Lisa Price On Leadership & Management

The NY Times, recently ran an interview with Lisa Price, founder and president of Carol’s Daughter on her leadership philosophy and management style.

On her leadership philosophy.

I want people to feel passionate, the way that I do, and feel like they are coming to a family and coming to a place that builds them up, and not a place that tears them down. So that’s my leadership style — keeping people passionate, keeping them inspired. I love to give people feedback. I’ve learned to give negative feedback. I didn’t always like it. But I’ve learned that when you give it, instead of avoiding it, it can help the person.

On early leadership lessons.

In the beginning, I did everything. And then, as I started to add people to help me, a lot of them were family members or friends who were like family. So there wasn’t really a need to have a specific management style, per se.

But when the business changed and started to grow, we had to bring in people with more experience.

Do you remember the first time you were somebody’s boss?

"I was a head writer’s assistant in television production, so the other writer’s assistants reported to me. And it’s not something that I was very good at, because I like to be people’s friend.

It’s not that I need everybody to like me, but I’m a very autonomous person when I work. So when someone says, “This is what I need you to do,” I focus on it, and I do it, and I don’t have to be micromanaged. I don’t get distracted. So I tend to think everybody else is like that.

And when I would come back to someone, figuring that they were done and they were only a third of the way through some work, I’d say: “What’s going on? What happened? Why aren’t you finished?” I had to learn that everybody wasn’t like me. It was good training for what I do now."

On evolution of leadership style.

A. I have learned to be distant without really being distant. I’m very friendly with everybody, but I would get so invested before, and if there was a transition for whatever reason, it would hurt for me to lose that person. And that discomfort is very hard to deal with, and it doesn’t really have a place in business.

So I’ve found this interesting space within myself, where I can have these really great relationships and work closely with people, but still have that distance. I feel like I’m in a place now where I can be close to you and collaborative with you, but I don’t get as emotionally attached.

Her best career advice.

Be open. Your way is not necessarily the only way or the right way. But while you’re open, be assertive. Because I feel like I wasn’t as assertive as I could have been in my earlier years, and I did what other people told me to do. It’s only now that I’m learning to be more assertive. So I think it’s important to find that balance between being open and listening, but also not letting someone bulldoze you into doing what they want to do.

It’s an interesting line that you have to follow. It takes a certain amount of assertiveness, but it also takes a willingness to see how the process works, and not assert your opinion into it, in order to observe and become a part of what’s going on. So it’s just finding that balance. I think you can learn a lot more that way.

Continue reading at the NY Times