Manheim’s VP of Sales Operations Sets High Standards—Especially for Herself
A natural leader with a calm and professional demeanor, Diane Earley currently serves as the vice president of sales operations for Manheim, a division of Cox Automotive. Prior to taking on that role, she was market vice president for Manheim’s Mid-Atlantic region, where she was responsible for executing business strategy to achieve revenue and market share targets. During her tenure with the Cox organization, she also spent eight years as a vice president with Cox Automotive’s sister company, Cox Communications.
Diane has a knack for identifying top talent and developing those who work for her. She is a also strategic thinker with high personal standards, who fosters open communications, builds talent pools to ensure continued success, displays a genuine interest in the well-being of others, sets high standards of performance for herself and her team, and puts the success of team above her own interests.
“I spent many years in the media business before shifting to automotive with Manheim,” said Diane. “I transitioned from leading a sales team to leading an operations team, from focusing on revenue to focusing on operational efficiency. I quickly learned that people are people and business problems are business problems. If you can develop people and create business solutions, you can lead anywhere.
In addition to establishing a high potential advisory board, Diane also worked to establish a diversity council in her former market.
“Being a woman in my profession has been self-affirming,” she said. “There are times as a woman (and a minority) in business when I’ve faced some stereotypical thinking. I’ve always tried to combat those negatives by affirming myself…working hard to ensure my work is valued, being clear on my professional strengths and exhibiting behaviors that command respect from others.”
The most important quality a woman leader should have is…
…confidence! Confidence in one’s self attracts confidence from others, breeds respect and helps showcase competence. You can demonstrate confidence by refusing to let small mistakes throw you off your game, as well as recognize failures as good learning opportunities and push forward without apology.
The career advice I’d give my former self:
1. Determine the balance you want to exist between your work life and your personal life and strive to achieve it. Your career will be better for it.
2. Focus on developing and leveraging your strengths and surround yourself with people who excel in the areas you don’t. Dwelling on weakness is wasteful.
Words I live by:
If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got. Embrace change!
The one thing I’d do differently in my career, knowing what I know now, is…
…take more time to celebrate achievements. These are times of high change, so there is always the “next thing” to conquer. But taking time to acknowledge the “last thing” we conquered really bolsters the spirit of the team and, in fact, drives continued success.
When I really need to focus on a project, I…
…first scribble notes that capture general thoughts about the project. Then, I find time in a quiet place to revisit and transform the notes into actionable ideas. I step away from it then come back. When a tight deadline is looming and I don’t have the luxury of time, I hunker down, enlist expertise within my network and get it done.
My biggest career leap (and what I learned from it) was…
…I spent many years in the media business before shifting to automotive with Manheim. I transitioned from leading a sales team to leading an operations team, from focusing on revenue to focusing on operational efficiency. I quickly learned that people are people and business problems are business problems. If you can develop people and create business solutions, you can lead anywhere.
Being a woman in my profession has been…
…self-affirming. There are times as a woman (and a minority) in business when I’ve faced some stereotypical thinking. I’ve always tried to combat those negatives by affirming myself…working hard to ensure my work is valued, being clear on my professional strengths and exhibiting behaviors that command respect from others.
I’ve learned that failure is…
…nothing to be afraid of, embarrassed about or buried. If you’ve failed, you’ve taken a risk, learned something new and enlightened the future. The trick is not to repeat the same failures over again.
I maintain a healthy personal life by…
…staying grounded in family and faith.
I knew my present career was what I wanted to do when…
…I met some of the senior leaders of my company. It was clear to me that leadership development, succession planning and boosting team performances were all important to them. They seemed open to new perspectives on the business. And I felt I could bring value in all of those areas.
