Heather Tenuto ─ a powerful leader delivering sustainable success through unconventional means...
December 8, 2020 • 3 Minute Read
Heather Tenuto
Chief Revenue Officer
Zift Solutions
When defining a powerful leader, you must look beyond traditional titles and roles to uncover those with the creative influence and entrepreneurship, as well as the ability to deliver and achieve sustainable success through unconventional means. We know the person ─ Heather Tenuto!
Heather is currently the Chief Revenue Officer at Zift Solutions and helps technology companies uncover revenue potential to ignite sales through customer-centric strategies, while building brands and revenue, and championing partner success.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Heather Tenuto!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
For a few years, I was a high school English teacher.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
75-100k.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Durian ice cream in Singapore.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
Failures are the best classroom.
I was once hired to run an initiative that was doomed to failure. While my reflex might have been to cut bait and save myself, I decided to lean in and help the company reposition itself, knowing it meant an eventual exit for me. I learned more in that short period of time, than in the years before. And I gained champions who helped me onto my next challenge.
Earlier in my career, I took a job that wasn’t a great fit for me. It presented itself at the right time and I feared unemployment. Long story short, it was a disaster and took me three years to recover. I promised myself I would never do that again. I haven't.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
I shunned mentorship early in my career and I regret it. I thought needing help was a sign of weakness. Now that I am in a position to mentor, I see how wrong I was. It’s a strategic move and the ultimate win-win.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Think bigger. Stretch yourself more. Take advantage of advancement opportunities even when you think you're not qualified.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I am careful to make sure my network includes people who are just starting out and offering my help to those who may just need the right bit of coaching or one easy introduction. Selfishly, I have a lot to learn from the younger generation. I have been in tech sales for most of my career but still often miss the trends. I rely on that network to help me future-proof my value as a sales leader and influencer.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
I worked for a leader who believed in giving executives ownership of initiatives that were completely out of their comfort zone. I led a project to decrease the cost of supporting retail locations, something I knew almost nothing about. It forced me to listen, learn and delegate in a way I never had to before.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I am focused on employee engagement. How do you build highly effective teams across geographies and time zones, and flexible/disrupted schedules? What kind of leadership style do teams need now?
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Businesses need dependable forecasts. Sales leaders need to understand how prospects buy in order to create sales processes but also to be able to accurately forecast. The current environment is causing dynamic shifts in the buyer's journey which makes predicting revenue difficult. It’s not a matter of just adjusting, it’s learning how to constantly adjust. A good grasp on the data helps.
