In Miranda Ballentine, we have a CEO with “.com,” “.org” and “.gov” experience. Most know her as the head of the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA). But Miranda’s experience runs a gamut that includes stints as a sustainability director of Walmart, a consultant through David Gardner Associates, and as Air Force Assistant Secretary managing energy budgets for 170 military installations. She also was CEO of Toronto-based Constant Power that develops distributed energy projects.
If you are short on time, you can read the main conversation highlights below:
6:40 – Encourage your employees not to feel pressured to automatically accept a promotion. With any job change, people should ask themselves three questions:
1. Which job allows me to make the greatest difference for my organization?
2. Which job would allow me to have the most positive impact in the world?
3. Which job is just going to be the most fun?
17:45 - In addition to developing the culture and vision of a company, a CEO needs to be adept at resourcing and problem solving. The more senior you get, the more complex problems you are expected to solve. It’s crucial to sharpen your ability to prioritize problems, outsourcing the smaller ones to managers whenever possible.
18:51 - Learn whether you are an entrepreneur or INTRApreneur. The two are different, and the intrapreneur’s skills of influencing, persuading, and moving big systems are crucial in the climate work of large, mature institutions.
31:31 – When interviewing candidates, Miranda uses “hiring panels” drawn from a diverse cross-section within her organization. They give her a broader perspective on a job candidate.
42:12 - Building a strong culture for your company is imperative, not a nice-to-have. You will see negative impacts if culture and cooperation are neglected.
You can listen to the full interview on Cleantech Leaders Roundtable's website or on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeart Radio.