In today's episode of The Rising Leader, I have the pleasure of sitting down with my good friend, Kurt Greening. We dive into Kurt's impressive journey from being a young, successful individual contributor to becoming a seasoned sales leader. Kurt shares his insights on the bumps and learning curves in leadership, the significance of building relationships, and the balanced approach he's developed towards work and life. Plus, we delve into his recent experience working with Afghan refugees and how it profoundly impacted his views on leadership and teamwork.Kurt Greening is the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Securis (https://securis.com/). With an MBA in marketing and over 20 years of experience, Kurt has significantly shaped sales teams and digital transformation initiatives at leading companies such as NetApp, Palo Alto Networks, and Agility. His mission at Securis (https://securis.com/) is to enhance customer satisfaction, build the company's brand, and expand its client list. Apart from his remarkable career, Kurt is deeply committed to making a difference, as evident by his time working with Afghan refugees."A skill of a leader is trying to figure out if you have the right people on the bus, right? Or do you need to show them, hey, this bus over here could be better for you."  - Kurt GreeningThis week on The Rising Leader:·      Kurt’s early start in sales and the fear of being carded at happy hours.·      The importance of building relationships and caring for your customers.·      Transitioning from individual contributor to sales manager.·      The steep learning curve of managing a diverse team.·      The significant role of mentorship and self-education in leadership.·      Balancing work with personal life and finding deeper meaning beyond material success.·      Taking a break from corporate life to work with Afghan refugees.·      Returning to the workforce with a renewed perspective and emphasis on work-life balance.Resources Mentioned:·      Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins·      Book: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry PattersonConnect with Kurt:·      LinkedIn:Kurt Greening's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtgreening)·      Blog:Kurt's Blog (http://www.kurtgreening.com)  Grab Your Copy of The Rising Leader Handbook Do you find yourself rising through your company's ranks so fast that you wish you had a manual to become an effective leader? Then, The Rising Leader Handbook is right for you. In The Rising Leader Handbook, you’ll learn how to shift your perspective and gain the leadership skills you need, regardless of the breadth of your responsibilities, by leveraging the relationships you’ve built with the CEO, the Leadership Team, and the team you lead as well as your relationship with yourself.Visit The Rising Leader Handbook: Turning High Achievers into Effective Leaders to grab your copy and start mastering your skills to become your team leader. Leader, It’s Time to Rise! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Rising Leader Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.