Meet Melissa Cobham, Aegis Business Development Manager
In this week’s Aegis Leadership series, meet Melissa Cobham, Aegis’ Business Development Manager. In her own words, Melissa describes herself as the connector between Aegis and the needs of the business community – large corporations and small and medium entities. She researches gaps in the economy then analyzes how Aegis can provide a service to fill those gaps.
Can you share your leadership style?
Melissa indicates that she has a mixture of leadership styles but ultimately describes herself as collaborative. She is keen to hear her team members’ perspectives when making final decisions.
How do you maintain a collaborative environment at work?
Melissa shares 3 strategies to maintain a collaborative environment:
- Be transparent and openly share the purpose, goals, and expectations
- Encourage employees to share their opinions without trepidation.
- Remove the veils of stature and seniority, be human, and do not shy away from being vulnerable.
Melissa explains that working from home and homeschooling kids has given her perspective, she has walked in the employees’ shoes and now better understands the complex situations they may face. Working at home comes with a plethora of communication barriers, that your team must work to overcome. She shares, “it’s a learning phase for everyone, but determination, context and empathy are the keys to rallying on.”
Melissa highlights the importance of being relatable to her team She tries to connect with team members and emphasizes she is always open to talk, and answer questions. Staff keeps her grounded at times and their input ensures a more successful outcome of the project.
How do you recharge as a leader?
When given the opportunity, she loves to sing and dance. She also enjoys hikes, kickboxing and hanging out with friends. Of recently, she is on a journey to learning everything about teas. She is intrigued how one single cup can provoke so many emotions, be it energy to endure or enhancing moments of solitude.
When encountering stumbling blocks, whether it is a project that has its challenges or otherwise, she overcomes by listening to inspirational persons who reminds her that nothing is impossible, encourages her to persevere and dismiss her fear of failure as it is part of the process.
Three inspirational speakers Melissa encourages you to check out are:
