In the Spotlight with HPE | Paul Atkins

[Alex_Podmore]

What makes our team tick?

Our Spotlight series introduces some of our key team members, exploring their roles and delving a little deeper into their passions, shining a light on what makes them tick.

You can watch the full interview with Paul here.

Paul Atkins joined HPE in 2016 as a Storage Sales Specialist, before moving into leadership. He is now Interim Sales Director for Storage and Data Services covering the UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa. Paul explained about his journey into leadership and shared some advice around avenues into work.

As a teenager, Paul had no aspirations to work in leadership, or even in the tech industry, leaving school at 15 with no GCSEs or A Levels. He took a different route into the world of work with an Open University degree in Economics before moving into the tech space.

“I've been in sales for a very long time! I started out working in the reseller community for around 10 years, but my first role in tech was actually as an engineer. I was a terrible engineer, but I thoroughly enjoyed the technology and it gave me a really good foundation in understanding the basics of technology and how it works.

“I don’t think anybody ever grows up wanting to be in technology sales but when I found myself in that position, I found it to be this incredible intersection of business, technology, finance, regulation, psychology and sociology, so I've always found this incredible opportunity to continually learn. I think our job is many things but it's never boring.”

With many years of experience in sales, Paul was initially reluctant to look at leadership positions, content with his role as an individual contributor and enjoying the day-to-day customer and partner interaction. Although he saw many other colleagues thrive in leadership, Paul never thought he would take on a similar role. Now, however, he realises the positive impact that these positions can have.

“For a long time I considered myself as somebody that would just remain an individual contributor. Leadership is a great privilege, to have the opportunity to develop people's potential way beyond what they think they're capable of, having impact in their careers and sometimes in their lives. I've seen early career team members go on this development journey where ultimately, they've been able to buy their first house, move out of home; these things have been highly rewarding and fulfilling. I've had the privilege of working as part of some incredible teams with some really amazing individuals and I think ultimately that is always the best bit of a job and I think that culturally, that is something that HPE does exceptionally well.”

Looking back at his journey so far, Paul recognises that his experiences make him a role model for young people in a similar position, as well as those who are new to HPE and aspiring leaders. He understands the importance of sharing his knowledge and advising those at the beginning of their career, encouraging them to build successful networks, right from the start.

“The single most important thing I have had throughout my career is a brilliant network, and that is something that you have to consciously build, internally and externally. It's something that you have to nurture, something that you have to invest in. There is not a single job that I've had in my career where I haven't benefited from somebody in my network either introducing me to the role, coaching me as part of the interview process, giving me some helpful information in terms of my prep, sometimes even warning me not to go for a role for a variety of reasons. I think if there's anything that you can do at the start of your career and continue to do throughout, it’s build a network, invest in it, look after it.”

Now holding an MBA in Senior Leadership, Paul endeavours to lead from the front, modelling continuous development and forging his own path. Focused on building trust within a team, Paul holds a wealth of experience of the learning journey to becoming a great leader.

“What I’ve learned from being in leadership is that it is not a destination and it's not a sprint, it is absolutely a marathon. The advice I’d offer to someone in a similar position to me is to always get feedback from team members, you do not have to always have all of the answers, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room or indeed pretend to be the smartest person in the room. Use the resources around you, have great mentors, build a great network - I think that is something that will keep you grounded and humble and will continue to challenge you and your thoughts and perspectives. I think that is something that can help make you a great leader.”

Paul is no stranger to a real marathon, enjoying endurance sports and completing many ultra runs – some over 100 miles – as well as endurance cycling. Clearly a strong believer in hard work and determination, Paul’s focus for the future is on taking advantage of every opportunity that arises.

“The only constant is change, and it is always difficult to make predictions, but I think maintaining your own development and maintaining your network will give you the best opportunity to ensure that you're well placed to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. If you really want to be successful, you have to have that degree of determination. I’m a strong believer that hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Alex Podmore
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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