Ken Arnold has received the honor of being named by Phoenix Business Journal as one of its the Most Admired Leaders in 2020.
Arnold’s career includes more than 20 years of experience in human resources and information technology, including serving as vice president of human resources for multiple business units, in talent acquisition, and as director of human resources, information systems and payroll operations. He is a member of the Avnet Executive Leadership Team and responsible for leading our global human resources team to attract, develop, engage and reward employees.
Arnold believes that “effective leaders have several important traits: they drive for results and positive outcomes, they have integrity, they have a strategic mindset, they ensure accountability for others, they are collaborative, and they are situationally self-aware. Effective leaders have the ability to think through strategies considering the big picture versus just considering what’s in front of them. They also have the understanding that everyone is different, even within the same ethnicity or affinity groups. There are many subgroups within larger groups, and their differences need to shine through. You can’t paint everyone with the same brush. People need to be able to represent their individual views while collectively enabling group success.”
Arnold cited navigating COVID-19 as the biggest challenge facing leaders today. “There are so many changes to the future state of work and to the future state of personal interaction which makes planning difficult. Since it’s a global pandemic it challenges us to strategically think about timeframes. We don’t know when it’s going to end so you need many contingency plans. The situation requires flexibility, and it makes you think on your feet a bit more than in normal times. Also, diversity and inclusion are a big challenge from an actionable standpoint. We need to move beyond lip service in this area. We need to take the extra step to do more than just what we’re required to do. We need to dig deep and start doing. This means taking action, measuring impact and rewarding those actions so people feel included and valued.”
When asked what he would advise young executives to focus on when looking to advance into a leadership position, Arnold’s advice is to “focus on excelling in your current job while making a favorable impact before you look for your next opportunity. Many times, people are looking for their next career change or promotion before they have fully mastered their current position. I recommend they give it some time and get the experience their current position offers. If you skip the learning and experiences along the way, at some point you will have an experience gap that will potentially hold you back in the future.”