McGraw Hill CEO Simon Allen: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO
An Interview With Ben Ari
Find a job that is interesting and fulfilling. I feel truly lucky to have found a profession in education early in my career. Your career is going to be part of your life for a long time, so it’s important to find one that’s fun, interesting and fulfilling. Use that as motivation to drive your work ethic and creativity.
As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’ we had the pleasure of interviewing Simon Allen.
Simon Allen is the CEO of McGraw Hill, a leading global provider of educational technology and content. Simon has substantial experience in the education technology and publishing business, having led large teams across six continents focused on K-12 and higher education, as well as science, technical and medical digital and print products for professional, governmental and institutional markets.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I certainly never chose a career path toward becoming a CEO. I started my career in education decades ago when I saw a job listing in the Dallas Morning News to be a sales rep for an education company (which eventually became part of McGraw Hill). I knew right away that education was an industry that would be fascinating to work in. I enjoyed meeting and learning from the educators I worked with and found tremendous satisfaction in working toward a mission-oriented goal. I worked hard, always tried to honor my commitments and my career path unfolded in front of me.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
In my first year as CEO, we were sold by one private equity company and bought by another. This was early in the pandemic, so it was executed on Zoom. You might imagine that a large deal like this could not happen without ever meeting in person. Yet it worked and the transition was extremely smooth. The knowledge and experience of their leadership team across all areas of our business inspired confidence. And our ability to communicate clearly, decisively and with great credibility created an environment of mutual trust and respect. Our favorite word is ‘execution’ and we do it well. Be confident and flexible in your leadership approach and believe wholeheartedly in your people.
As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.
An effective business leader knows that a team will perform at a higher level when there’s a diversity of talent, opinion, experience, background, and cultural roots. We certainly understand that at McGraw Hill, and look closely at our hiring practices and employee supports to ensure we’re making it an inclusive place to work and that diversity is part of our DNA. It’s not just about having racial or gender diversity (though that’s part of it). It’s about making McGraw Hill a place that is inclusive for people of different ages, abilities, gender identities and more. And for us it’s also about creating products that support all students and educators — making them flexible, accessible, and representative.
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 CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
My core job is to support our employees and help clear the runway for their success. I must rely on the knowledge and experience of our team and our people, and put myself in a position to understand the leadership team that surrounds me and empower them. I must trust they have the skills to understand deeply the business and have the knowledge to make sure they’re making the right decisions. Additionally, I work to ensure that we at McGraw Hill remain focused on our goals and mission while listening and responding to the needs of employees.
Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
I think it’s important for a chief executive to be a good listener and communicator. There’s some talent in that, but it also takes practice. I’ve always been fascinated by people and their backgrounds and stories. I think that’s what made me a good salesperson early in my career, and what helps me connect with employees and customers and make the best hiring decisions for our team. With employees, it starts with authenticity and transparency — it’s important to get to know them as individuals and ensure they feel comfortable being themselves at work and confident they can trust their instincts. With customers, it’s important to be empathetic to what educators or other users are going through to respond effectively as a company and gain their trust. While I do think certain people are better suited to being a good listener and effective at the executive level, each person can bring their own value to the team or organization. There are many different roles and talents that come together for a complex organization to function at a high level.
Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Trust your instincts. I truly think we all work better when we feel empowered and confident in our abilities. So often we look over our shoulders or make decisions based on what we think others expect of us. And we’re often hamstrung by a fear of making mistakes. This is a lesson I learned once I had my own team. I wanted them to feel confident enough to make bold decisions because I believed in them. So I needed to believe in myself as well.
Trust your team. Who you hire is so critical. I can be quite unconventional when I interview job candidates. Sometimes we take a walk or go for a drive or meet for coffee — anything but sit opposite each other in an office. I want to get a sense for the person and not just their qualifications. I need to know that they’re trustworthy and genuine. Once you’ve assembled a team, you need to let go and see it as your job to step back and let them succeed. You’ve chosen them for a reason, right?
Effective leaders are good listeners. I’ve always enjoyed talking with people and listening to their stories. But authentic listening is also something that takes practice. It’s about sincerity, empathy, and transparency. Work is not everything to your employees. Getting to know them as individuals helps them feel cared for. If they’re comfortable being themselves at work, they will feel more confident to trust their instincts (see lesson number one above).
Embrace your curiosity. I’ve always been curious about the world — something I think I developed in school from some inspiring teachers. We are all lifelong learners. Be curious about what’s next in your career and embrace opportunities to try something new. That willingness and curiosity about what lies ahead has served me well in my life.
Find a job that is interesting and fulfilling. I feel truly lucky to have found a profession in education early in my career. Your career is going to be part of your life for a long time, so it’s important to find one that’s fun, interesting and fulfilling. Use that as motivation to drive your work ethic and creativity.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
No doubt — it would be to bring equity to education and ensure all learners have the access and support they need to succeed. Unfortunately, even in wealthy countries, many young people don’t have access to the tools they need or get the support that children from other zip codes receive. One area to focus on would be to bring affordable high-speed internet and devices into low income urban and rural communities. We saw clearly during the early COVID-19 pandemic that students without those access points were more likely to suffer from learning loss. Fortunately, there has been legislation passed at the federal level to increase that access, but there will be more work to do. If more people have access to high quality education, we’ll have a better shot at reducing poverty, curing disease, combatting climate change and more.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
