Femtech CEO on Leadership: Don’t ‘Need More | Global Market News
“I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership models,” Sarah O’Leary, CEO of femtech company Willow, tells Entrepreneur. “ There’s been a lot of noise and news around, ‘We need more masculine energy in the workplace.’ It makes you question as a leader: What is my style? How effective is my style? I don’t believe that we need more masculine energy.”Image Credit: Courtesy of Willow
O’Leary characterizes her management type and the tradition at Willow, the model behind “patented leak-proof” wearable breast pumps and their equipment, as one which facilities transparency and empathy to construct trust within the office. According to the CEO, groups which have trust in one another — and of their leaders — are more more likely to perform in a method that is conducive to success.Related: Strong Leaders Use These 4 Strategies to Build Trust in Their Workplace
“I believe [flexibility in the workplace] makes us more productive.”Instilling trust within crew members means emphasizing a stage of autonomy, O’Leary says. Willow is a “very flexible workplace,” O’Leary explains, noting that the company has by no means given its staff return-to-office mandates. As a mom of two herself, O’Leary is especially cognizant of the on a regular basis hurdles crew members who’re additionally dad and mom face, and she or he desires to assist them in any method potential.” If my kids’ elementary school concert is happening at 10 a.m., I’m going to sign off,” O’Leary says. “I’m going to go to that, then come back and keep going with my day. I don’t believe that makes us any less productive. I believe it makes us more productive. I feel very passionately that we can build a tremendously successful business while also operating in ways that feel authentic to our leadership and team.”Related: This Mother of 6 Created a Hit Children’s Brand Without Any Industry Experience — Here’s Her No. 1 Secret for Entrepreneurial Parents Who Want to Achieve Big Goals
Willow is navigating its subsequent growth chapter with O’Leary on the helm. The company just lately introduced its acquisition of UK-based femtech innovator Elvie, which is predicted to spice up income by 50%. Willow additionally continues to associate with organizations that assist dad and mom. To kick off its Mother’s Day marketing campaign this yr, the company introduced a partnership with Canopie, a preventive maternal health care platform, to donate a million hours of maternal mental health assist.”[Being CEO is] a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”Prior to getting into the CEO position at Willow, O’Leary served because the company’s chief business officer and “loved” the work. O’Leary has mirrored a lot over the previous yr on her resolution to turn out to be CEO, and she or he says that ambition wasn’t her major motivator; as an alternative, she acknowledged that she was the best individual for the job at this second.”I cared deeply about our mission,” O’Leary explains. “I had a vision for where we could go. I understood the commercial operations of the business and could bring that together with our product teams. In some sense, [becoming CEO] has put me in a servant leader kind of role — It’s a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”
Related: 10 Leadership Lessons From Successful CEOs — An Insightful Guide for the Ambitious EntrepreneurOn the finish of the day, O’Leary means that leaders make sure their motivation is genuine to them — as a result of that is what’s going to help them lead by way of probably the most troublesome instances.”New tariffs are announced, and you’ve got to figure that out,” O’Leary says. “It is challenge after challenge, and the organization looks to you and says, ‘What are we going to do?’ This role is really about being willing to take responsibility for the people, products and customers. It’s not all glitz and glamor. You’re the first person who gets all the tough questions.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership models,” Sarah O’Leary, CEO of femtech company Willow, tells Entrepreneur. “ There’s been a lot of noise and news around, ‘We need more masculine energy in the workplace.’ It makes you question as a leader: What is my style? How effective is my style? I don’t believe that we need more masculine energy.”Image Credit: Courtesy of Willow
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