Leading From the C-Suite: Roel Vestjens of Belden On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective C-Suite Executive

Be accessible and encourage leadership at all levels to be accessible. This involves having channels through which people can feel heard and valued by leadership.

As part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company” I had the pleasure of interviewing Roel Vestjens.

Roel Vestjens is Belden’s President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors since May 2020.

Roel joined Belden in 2006 as Director of Marketing for the EMEA region. Since then he held roles of increasing responsibility in Sales and Marketing, Operations, and General Management of Belden’s business units in North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Most recently, he served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer since July 2019, Executive Vice President, Industrial Solutions since February 2018, and Executive Vice President, Industrial Solutions and Broadcast IT Solutions from January 2017 to February 2018.

Roel joined Belden from Royal Philips Electronics where he held various European sales and marketing positions. Roel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Management from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I began my career at Belden in 2006, first serving as Director of Marketing for our Wire and Cable Systems division in the Netherlands, which is my home. Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different divisions and business units throughout the Belden organization — and all over the world. You’ll often hear me mention that Belden has a reputation for promoting from within, and it’s true. I am an example of that. In fact, approximately 75% of our open positions are filled through promotions as our team members advance and build long-term careers here. Today, I’m honored to be leading 8,000 Belden associates from our headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri where I’ve lived with my family since 2014.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to lead several of Belden’s businesses in Asia. It was during that time that I truly recognized the importance of cultural awareness. Before moving to China, Human Resources suggested that I take a class offered by the company to help associates understand the culture of the country. Being Dutch, I thought I already had a good sense of cultural awareness, so I turned down the offer. A mishap in one meeting changed my mind.

One of our associates from China was preparing to present to a group and found that the projector was not working properly. My natural inclination was to roll up my sleeves and help to diagnose the problem. I also then proceeded to crack a joke. I’m Dutch, and sarcasm is part of our humor. I thought nothing of it. However, I had made two very key mistakes in my communication. First, sarcastic jokes are not acceptable in Chinese culture. By trying to make light of the situation, I was targeting the individual and making him the center of attention among his peers. Second, when I pitched in to help, I was giving an unintended signal to the IT manager in the room that I did not need him.

I did not realize either of these things until my assistant, with whom I had an excellent relationship, took me aside and revealed my lack of understanding of our cultural differences. I was thankful that she felt she could be honest with me and share these things. I quickly went back to HR and told them I must take the class they had suggested. Since that time, I’ve had the opportunity to truly broaden my cultural awareness in all regions where Belden is present.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Treat others as you want to be treated, and with the same level of respect.

I learned this from my dad, who held public office in the Netherlands during the last years of his career. I always took notice of that fact that he would talk with everyone he came into contact with at the same level of respect as high-ranking politicians and diplomats.

I try to live according to the example he set. This gives me personal joy and has been instrumental in guiding my career path to where I am today. People from the factory floor, and throughout all levels of the organization, feel that they can talk to me in an open and honest manner. They know I listen to what they have to say. It’s important to get this kind of real feedback because it allows me to be a better leader, run the company more effectively, and achieve better results.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on your leadership style? Can you share a story or an example of that?

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey should be a must-read for business professionals, particularly those leading or aspiring to lead companies. There are so many takeaways that are applicable to being successful both as a business leader and a human being. Following the lessons of that book will set someone up well to have deeper and more impactful relationships with the people in their lives.

The lessons in the book are particularly interesting to me in my role as CEO at Belden because they tend to align quite well with our values. Belden’s values revolve around the ideals of teamwork, reaching for greatness, continuous improvement, investing in our people, customers defining success, and outperforming the competition. At their core, many of Covey’s seven habits are communicating the same thing with a slightly different approach. At Belden, living our values can be facilitated by following Covey’s principles and turning knowledge into action, being responsible and effective at our jobs, winning together, being honest and having tough conversations, and continuing to improve ourselves and each other.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Belden was founded more than 100 years ago and has participated in many significant communications and technology advancements. Thomas Edison was an early customer, and we played a role in supporting him with products that made his inventions possible. The first television programming was broadcast over Belden cable. Our products are found everywhere from the International Space Station to major sporting venues and streetlights on every corner in the world.

When I came to Belden, I was particularly proud to learn that the first computer network, the IBM Token Ring Network, was run on Belden Cable. This was the first platform that allowed for a successfully connected work environment and became the standard for many years. I remember thinking that if I ever become CEO, this is something that I want to tell people about.

Belden technology is present in so many aspects of our daily lives and has been for more than a century. I often look to our history, carefully considering where we came from to inform our strategy as we determine where we’re going next.

The road to success is hard and requires tremendous dedication. This question is obviously a big one, but what advice would you give to a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success?

Belden is a results-oriented organization, and I certainly share in that philosophy. You must know where you are, carefully detail what you’re setting out to accomplish, and put a plan in place to measure it regularly. That focused, diligent work, along with an open mind that allows for creative thinking and innovation, will create your roadmap to drive towards success.

As that roadmap begins to take shape, I often encourage our associates to limit their scope to one job and do that one job exceptionally well. It’s always better to excel in one job rather than demonstrating sub-par performance at four. This has always proven to be a successful strategy throughout my career.

Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?

I thought about this question quite a bit and realized that every experience and every piece of advice, good or bad, that I’ve followed has been part of the experience that has brought me to where I am today. There is not an instance where I regretted following advice I was offered. If things didn’t work out so well, I learned from it, moved on and had no regrets. But that is the key. You must learn from the experience so as to not repeat mistakes.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Have a keen focus on problem solving. This is critical to the top leader of any company for the business itself. But it’s about more than that. It’s about putting yourself in the shoes of your customers to truly experience what they’re facing. We believe that the primary focus of Belden’s business is to solve problems for, rather than sell products to, our customers. One example is the development of innovative packaging for our cabling systems. We listened to our customer feedback, heard the challenges they were facing in the field, and created a solution that would allow them an easier and quicker way to pull cable from the packaging. It is something that may sound simple on the surface, but it truly made a significant impact in their work.
2. Be honest, even when it’s difficult. I believe that people have the right to regular and honest feedback. These types of conversations cannot be limited to an annual review. Feedback should be shared in real time. This allows for ongoing opportunities to course correct rather than letting an issue linger. It causes tension for an extended period of time. The associate feels lost and is not delivering to his or her highest potential, which is a missed opportunity for everyone. With ongoing, honest and transparent conversations, we can coach our associates and give them an opportunity to perform. I lead by example in this area because I truly believe it is the best approach.
3. Show appreciation for the people who drive our success. There are so many passionate and talented people here at Belden who are making an impact on the business and in their local communities. They are what make Belden the innovative company that we’ve been for the last 100 years. I routinely give shout-outs to Belden associates on my personal social media, giving people who are making an impact individual recognition for their work. I also make this a habit in our quarterly company-wide meetings so that I can demonstrate my personal appreciation. I recently shared a message on LinkedIn, congratulating an associate for 25 years of service and noting how proud I was of her and all of the Belden associates who have dedicated so much of their lives to our mission of solving business challenges and enabling breakthrough ideas for our customers.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a C-Suite executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what a C-Level executive does that is different from the responsibilities of other leaders?

When you are a C-Level executive, the buck stops with you. You are the thought leader, and fully responsible for the results of your business unit or department. You must be comfortable with that level of accountability, because people are looking to you for direction. Everyone in the C-Suite must share this philosophy, and the CEO must empower his or her fellow leaders to operate in this manner. This is what I look for when I fill leadership roles.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?

1. Many people view CEOs as “out of touch” with team members and operations throughout the organization. When you run a large company, it can be difficult to have direct connection with everyone. Yet if you take the time to talk with people at all levels, make yourself accessible in some way, and listen to what they have to say, you’ll never be out of touch.
2. There is often an expectation that CEOs must be perfect and have a flawless track record, always making the right decisions at the right time. In many cases, the wrong decisions allow for your greatest learning opportunities.
3. There is also a common misperception that CEOs should have all the answers. We don’t, and that’s why we build strong leadership teams. Here at Belden, we’ve de-centralized our leadership model because we believe that the best decisions are made through diversity of thought, background, experience and perspective. This results in better answers than I’d ever come up with on my own, and a greater level of innovation.
4. I’ve sometimes heard people say that they don’t see CEOs serving in the community, but rather, participating in charitable activities in name only (or through donations only). Those things can fulfill a particular purpose, but we CEOs are out there. I personally am very involved in the National Blues Museum which is located here in St. Louis, as I believe that music can play a key role in the education of our nation’s youth.

What are the most common leadership mistakes you have seen C-Suite leaders make when they start leading a new team? What can be done to avoid those errors?

The most common mistake I see is leaders surrounding themselves with “yes-men” who are very trusted members of an inner circle, loyal to a fault, and don‘t challenge the ideas of their peers, leaders, or the CEO. This results in group think, and a scenario where no one is bringing new thoughts or perspectives to the table. I look at building a team based on two criteria: capability and loyalty. You must have the capability to do the job, as well as trust for the proper relationship. Many new leaders value loyalty over capability and in my experience, that is not the path to a successful team.

In your experience, which aspect of running a company tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?

The most underestimated, and most important aspect of running a company involves developing your people. Every leader in the organization, including the CEO, has a responsibility for supporting the professional development of their teams. When I was a manager several years ago, Belden’s CEO asked me what my career goal was. I told him I wanted to be CEO someday. He embraced that with me, took me under his wing, and we began to create a plan for that to happen. This made a huge impact on my development as a leader, so I’ve made that a key area of focus for all of our leaders.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading From the C-Suite”? Please share a story or an example for each.

As CEO, I’ve learned many things that no one ever told me, including:

1. My workday never ends. As the leader of a global organization, I may be needed at all times of the day and night.
2. I must be able to quickly shift my focus. I am never solely focused on one thing each day. At any given time, I can be working on strategy, then shift my mindset to operations and tactical aspects of the business.
3. There is no such thing as over-communicating. The team wants to hear from the CEO regularly, and they want to hear about things that are important for the company and for them personally.
4. Be consistent in my messaging. I cannot assume that if I’ve mentioned something once that people will understand and execute on what I have said. My message must be repeated consistently for it to become top of mind.
5. Embrace team members as multi-dimensional people who sometimes make mistakes. Every Belden associate has a life outside of the job and brings unique points of view and experiences. This helps drive innovation and growth. But we know that people sometimes need someone to give them a second chance when they make a mistake, and one that’s impacting lives right now is drug addiction. At Belden, we implemented the Pathways to Employment program in our Richmond, Indiana facility to provide a second chance to those who have much to contribute, but who have failed a drug test and face the inability to secure a job. Through Pathways, these individuals are enrolled into a personalized drug rehabilitation program and begin their journey to a substance-free life.

In your opinion, what are a few ways that executives can help to create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?

1. Be accessible and encourage leadership at all levels to be accessible. This involves having channels through which people can feel heard and valued by leadership.
2. Set clear vision and goals. When people see where we are going and understand the role they play, there is enthusiasm. Passion gets put to work and associates know the work they do is impactful and appreciated.
3. Give people the space to do their best work. We’ve developed an innovation model at Belden that has inspired creative thinking. Teams are sharing ideas in new ways, and as a result, the number of patentable solutions has dramatically risen and there is buzz about it. People want to come here to do their best work and make an impact. For example, we incentivize team members for innovation and celebrate accomplishments such as patentable ideas in the Belden Patent Hall of Fame.
4. Be a values-based organization and live to those values at all times. One that is of particular importance to me is We succeed together through teamwork. Everyone here makes an impact, and we celebrate those moments.
5. We have a rule here at Belden: No silent disagreement. We expect and encourage conversation around issues and ideas. We want for leaders and associates to have a platform to share challenges. An organization cannot thrive unless this rule is in place.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

It’s easy to look at the world we live in today and only see big problems. And that can be overwhelming. But I believe big problems are solved when we all commit to taking what might feel like small steps. I truly believe that improving our world begins with each of us recognizing and addressing needs in our community. Belden’s Connect with Community program is designed to empower our people to look for opportunities to get involved physically and financially with organizations impacting the community where they live and work. We offer paid volunteer time off, as well as an above-average company match for charitable contributions. There’s a lot of truth to the saying “be the change you want to see in the world,” and that is a movement I hope our team is inspiring on a global level.

How can our readers further follow you online?

I share information regularly on my personal page on LinkedIn, and our team publishes great information about all of our connectivity solutions on our blog at Belden.com.

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!