One of our 27 recipients of the 2009 Ascendancy Awards for Business Women, as president of Travelocity Business, Lesley Harris leads one of the fastest growing travel management companies in North America. From its origin in 2003 serving unmanaged business travelers, Travelocity Business now has more than $800 million in travel spend under management.

Prior to Travelocity Business, Harris was vice president of sales and customer care for Travelocity, responsible for leading Travelocity's offline global call center enterprise in support of consumer sales and service. Before that, she was vice president of the small business division for Sabre Travel Network where she transitioned the small business division from direct account management to a service center structure. Prior to her experience in sales, Harris was vice president of North America operations services for Sabre Travel Network.

Harris started her career with Sabre in 1995 and held various positions in finance, operations and sales at Sabre Travel Network before transitioning to Travelocity in the summer of 2005. Harris earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in international studies from Miami University in Ohio. She also received a diploma from Kansai University of Foreign Studies in Japan.

A highly accomplished, poised and professional woman in senior leadership, Lesley Harris is a perfect candidate for w2wlink.com’s C-Link Suite Interview with the Editor series. We met her at the Women’s Museum Stories from the Top event celebrating women’s history month.

w2wlink.com: What advice do you have on presenting an idea to people in your company?

Lesley Harris: When I have a big idea, I normally work the room beforehand and present it to others so that I can fine tune the value of the idea, as well as continue to develop how to best communicate it. Usually when I am at the stage of presenting the idea to the group, the presentation goes smoother and the buy in is more effective than if I hadn’t done the previous steps.

w2wlink.com: Are there any finer communication technique aspects that you recommend in positioning oneself as capable of having strategic, leadership-oriented ideas?

Lesley Harris: I am conscious of the need to demonstrate flexibility of style. Being a younger woman, it’s presumed that I know how to be soft and go along with other’s ideas. You have to demonstrate that you can take the tough stance, say no, and make a firm decision.

w2wlink.com: How about when the idea is for a client or affiliate?

Lesley Harris: I have found it to be especially important to learn as much about the client or partner and their needs and resources as possible. When we can understand their goals, their resources and their limitations accurately, we can come up with the best solutions. Ideas are better understood and bought in to from the start, as well as implemented, when a client or partner knows that their needs, resources and limitations have been carefully and accurately reviewed and considered.

w2wlink: In either case, whether it is an internal or external stakeholder to whom you are presenting your new idea, is there anything else you recommend about making that presentation?

Lesley Harris: What makes a critical difference to any presentation of a new idea is showing that you’ve done the research and due diligence on the idea and understand and can show how the idea fits with the needs of the stakeholders.

w2wlink: How important do you think networking has been to your success?

Lesley Harris: I think networking is very important. I have actively networked throughout my career.

w2wlink: What kinds of future goals do you have for career growth?

Lesley Harris: I’d like to continue adding value and contributing and making a difference. It also has to continue to work with my life and family.

Organizations that are mentioned in the interview include Travelocity.com, Travelocitybusiness.com and Sabre-Holdings.com.