Having spent more than 20 years in consulting, globally, Rob Whitfield, CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight started with a passion for helping clients deliver a return on investment from behaviour change in the workplace and with the specific intent to help individuals, teams, and organizations reach their highest goals. He has worked with the senior teams of many of the Fortune 500 companies and recently led an impactful transformation of the world’s largest international development bank, whose aim is to end global poverty.
Recently, the team of Mirror Review had the fortune to interview Rob. He expressed his thoughts on various topics. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Proficient in Managing The Intricate
Please tell us how and why was Ferrazzi Greenlight set up?
First of all, thank you for this opportunity. Initially, Ferrazzi Greenlight was created when Keith Ferrazzi (Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight) saw a need for more focus on the human capital side of transformation that was often being overlooked— with a traditional focus on technology. Keith felt there was a real space for research around this towards building growth in companies. I joined and took over as CEO when the business began to grow, we had many large client accounts simultaneously, and needed to scale effectively. My expertise in managing the intricate and detailed day-to-day oversight of large system change helped us navigate and achieve incredible success with our clients, positioning Ferrazzi Greenlight as the go-to expert in this field.
Ability to Be Honest With Others
What are the three must-have Characteristics in today’s leaders?
A leader plays an important role in shaping the company’s future. So, it is important to have a good leader leading the company. The three must-have characteristics would be: the ability to be a humble leader, recognizing that you do not have all the answers and that your team collectively does. Secondly, the ability to be honest and candid with staff, encouraging them to do the same, even when that may be uncomfortable. It is my job to create psychological safety so they open up. Lastly, the ability to trust the team to do their jobs. One of the pitfalls of many leaders is their inability to let go of the reins and allow their teams to do their jobs. I feel micromanagement kills innovation, rapid progress and trust.
Continuing to Achieve Goals
Now that we know about your company, can you please brief us about your role in Ferrazzi Greenlight?
I am currently the CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight. When I took over, my task was re-shaping the business to maximize client impact, creating a fantastic culture where people help each other to grow and be their best, while clarifying service lines, marketing focus, and increasing efficiency. We’ve had a wonderful 5 years since I started so I’d love to think that I have and continue to achieve those goals.
Unlocking Numerous Benefits
Hurdles are part of any progress, can you tell us about your initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
True! It is hard to avoid hurdles, when Ferrazzi Greenlight started, the traditional focus for consulting companies had always been on technology or process changes, and the human capital element was often ignored or minimized. Many companies did not see the value of investing money in their people; they expected them to change, and change immediately, but people don’t work like that. Through years of applied research by our firm and other organizations, we have made a significant leap in inviting clients to consider their people as powerful agents of change who can unlock many of the benefits that leaders are seeking to achieve.
Creating movements of change
Has Ferrazzi Greenlight helped companies through the transformation over the years?
I’d like to think we have played a good part in helping that change come in many companies, especially as we have built on traditional change management and created movements of change that are far more powerful than typical interventions such as change impact assessments, communications, and training. We create emotional connections between teams aligned to their north stars and invite them to join a powerful movement where they Co-Elevate® each other to achieve their mission, no matter what stands in their way. It’s an amazing experience to see unfold, emotional for them and us, and it delivers such an amazing return on investment. I believe this will be the only way for transformation to take place in the future.
Ability To Retain An Agile Mindset
Tell us about your company’s strength and how you use it to overcome failures?
I think our company’s strength has always been our ability to retain an agile mindset. We teach many global fortune 500s our AVIA (Agile: Value In Action) methodology, mindsets, high-return practices, and tools, and pride ourselves in walking the talk within our company. We, like all companies, have had peaks and troughs, ideas that worked and those that fell flat, but the ability to quickly review and course correct is what sets companies apart in what is an ever-increasing competitive world of work.
Creating A Cultural Transformation
As business’s success depends on various factors. According to you, what is the most influential factor shaping your business?
Rightly said, without any doubt, my success has been down to a combination of old school hard work, laser-focused attention to detail, and the focus on putting people first to create cultural transformation for the betterment of individuals, organizations, and society.
Meeting The Best People And Helping Them
One last question, if not a CEO then what else had you dreamt of?
Luckily, I love what I do and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. My role allows me to constantly put to use my personal mantra “to ignite a passion for challenge and change so that everyone achieves their full potential” and to do so in such a varied way in organizations around the world. I get to meet the best people and help them be even better so that they can, in turn, transform their teams to transform the world.
