we share and how we connect, which is key. So, thank you so much for being my guest.
Ollie Sharp:
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Michelle Carvill:
You've been listening to the Get Social: Connected Leader Podcast. Thank you to my guests, and indeed, thank you to you for tuning in. Please do feel free to share the podcast with colleagues and friends who you think will enjoy it. And indeed, subscribe to tune in for more episodes. You'll find the podcast on all the usual platforms and all episodes are also on our website, CarvillCreative.co.uk/podcasts. You'll also find some really useful digital and social resources on that site too. So, be sure to check those out.
Michelle Carvill:
So, for now, from me, Michelle Carvill, your host on the podcast, thank you so much for tuning in and goodbye. Oh, PS, if you're a business leader with something to share around digital and social technologies, and you're keen to be a guest on the podcast, then I'd love to hear from you. You can email me, michelle@Carvillcreative.co.uk.