LeAnn Talbot
Having spent most of 2013 restoring service and rebuilding infrastructure throughout a large part of her region damaged by Hurricane Sandy, Talbot’s now focused on improving leadership skills and accountability of regional leaders through “The 4 Ds” training sessions. “For me, being a good leader means being visible, listening to my team, and showing that I care and that I work for them,” she says.
How do you define a successful career?
To be truly successful you have to consistently challenge yourself and deliver strong results, so you can ultimately look back on both your professional and personal highlights and say, “What a ride!” One of my career high points was seeing my Chicago team win company-wide recognition as Comcast’s System of the Year, and it was particularly rewarding because we were able to engage 6,000 employees and our business partners to go from last to best – together.
It’s just as important that I was able to enjoy that professional success while remaining happily married to my husband and raising wonderful children who make me so proud while travelling and seeing the world with them.
Best trick for maintaining the personal-professional life balance?
Remember that a successful career doesn’t have to follow any set path. I thought of my career as a journey. I knew I could have it all, just not all at one time, so it was ok for me to take pauses when my bandwidth was needed elsewhere, like when the kids were little. When I was ready to take on more, I raised my hand. But I always continued to build my network, which gave me the support I needed when I was ready to take that next step.
When not in the office, where are we most likely to find you?
I make it a point to spend as much time as possible out of the office and in the field with our employees – whether it’s a trip to a call center to show my support and speak with customer care representatives, or on a truck roll with a technician to make sure I fully understand the challenges they face. For me being a good leader means being visible, listening to my team, and showing that I care and that I work for them.
