What are the key milestones on your path to leadership?
I’ve been in New York for about 15 years now. I moved here right after I graduated from college and since then I've been in the marketing, tech and brand world, a lot of which mix together today.
Right now, I'm a creative at Facebook, specifically the Creative Shop within Facebook.
I work with what we call disruptor brands like startups and high growth companies who are trying to figure out what they need to do on Facebook and Instagram in order to grow. Particularly how they can succeed from an acquisition and brand building standpoint. So, my role is to advise them creatively.
I dedicate my nights and weekends to a lot of other things. I recently founded Productive, a small angel investment fund that I founded with a couple of other partners about a year ago. Since then we have invested in and supported a few different startups in various industries from health tech to legal tech. We provide them with capital but more importantly we advise them and get them off the ground.
What are the key challenges you have faced as a leader?
I think the most challenging things in my career have been less around the work and more around teams. The challenges have come with balancing and managing relationships across the teams I’ve been a part of or leading. It’s not always easy to know when is the right time to cut the cord and let someone know they are not a good fit. Those tend to be the most difficult decisions to make. I think in those moments it’s important to have a co-founder, partner or someone you can trust and lean on for advice. That support system is so crucial. Not only for solving problems but for getting the emotional support you sometimes need.
Describe your leadership style / what are your core values as a leader?
The thing I value most is impact. It’s not about how much time you spend or how many hours you put in. To me, it’s about the output. So, if you have the craft and commitment to get all your work done Monday through Thursday and don’t come in on Friday, I don’t see any issue with that. I think that in more corporate settings there’s too much value placed on time. In my opinion, the best leaders focus on the craft and quality of the work; something I try to embody every single day. The reality is that sometimes an idea comes to you in the morning in the shower or while you are out having dinner with a friend. I believe that what you create is what should be measured, not necessarily how much time you’ve put in.
I also believe that it's about having grit. And being relentless in what you are pursuing. You may not have the answer in what you are solving right away, but grit will get you there. To be honest, I feel that women and anyone who has faced adversity in their life tend to have the resilience that it takes.
What advice do you have for women who are trying to establish themselves as leaders?
Leadership for me is not managing a team of 100; it's actually being exceptional at leading by example. More than anything, lead with the work, but at the same time be vocal about it, don't be afraid to talk about and emphasize the impact you are creating. Because at the end of the day, you often need to create more visibility than your male counterparts need to.
How would you advise organisations who want to foster diversity and gender equity in leadership?
I think we all have biases. I think it is important to promote women and people of color, but at the same time we all grow up in certain cultures and societies that reinforce certain things in our own minds.
The reason that my venture arm is called Productive is because we're looking for startups that are product-focused. I'm always mindful that I am evaluating the actual product that they're making, that it is the most important thing. I do my best to give myself extremely objective criteria so that I’m always evaluating a new potential venture by their product.
Are there any things that you would say are myths around what it means to be a leader?
Being a leader doesn’t always mean that you are always managing extremely large teams. I get calls from recruiters all the time about new positions and their first question is always how many people do I currently manage. I think there is a myth out there about how climbing the corporate ladder entails a linear way of doing things, and while there certainly are a lot of people who love management, mentoring and forming teams, I also think there are different ways of leading and growing.
