Business

Bring Your Authentic Self Into the Workplace

Lesson time 14:19 min

To lead a team through innovation, you must first gain the trust and buy-in of your employees. Roz discusses the importance of integrating your values into your leadership style to ensure you are prioritizing what’s important to you.

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Topics include: How to Hire & Manage Authentic Talent • Time Management • Be Clear on Your Role • Prioritize Family • The Importance of Authenticity

Rosalind Brewer

Teaches Business Innovation

Former Fortune 500 CEO Rosalind Brewer has transformed companies like Walmart, Starbucks, and Walgreens— now she’ll teach you how to make an impact at any level.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] ROSALIND G. BREWER: So in this lesson, we'll explore what does it mean to bring you into the workplace. And we'll talk about that in detail and talk about why it's important to find that center for yourself so that you can contribute at your maximum level. Authenticity is so important for innovation because companies need genuine, original thinkers, not copycats. Allowing people to be themselves creates a safe place for new ideas. And when we feel supported and trusted, we can take risks, opening the door for innovation. The work environment tends to be where many of us spend the majority of our time. And I can recall times in my career when I would be one person outside of work and a different person when I came to work. That was the most complicated time in my life. And as a leader, it is important for us to think about how do we create an environment in the workplace so that people don't have to transition themselves, feel like they give something up in order to come to work. Our lives can be complicated. We're caretakers. We're leaders in the community. We're leaders at work. We're family members. We're parents. And that reality says, step into the workplace. Deliver, contribute at your highest level. But also, too, it's important that, as leaders, you recognize that your employee base comes to work having experienced something that we all don't understand the day or night before. So giving and creating an environment where people can feel whole actually raises their contribution towards the business. It gives them the feeling that we're real, we're authentic, we all live a full life and work is one part of it. And if you're the employee in this example, you have to learn how to set your own boundaries and feel confident in stating those or living through your own values and making sure that you express those appropriately so that people can respect who you are, because this is about mutual respect that leads to authenticity that leads to deep relationships. This is a decision crossroad for you. I'll give you an example. So you're at dinner with your family and you get a call from me. You know that we've got a project pending. I'm curious. Would you take the call or would you text me back and let me know that you'll get back to me as soon as possible? So what happens? Work is busy. Life is busy. You get a call from Roz. You see it pop up on your cell phone. You're busy. You're with the family. You're at dinner. How do you respond to that? And I look for those kinds of answers to either see if they're going to say, absolutely, I'm going to take that call. What I want to hear from them is that, I'll send you a text message and get right back to you as soon as I can because, for me, that means they're modeling the behavior that I want them to have, that family is priority. And they do feel a sense of urgency to respond to my message, or my note, or my call in due order. When I am s...

About the Instructor

After years of helming the ship at some of the country’s most iconic companies, including Walmart, Starbucks, and Walgreens, Rosalind Brewer has forged ahead in her quest to innovate while maintaining deep integrity. Now she’s sharing CEO-level strategies for team leaders of all types. Learn to promote innovation, gain buy-in on projects you believe in, and stand out as the leader you know yourself to be.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Rosalind Brewer

Former Fortune 500 CEO Rosalind Brewer has transformed companies like Walmart, Starbucks, and Walgreens— now she’ll teach you how to make an impact at any level.

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