The podcast for Project Managers by Project Managers - Stakeholder Engagement Table of Contents 00:53 … Meet Laura 04:21 … Learning and Development 05:18 … Working Internationally 11:44 … Representing H.Q. Remotely 15:56 … Culture Differences 17:11 … Inheriting a Position 22:30 … Stakeholder Engagement 24:56 … Reading a Room 28:21 … Empathy and Humility 30:47 … Building Trust 33:27 … Mistakes to Avoid 36:38 … Closing LAURA BUTCHER:  I think, because now my work is largely about serving clients and building relationships with clients who are my customers in my work now, I think stakeholder engagement is so essential. NICK WALKER:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  This is our time to meet and talk about what really matters to you in the field of project management.  Our desire is to give you some perspective, some ideas, some real-life examples of what success looks like and how to get there. I’m your host, Nick Walker, and with me are the two guys who guide our discussion, Andy Crowe and Bill Yates.  And today we get to talk with someone who truly has a global perspective as a project manager. Meet Laura Laura Butcher is an organization and leadership development consultant.  She began in human resources at GE Appliances and GE Aircraft Engines; then at NationsBank, where she led teams following the NationsBank/Bank America merger.  After that, she made the move to London as Delta Air Lines Director of Human Resources in Europe.  Laura is the co-founder and principal of Blue Key Partners, a consulting practice focused in the areas of learning and leadership development, including executive assessment and coaching,  Laura, thanks so much for being here with us on Manage This. LAURA BUTCHER:  Thank you for inviting me. NICK WALKER:  We want to talk with you about working with global customers and engaging with stakeholders around the world.  But first of all, can we just take some time to get to know you a little bit better?  Tell us a little bit about yourself and what your first experiences were like with GE as you traveled internationally. LAURA BUTCHER:  So my background in corporate America was with GE, Bank of America, and Delta Air Lines for about 15 years. ANDY CROWE:  Small companies. BILL YATES:  Yeah. LAURA BUTCHER:  And then began my consulting practice about 12 years ago, largely in the areas of organization development, leadership development.  But my early experiences were in the human resources function, where I became very passionate about learning and development.  I had experiences supporting many global joint venture partners with GE Appliances and GE Aircraft Engines.  I did some work with GE Crotonville, which is the corporate leadership training institute in Crotonville, New York, where I was part of an adjunct faculty to take some of the GE Work-Out and Change Acceleration Program training to our colleagues in Asia and Europe.  So I was bitten with the bug of working internationally in my early days with GE. NICK WALKER:  What kind of prompted you?  What was it that bit you about working internationally? LAURA BUTCHER:  I think I always enjoyed the experience of seeing new places, experiencing new things, eating new cuisines, seeing sights and the history of places.  But I think beyond that I began to really appreciate working with people who see the world differently from myself.  So I think that’s what I found particularly engaging about it.  So oftentimes the work that we’re doing in human resources or in training and development is complex anyway because we’re dealing with human behavior.  But when you add the dimension of culture differences on top of that, it can be quite interesting work, and fulfilling. NICK WALKER:  What countries did you deal with when you were with GE? LAURA BUTCHER:  Well, we had joint venture partners in Asia.  So we were establishing a joint venture site with a Korean fi...