From the course: Become a Courageous Female Leader

Authentic leaders overcoming barriers

From the course: Become a Courageous Female Leader

Authentic leaders overcoming barriers

- Neela was 27-years-old when she had the opportunity to present in front of her Board of Directors. So you can imagine at that early stage of her career, she was thrilled at this huge opportunity. She was overprepared, she was so excited about what she and her team had worked hard on and to present it. So she walked into that boardroom, that all-male boardroom, and was completely unprepared for what happened. They were condescending. They cut her off at every turn. In fact, half the questions had nothing to do with what she was actually presenting about. She walked out of that room and said, "I'm done. "I will never be treated like that ever again. "I don't aspire to be like anybody in that room." And so her CEO rushed out after her, and he could see that there was a decision brewing in her head: "Should I stay or should I go?" And he said to her, "Okay, Neela. "You could walk away right now "and nothing will probably change, "or you could stay and lead that change." Well, lucky enough, Neela said, "You know what. "I am going to stay, "and I'm going to make it my mission "that no other woman is ever treated "or has that type of experience again." So 10 years later, Neela was in that boardroom as a director. Neela Montgomery is CEO of Crate and Barrel. I had the opportunity to interview Neela and Reese Witherspoon, two tremendous and authentic leaders as they talked about some of the barriers that they overcame and really what they used as their fuel, whether it was a frustrating moment like what Neela experienced early on that she didn't want replicated for other women, or Reese who was underestimated as she tried to break through from being an actress to being a producer. So sometimes we see, as I naively had done in the beginning of my research, women at the highest levels of their game and imagine that things must be easy for them. But we forget how much they had to overcome and still today. But knowing that you have that fuel with you is really what's going to, I think, make it the most rewarding journey at the end of the day. There's more to the story, much more depth, because even though Neela made it her mission to ensure that women were treated entirely different, nobody had that experience, she changed the game from a representation standpoint. As CEO of Crate and Barrel, now more than half of the management team is comprised of women as well as her executive team. So when we have an equal state at the table, our voice is valued, is respected. We're able to show up, be heard, and contribute fully. It changes not only the dynamic, but it changes the business all for the better.

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