Veeva Marketing

Veeva is a leading company providing software and systems to the global life sciences sector. Anna Dunmeyer, Senior Director of Commercial Product Marketing for Veeva, heads a large team with a unique culture of supporting each other, and a deep appreciation for building their communication and interpersonal skills.

Supporting a Growing Team

Anna met Kristi many years ago when another leader at Veeva was doing executive coaching with her. She engaged Kristi to coach one of her team members, and had a chance to get to know her. "I really liked who she is and how she worked with my team member, and I thought that she could help the whole team."

"We tend to appreciate 'soft' skills, and are at least as concerned about developing them as the 'hard' skills!" says Anna.

Disc Workshop and Coaching

The marketing leadership team went through a DiSC workshop first, and that made Anna realize the potential of applying the DiSC concepts more broadly.

Kristi took Anna's team through the individual coaching sessions for their DiSC reports, and then the group came together for a workshop.

Anna was pleased by both pieces. The one-on-one sessions turned out to be more valuable than she had expected, and the workshop helped to expand and enhance everyone's understanding.

"The way Kristi facilitates this process it is so much more than just a report," says Anna. "She helped people who didn't really like where the DiSC placed them to see how their traits can be strengths, and how to leverage those strengths. It was about shifting perception and not about blind spots."

The workshop's interactivity and dynamism were also a plus. "Kristi combined presenting with interactive elements and breakout groups, which really energized people."

Kristi's use of real-world examples of the DiSC styles in action helped make it more real and immediate. Anna also points out that Kristi is open and approachable, and establishes trust with the participants quickly. "She is adept at getting people to participate!"

Everyone Has a Superpower

One of the results of this work has been to realize that every single team member has what Anna likes to call a superpower. "Now," she says, "We know who is not only good at something, but also what they prefer to be doing. We know who we can ask to teach us something, or to take over doing something when they are much more skilled." In addition, the team has added their DiSC styles to their names on their Zoom profiles. Anna says that people are communicating better and, importantly, not taking things as personally.

Continuing Work - Onboarding & Leadership Coaching

Anna found that Kristi’s approach made a big difference. "Kristi took the time to understand Veeva as an organization, how we operate, what is important to us and our culture, which makes her so different, and such a valuable resource." She also took the time to get to know what Anna and her team were looking for, and got to know the people on the team.

Anna’s team continues to call on Kristi for onboarding and integrating new team members quickly and seamlessly. The key factor in making this successful is that within their first week new hires take the assessment and go through a one-on-one session with Kristi.

This, along with the comparison reports, has provided a significant positive impact for the new hire onboarding experience.

Leadership coaching has also become a standard for the team, and Kristi is the one they call.

Anna is enthusiastic that any team would benefit from this work. She says, "Good managers know that team dynamics can make or break the team. We were already a strong team, and this work with Kristi has just improved our dynamic."