Progress over perfection: A leadership conversation with Graeme Cuthbertson

In this episode of Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Graeme Cuthbertson, who leads IT Operations and End User Services at Neurocrine Biosciences. Graeme’s career has taken him from Scotland to San Diego, with previous leadership roles in senior IT and employee experience at organizations across industries and growth stages. He brings a people-first approach to everything he does in technology, with a consistent point of view that technology should remove friction and allow people to do our best work.

Highlights from the episode include:

• Meeting customers where they are isn’t always digital. Tammy shares a personal story about her mother struggling to get a loan because the only options available are phone or online. Sometimes the right answer isn’t a new technology. It’s making sure people can actually reach you in a way that works for them.
• Rename “support” to “enablement” and mean it. In less than 60 days at Neurocrine, Graeme rebranded his teams from “support” to “enablement” to change the mindset inside IT and across the company. The goal is outcomes, not tickets. If you upgrade devices, you should be able to point to productivity, credibility in front of customers and clear business reasons, not just new hardware.
• Progress, not perfection. Graeme’s message to his team from day one: take one step at a time. Drawing on his background in competitive bodybuilding, he reminds us that meaningful results take years of focused effort. The same applies to building a great employee experience.

Check out the full episode to learn more about Graeme’s family of six (all with A names) and how he balances technology with a deeply human approach to leadership.

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Please note that the views expressed in this episode may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA.