ABOVE THE MEDIAN: How to become an A+ Leader

Apr 30, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Hi ATM family,

I am thrilled for you all to read this month’s newsletter. The topic of what makes a great leader is always relevant and often on people's minds. If you're stepping up as an emerging partner, manager, or climbing the corporate ladder, chances are you're leading a team. It's a significant responsibility. Excellent leadership can unlock immense potential within your organization, while poor leadership can severely undermine results. From the "Above The Median" interviews, I've learned that leadership doesn't have a one-size-fits-all approach; rather, it has many dialects. However, certain practices are clear markers of successful leadership, including 1. leading by example 2. avoiding micromanagement 3. cultivating followership, and 4. continually offering new challenges to top performers to keep them engaged.

This Above The Median edition features insights from three influential leaders: Lisa, who manages a $4B+ P&L business unit; Denise, at the helm of a $9B+ endowment fund; and Kelly, who oversaw a major investment group responsible for $30B. All of these women have a significant quantitative and qualitative impact within their respective areas.

I hope you find their stories as enlightening as I did during our interviews Let’s dive in!

ABOVE THE MEDIAN SPOTLIGHT:

It’d be easy to typecast Lisa Atherton with her blond hair, southern charm, and amazing sense of humor. However, after spending 5 minutes with her talking about the world, you’d be embarrassingly mistaken to underestimate that she is anything but an absolute powerhouse in all facets of her life.

If you’ve ever heard helicopter blades fill the air above you, it's a good bet Lisa Atherton is the maestro behind those running machines. Lisa is the President & CEO of Bell, and a key player in Textron's Corporate Leadership Team. For context, Bell's rotorcraft empire spans more than 13,000 helicopters and is responsible for $4B of Textron's ~$14B in annual revenue. Lisa is the captain of an aerial juggernaut.

Lisa Atherton is a dynamo wrapped in an enigma. She graduated from the Air Force Academy, is a puzzle connoisseur, and a voracious reader. She is also a proud mother and wife. In fact, one of her daily meetings is not related to work at all, it is with her husband. “Every morning, we enjoy our coffees together and have our own family staff meeting. We ask one another, ‘What do you have today? What do you want to do about dinner? How can I support you?’ ” As with most Above The Median woman, Lisa is one of the mystical humans who seems to be able to balance success across all arenas of her life.

Balancing life both at home and in the high-flying world of aviation, Lisa has piloted teams large and small with the precision of a seasoned aviator. Vaulting to VP before the age of 35 and then ascending to the CEO stratosphere, Lisa's career trajectory is a testament to her mastery of leadership alchemy. So, what's her secret sauce? Let's take a peek behind the curtain.

Tactic 1: Understand Motivation

For Lisa, motivation is a key ingredient to get her teams to reach stratospheric outcomes. “On a personal level, I try to understand who my team is, what motivates them and who they want be,” she shares. “If I can dial into what motivates them, then I can inevitably place them in the right roles for the right times. People will work really hard for you if you can motivate them correctly.”

Tactic 2: Challenge Your Team!

Lisa warns against the dangers of complacency. “If people are not challenged, they will get bored and they will leave,” says Lisa. You need to find ways to continue to intellectually engage your top performers. If they feel like they are growing then they will stay. Lisa also elaborates that there are different ways to challenge people—be it through expanding their roles or pushing them into uncharted managerial waters. “Know that you have a few levers to pull when it comes to offering challenging work,” says Lisa.

Lisa extends this wisdom to personal career growth as well. "Hitting the snooze button three times is a sign you're not facing enough challenges."

ABOVE THE MEDIAN SPOTLIGHT:

If you were to encapsulate Denise Strack in a single term, "agile" would be the perfect fit. Denise's agility has been evident in every aspect of her life, from her early days as a top-ranked gymnast to her role as a mother of six, and as the steward of one of the nation's most respected $9 billion endowments for more than two decades.

Denise credits her gymnastics career for instilling in her the values of discipline, prioritization, and relentless effort. Training for 50 hours a week, Denise once ranked among the top 20 gymnasts in the country, a testament to her extraordinary commitment and ability to thrive under pressure. Her level of dedication was extreme, and she learned how to operate in a highly productive state at school. Stanford noticed her talent and offered Denise a full athletic scholarship. “The door to Stanford was pivotal in my life as I would have otherwise not been able to afford to go,” says Denise.

From consulting giant McKinsey to the prestigious corridors of the Stanford Endowment and then to the helm of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Denise's career trajectory has been nothing short of stellar. But it's not just about the board meetings and balance sheets; at the heart of Denise's world is her family.

Denise and her husband balance both large careers and their six children. Denise acknowledges that she can’t do it all, or all at once, so she instills into her family to focus on three things – purpose, community, and joy. “If you can focus your life on those three things, life will be wonderful,” says Denise.

In addition to managing a full household, Denise manages and leads the team at the Moore Foundation. It could not be more fitting then to include Denise in the leadership newsletter. Here's a sneak peek into Denise's playbook for leading with impact:

Tactic 1: Value relationships more than being right

“You need to see the goal as bigger than yourself,” says Denise. Denise prioritizes a team mindset and believes this helps everyone align and work harder towards a common goal.

Tactic 2: Be the general in a war zone

In the face of adversity, Denise believes in being the beacon that guides her team through the storm. She illustrates this with a vivid analogy: "Picture being a general in a crisis, with your team looking to you for direction. You brandish a sheet of paper, proclaiming, 'I have a map, let's move!' Even if that 'map' is merely a blank sheet, your conviction is what matters. It's about leading with boldness and fostering trust amidst chaos."

ABOVE THE MEDIAN SPOTLIGHT:

Kelly Williams, a luminary in the realm of private equity and Founding Chair of PEWIN, elicits awe when you speak to her about her journey to get to where she is now. PEWIN is the largest global network of senior women in private equity, boasting an impressive cohort of over 1200 members. Beyond PEWIN, Kelly orchestrated the inception of Prudential's Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG), a venture that grew into a juggernaut managing a staggering $30 billion in assets, spanning private equity, real estate, and infrastructure domains. Additionally, Kelly steered CFIG seamlessly through transitions to DLJ and Credit Suisse, before assuming the President role of Private Markets at GCM Grosvenor until 2015 and Senior Advisor till 2019.

While Kelly’s career seems glamorous, she didn’t start at the top of the totem pole. As the daughter of a police officer, Kelly grew up in a middle income household and was the first person in her family to go to college. She had an affinity for law at a young age (writing her first contract at age 8 to buy a new lunchbox) and that translated into her maturing into a successful lawyer. Kelly knows how to stand up for herself in difficult situations while also being able to have empathetic conversations with colleagues.

Kelly has a framed photo in her house of Dory from Finding Nemo that says “Just keep swimming.” It reminds her to let go of the perfectionism ideal and remember that situations are rarely as bad as we make them out to be.

Kelly has been recognized with many awards for her esteemed career to date including being recognized by the National Organization for Women in 2012 with its Women of Power and Influence Award and was named in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 as one of The Most Powerful Women in Finance by American Banker Magazine.

Through Kelly’s decades of experience, she’s honed in on top leadership qualities and understands what it takes to be a successful leader.

Tactic 1: Cultivate followership

“Look in nature,” says Kelly, “there are little ducklings, little bear cubs, little deer - they all follow the mama.” We all grow up naturally knowing we need to follow mom. It is biological to want to follow someone that we trust and knows how to get things done.

Hillary Clinton had every attribute possible to lead our country and yet she couldn’t cultivate followership. “Women need to understand that when people put their careers in your hands, they believe that you can get things over the finish line. It is as much about managing your subordinates as it is about managing up,” says Kelly.

Kelly learned the importance of followership when she sold her business. Credit Suisse had announced her company was being sold before the deal had fully closed. Kelly had 125 people working directly for her. She had to keep her employees calm and maintain trust before the deal was over the line. “It’s not just about speaking up for yourself, it’s about looking behind you and making sure your team trusts you with their careers.”

If you can get people to follow you, you will be a successful leader. Don’t forget to bring people up with you.

Tactic 2: People will be loyal for things other than money

Kelly believes strongly that if you can create a human to human bond with someone, they will be loyal to you beyond the number on a paycheck. “Authentically care. As a leader, it buys you the opportunity to take some risks and have people follow along behind you. Pick up the phone and check in on people. It goes a long way.”

Tactic 3: Take credit when you are successful

Kelly’s third tactic is to claim your success. Too many times we give up the authorship of something we accomplished. “You can humbly take credit for what you’ve done as a leader. An example of this could be, ‘So glad that you saw my vision and appreciate your support,’ “ says Kelly.