Niki Hall, VP of Corporate Marketing at Polycom, with a Passion for Learning and Mentoring  

After growing-up on the east coast, hometown Scranton, Pennsylvania, Niki Hall made her way to the west coast, attending college at California State University-East Bay, and has made it her permanent home ever since. Currently the Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Polycom, a multinational communications technology company, Ms. Hall is one of those executives whom young professionals – or anyone needing a mentor for that matter – would be wise to listen to.

With a lifelong “passion for learning” and a daily reader of HBR.org (the Harvard Business Review) for insight and ideas, she notes that her impressive list of mentors – Sheila Jordan, CIO of Symantec; Kara Wilson, CMO FireEye; Maribel Lopez, CEO Lopez Research; Blair Christie, previous CMO of Cisco – have had a profound impact on her professional career and inspire her daily to stretch herself and “get rid of the noise and focus on business critical issues.” A notable obstacle for most working in medium-to-large organizations.

In addition to her current work at Polycom, she has worked at high-powered firms like Cisco; is a wife and mother who clearly enjoys her family (wine with her husband and going for a run with her kids scooter-ing beside her both make her happy); and enjoys being part of projects that promote networking, professional development and her go-to networking group for women in tech.

She is very much of the moment: her Twitter feed is full of professional smarts, and she is a personal fan of videoconferencing, one of Polycom’s specialties. NetworkWorld named her as one of 10 ex-Cisco Employees Making an Impact in the Industry, and her Analyst Relations team at Polycom was a recipient of the 2014 Sirius Decision Influencer Program of the Year Award.

Can you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?
I’m a marketing executive with 20+ years of experience across all the marketing disciplines, corporate communications, brand, AR/PR, digital, etc.  For the last three years, I’ve been at Polycom as Vice President of Marketing, starting as VP of Analyst Relations, and then expanded to VP of Corporate Marketing.  I’m a working mom; family is very important to me, as is my career.   

What does a day in your shoes typically look like?
I’m a mom 24 hours a day, but for 12 of those hours, I’m also striving to be a great Polycom employee and team leader. My typical day goes like this: I wake up, do mom duties, leave the house, and then commute and during the commute, I talk with EMEA, analysts, and call my family back East. My car is my mobile office (make sure you get a comfortable vehicle with good audio!). I arrive at work, check in with the team, have back-to-back meetings and then before I know it, it’s time to commute home. Again, I make use of that time to talk with analysts, my team, and call my husband. I arrive home, log back on, do video calls with APAC, my nanny leaves and then I go for a run while the kids scooter next to me. We eat, I read the kids a book, put them to sleep, and log back on to prepare for the next day.

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning and the last three things you do before you go to bed?
In the morning, I check email, kiss my husband and get coffee. In the evening, I check on the kids, spray lavender on my pillow for more relaxing sleep, and set the alarm and doze off to my favorite artist, Andrea Bocelli.

What is your breakfast of choice?
Egg white veggie omelet and a side of greens.

What keeps you energized and motivated at work?
I love to set goals and stretch to reach them. 

What and who inspires your work?
Inspiration comes from multiple sources and, for me, it’s really about keeping my mind attuned and exposed to new ways of thinking and doing things. My husband inspires me. We both started at the same company in different roles, and now we are in different companies in the same role – vice presidents in marketing. Along the way, we’ve helped each other grow, and of course, bounced ideas and solutions off each other. I’m someone who thrives on challenge, and so I’m inspired by the daily opportunities that stretch my thinking and motivate me to overcome obstacles.

How does your culture/background influence your work?
My upbringing on the East Coast where the culture is about work ethic and being honest and forthright has taken me far in the professional world.

My life experiences have taught me to work hard, to seize the day, to focus, and I have truly learned to believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way. I also try to look at how I would like to be treated and try to manage my teams from that perspective – a motivated team is what it is all about. 

How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
I don’t hide who I am. I can be direct, but also sensitive, and while I work for the benefit of the team, I’m definitely a bit competitive, which makes me strive to hit goals, but also ensure that I balance this with ensuring the team has job satisfaction. As a leader, you have to develop your own brand, and that means you need to sit down and really think through the values you want to embody as a leader. You have to be self-aware, open to constructive feedback, wise about the motivations behind people’s feedback, and mindful about your approach — and, of course, this requires continual learning!

What is your favorite part about your job?
Working with the team to drive impact. I also love transforming the reputation of Polycom and seeing it come to life.   And you can check it out for yourself as we are launching a new website! 

How many times have you changed your career direction?
I’ve always been in marketing, but I’ve moved through nearly every function within it. I spent a good deal of time in Corporate Communications, and then moved to Corporate Marketing. 

How much have the industry and its products evolved since you started?
Technology was once a “nice to have,” now it’s a “must-have” and the right technology can actually help to transform the way you work and live.

What types of tech products/solutions are you most excited to see launch in the next two to three years?
From a personal perspective, I’m excited to see how electric and solar goes – running the home or cars.

Three questions you like to ask during an interview to know if the candidate (or job) is the right fit?
I want to gain insight into the person’s sense of self and also their perspective. So, I ask: What are three words you’d use to describe yourself? Would your best friend agree? What are the other companies you admire and why? Interviews are great opportunities to gain intel on how your company and competitors are perceived among job seekers. You learn a lot.

What has been your biggest obstacle in your career and how did you overcome it?
My first response to this was that I haven’t really had any big obstacles to overcome in my career. But the more I think about it, that’s because I don’t view them as obstacles, I view them as opportunities. 

What is your favorite leisure activity after a stressful work week?
Three things: jogging while the kids scooter next to me, doing yoga and going on a date night with my husband, which includes WINE!!

What are the most important qualities of a good leader?
Being a visionary who can inspire the people your team.  Being authentic as it builds trust.  Empowering your teams, because what they can accomplish is truly amazing.

What advantages do you see as a woman in the workplace?
I’ve been lucky to work in companies that are well balanced and have females in senior executive roles. So I haven’t seen advantages or disadvantages, though I know my experience is different than what many women find.

What advice would you give women starting their career?
First, take the time to really understand the business. Be a business professional first, and then “a functional professional” second. Your success in your function is going to hinge on how well you tie what you do to the business’s goals, so know the business.

Second, prioritize. I learned long ago to focus on the vital few things that will make an impact. I was lucky to have worked with John Chambers [the CEO of Cisco] and in doing so, learned about the magic number three in tackling projects: if you focus on less than three elements, you haven’t thought it through, but if you have more than three, you aren’t succinct. So focus on the three biggest things that will have impact.

Lastly, enjoy the journey. We work so hard every day, it’s imperative that you make sure you’re in a culture that is supportive and enriching to you as well. Don’t ever feel like you’re stuck. You never have to be stuck. Find a culture that works for you. And if you don’t find it at your current job, get a new one.   

Are you a member of any women in tech organizations?
I’m a member of FountainBlue’s When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series.  FountainBlue is a management consultancy firm that provides executive coaching, tech advisory and other consulting services to tech leaders in corporations and start-ups in Silicon Valley and beyond. Their When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series was launched in May 2006 and provides ongoing networking and program benefits for 50-200 high tech women and men-who-support-having-women-in-leadership positions. I’ve learned so much through this and really find it beneficial.

What book would you recommend for women just starting their career?
I enjoyed Lean In, but everyone is reading that. I’d recommend watching Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, “Start with Why” and then read his book. In less than twenty minutes you’ll have learned something that will change the way you approach business and, quite possibly, your life.