The LPM “Magpie” Awards offer a means to celebrate industry accomplishments on an ongoing basis, recognizing the loss prevention professionals, teams, solution providers, law enforcement partners, and others that demonstrate a stellar contribution to the profession. Nominate your peers at Excellence[at]LPportal.com.
Excellence in Leadership
John Liesching, Vice President of Asset Protection, CVS Health
“I am a strong advocate of having an authentic, servant leadership style—one that fosters a high level of engagement at all levels,” said Liesching. “A highly engaged team is a high-performing team. This helps achieve the desired outcomes while building an environment where people at all levels want to build and grow their career.”
Liesching spent more than twenty-five years in management consulting before joining CVS Health, partnering with clients to solve complex issues across all facets of retail. “I have always strived to create a value-led, data-driven culture and mindset, while institutionalizing core values anchored on trust, authenticity, accountability, innovation, and strong, productive partnerships across the enterprise. In doing so, we seek to prevent issues from happening, rather than trying to recover from one that already happened. Our focus on various proactive strategies and tactics often yields more benefits than reactive ones.”
For those looking to achieve lasting success, Liesching feels that drive and flexibility set you apart. “It’s critical to have a curious mind, think innovatively, challenge appropriately, build trust and confidence at all levels, make strategic bets, evolve to always be relevant, create followership, and deliver on all key commitments,” he explained. “Seeing this success in both the broader team and individually as each develops in their respective careers is among the things I am most proud of.”
As a leader, he believes balance is a key contributor to the success of the team. “In the most simplistic terms, accomplished leadership focuses on three primary capabilities: first, delivering value; second, operating effectively and efficiently; and third, developing and growing people. Achieving an optimal balance of these qualities, including knowing when to shift emphasis between, is critical to driving sustainable results and fostering a culture that wins.”
