Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021 - 21

Executive
Viewpoint

L. J. GRAHAM
Seeq Corp.

Leading in times of uncertainty
I recently gave a presentation at the
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Women in Industry
event, where I spoke to more than 100 attendees on leading during uncertain times.
My talk focused on what I believe are key
leadership themes, and how those differ
when a crisis strikes, as with pandemics and other " black swan " events. These
types of crises stretch and grow us, forcing
us to make choices we never thought we
would be faced with, while determining
the types of leaders we want to become.
Navigating our relationship with
risk. When I asked the AFPM Women in
LISA GRAHAM is Chief Operating Officer
(COO) for Seeq Corp. Prior to taking on the
COO role, she led the analytics engineering
team at Seeq Corp. She holds a PhD in chemical
engineering and is a registered professional
chemical engineer. With more than 20 yr of
experience across many industries, including
pharmaceuticals, life sciences and specialty
chemicals, Dr. Graham's technical strengths
include chemical engineering, product
development and process model development.
She has a strong business background
established through executive-level leadership
positions, including COO and SVP roles at Bend
Research (now Lonza) and Alkemy Innovation,
which she founded. Active in STEM education
initiatives, she has served as Director on the
Oregon Governor's STEM Investment Council
and as Chair of the Oregon Board of Trustees
for Oregon Tech University.

Industry group what they think of when
they hear the phrase " leadership in times
of uncertainty, " many used words like " listening, " " empathy, " " communication " and
" inspiration. " As women, we are leaders in
our industries, communities, educational
endeavors and family lives. Each of these
areas of life are different, yet we have the
ability to listen, empathize, communicate and inspire in every one of them.
The group was adept at identifying these
skills as the cornerstone of how we lead
through any challenge. Now, we must lean
on those abilities more than ever while
taking risks, building a healthy network
and communicating to drive alignment.

The first topic we explored was taking
risks. When I asked the group what they
picture when they hear the word " risk, "
many said " failure, " " danger, " " reward, "
" opportunity, " " vulnerability " and " fear of
potential mistakes " (FIG. 1).
All of these descriptions are true, and
more than one can be true at the same
time. We have all taken risks, for better
or for worse, and we have all experienced
failure. However, by taking those risks we
have acquired new skills and experiences,
preparing us to better lead in a crisis. Calculated risk-taking is actually the foundation of a good leader.
When we look back at our lives, it becomes clear that all of us have taken a series of risks to get to where we are today.
We went out and pursued an education to
enable us to succeed in traditionally maledominated fields, often at great cost and
with substantial time commitment. We
chose jobs that would give us the experience we needed to reach our career goals.
Throughout this journey, we have shared
our ideas, and there is certainly risk in
that, as it can open up one to criticism.
Beyond sharing what we think, we also
navigate day-to-day risks, such as where
we sit in a meeting and when we speak.
I took a risk by coming to Seeq and
growing the analytic engineering team.

FIG. 1. Risk means different things to different people, but many associate the word
with negative outcomes. Figure courtesy of Seeq.
Hydrocarbon Processing | APRIL 2021 21

Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021

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