A Leadership Style Based on Personal Connections and Purpose
Kyle Behnke has a natural curiosity about people. This trait, combined with his love of learning, has helped to make him approachable and resulted in many genuine connections in his career and in life.
“I’m fascinated by people, their stories, and their backgrounds,” he says. “I love hearing other perspectives and thrive on personal interaction. That’s why MarketSource’s core value of building relationships specifically speaks to a key part of who I am.” From a young age, Kyle’s mom taught him that he won’t always know how the people he’s speaking with may impact his life, so he strives to learn something about everyone he meets.
Kyle holds a title befitting his personality, serving as Learning and Development Supervisor for our Commercial team. Together with his team of instructional designers and trainers, he provides learning solutions for both team members and clients. This includes compliance training, facilitator-led courses, development of learning pathways, and more. In addition, he produces high-quality video, graphics, photo, and audio content for the organization.
In his eight years with MarketSource, Kyle has fostered many cross-department relationships, but his promotion last year led to an even deeper dive with Commercial leaders to help him discover their pain points and determine how his team could help make their jobs easier and more effective. “I take a consultative approach to my work and view myself as a partner to whoever could benefit from the team’s expertise,” he explains.
Likewise, he consults with others for their advice and experience to ensure he’s taking advantage of the great minds he’s surrounded with daily. “Everyone wants you to succeed and find a sense of purpose here,” Kyle says. “I haven’t yet found someone at MarketSource who has not been willing to help, listen or give advice. That would be pretty hard to find.”
Kyle identifies three people who have had the most impact along these lines: His own leader, who saw things in him he didn’t quite recognize yet; his mentor, who taught him about prioritization as a leader and how it can result in better work / life balance; and his mom. Of the latter, Kyle says, “She is one of the best leaders I’ve ever known.”
“I was once told that you don’t always need to have the answer—just the will to find it.”
Kyle’s approach to leading his own team is rooted in trust and his innate curiosity. “I really like to find out what makes the people I lead tick,” he explains. “When you know what gets people up in the morning, you can better serve them as a leader in finding work that’s fulfilling, as well as help them develop as individuals. Seeing my team grow and bring value to the business is extremely rewarding.”
As for the best advice he’s ever received, he shares: “I was once told that you don’t always need to have the answer — just the will to find it. This has really stuck with me over my time at MarketSource. We all have times when we don’t know the best answer, but if you’re dedicated to finding it, you’ll always end up in the right direction.”
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