Bozoma Saint John on the Modern Reality of Leadership

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0:35The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And Trax brings style with value you can count on. All infused with tech that has your back. So your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet. Together let's drive. I think in the executive world, it gets tricky because, you know, you're representing yourself as an executive, but you're also representing the company. You are an executive in the company. You have a point of view. And if you express it, it then becomes the opinion of the company. Where I think sometimes executives get scared, of course, is that their own personal view is going to be taken out of context or, you know, punish the company in a way.

1:25And I'm like, that is the truth. So grow up. You know, take a stand, say something, you know, and if you get fired, so be it. You know, it's like that happens. It's like at some point you've got to stand for something. And I remember that I was having a lot of these conversations five years ago when, you know, it's like Black Lives Matter was popping off and, you know, like George Floyd had been murdered and there'd been like, you know, people were like, oh, should we make a statement? And I had so many friends in the executive space. We were in our little group chats and, you know, people were like, what should I say?

2:03And I'm like, well, what do you believe? You know? Start there. You got to start with wherever you are. The idea of authenticity, because it's such an overused word, people forget what it actually means. You know, it's like if you are the CEO or anywhere in the C-suite and you have an opinion about something and you express it. First of all, this is way different from 20 years ago where the, you know, the society did not expect to understand who's, you know, behind the wall. You know, it's like now people want to know what did the CEO think? Where do they stand? What does the company care for?

2:40Like, those are all things that our consumers and our audiences want to know. And so you have to express it. Unfortunately, it's like if that has backlash, then that is the job. Still waiting in line? Again? That's time you'll never get back. Save time and money with Stamps.com. Over 4 million businesses have skipped the line with Stamps.com. Join them to save up to 90 % off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to Stamps.com and use code PODCAST for a free welcome gift.

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