Name: Lynn Power

Title: Co-Founder & CEO

Organisation: MASAMI

Lynn is the co-founder of MASAMI, clean premium haircare and also the founder of the Conscious Beauty Collective, a group of 60+ indie beauty & wellness founders helping each other grow.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Lynn's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

Trust is all about transparency. Sharing critical information makes it easier for your team and customers to understand where you're coming from. This means not just with the good news, but being able to deliver difficult news too.

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

To me, a vision is about having a clear mental picture of what you want your business to be. And lining up all of your brand tenants to deliver it -- your brand voice, imagery, tonality, partnerships, innovation pipeline and more. Having a mission is about a passion or cause that drives you and being relentless in that goal.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

Feedback is the best way to provide clarity for your employees and set them up for success. This isn't just about constructive criticism, it's also letting them know when something was amazing. This creates more confidence, which leads to empowerment. If an employee is struggling, getting to the bottom of it can unlock a fresh perspective.

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

One of my early mentors was my boss at Ogilvy & Mather Chicago, Tom Yorton. I had to do a presentation to our American Express clients, and as someone who was extremely introverted at the time, this was torture. I did a terrible job, but Tom acknowledged how bad it was and didn't let me off the hook -- he said I was going to do it again the next week.

Other mentors may have just had someone else do it. Or made me feel worse about how bad it was. But once I knew that this was something I had to wrangle with, I gradually improved.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

Focus is difficult. There are so many things pulling our attention away. But having large goals (yearly or monthly) and small goals (weekly or daily) really helps you keep things on track so that if it veers off for a day or two, you can reset and get back to doing what you need to do to meet your milestones.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

I set a large goal for the year and then try to implement smaller goals along the way. I automate as much of the day-to-day work as possible (social posts, email marketing, etc) so that I don't get too bogged down in the weeds, which is easy to happen.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

Start by looking at yourself. Are you too controlling? Have you not communicated expectations to your team? Have you given them clear feedback? Once you can step back, you can usually get clarity on what you need to do to delegate better -- which tasks can be more easily turned over and which people are ready to take them on.