Executives at DoorDash, AirBnb, Sephora, and ServiceNow agree that leaders need to be agile and a “swan” in the pond
There’s often no shortage of fires to put out during a normal workweek, but according to leaders who spoke at… luckSummit of the most powerful womenkey Effective leadership It’s not just about solving problems: it’s increasingly about tackling what matters most to the company.
“As we’ve seen the world become more complex – everything is moving fast – I see further expansion across all of our CEO roles because we can’t stay silent. Everyone needs to think about growth,” said Zena Arnold, CMO at the company. Sephora.
When change leads to chaos, employees find themselves looking to leadership for stability. Tia Sheringham, General Counsel at DoorDashShe said she tries to model her style after a calm swan.
“My team looks to me to be calm, and I consider myself a duck — or maybe a swan on a good day — that lives on water,” Sheringham said. “…They look to me not only to be focused, but to articulate what actually matters, like this is what matters. This is where you should be focused.”
Photography by Stuart Isett/Fortune
Eli MertzCFO at AirbnbEcho the value of flexibility and context across leadership.
“Scaling has this element that requires you to be agile and figure out what’s the next thing to get done, and where can I uniquely help?” Mertz said.
Even if someone doesn’t have the right skill set to solve a problem, identifying the issues at hand and the right people to address them is a priority for her — and something she encourages her team to do as well. Mertz said she learned this early in her career Netflixwhere I realized the value of giving people context during unexpected times.
“In a complex organization or a world that can be uncertain, context is really what matters most,” Mertz said.
Education as the “great equalizer”
Jackie Kahne, Chief People Officer and AI Enabler at Service nowHe added that education This ends up being a key component in building a confident and agile workforce.
“I think education is the great equalizer,” Kani said, adding that it provides workers with the courage to try something new without the fear of breaking something, which ultimately spurs innovation.
These leaders across industries agree that staying calm, providing context, and enabling learning are the hallmarks of modern leadership — and sometimes, being an agile swan is just as important as solving the next big problem.
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