Naomi Wheeless, Global Head of Customer Success at Square shares how being the youngest executive and the only black woman in many rooms, shaped her leadership. We talk about the importance of confidence, how to build new leadership skills and so much more.
Here are my top three takeaways from our conversation:
Do it NOW. Naomi shares how many people come to her for career advice and say something like, “I always wanted to be a lawyer but I can’t imagine giving three years to law school.” She reminds them that time will pass either way, so three years from now you can either still be here in talking about how you wish you were a lawyer, or have completed law school. What activities or dreams are you putting off?
Treat professional development as a business problem. Naomi reflects on when she received some tough feedback about her leadership. At first she took the feedback personally, but once she was able to reframe it as a business problem that needed to be addressed, she was able to look inward and create an authentic, actionable plan to resolve it. What would be possible if you viewed feedback as a data to solve a business problem?
Write it down. One of Naomi’s superpowers is organization, leveraging tools to keep her on top of what’s going on across her global team. Whether it’s typing notes in Evernote or adding to her lists in Todoist, having the discipline to write down what matters to her and her team, ensures she stays on top of work deliverables and what’s important to her team. How can you create systems to keep yourself organized?
Mojo Mondays Bootcamp is here to show you what’s possible in your life. I hope these notes and my weekly MOJO coaching tip at the end of the interview help you find your mojo each week and move closer to what matters most to you.