Key insights

• 🏆 🏆 Genuine success demands sacrifice; the notion of work-life balance is overly simplistic.
• 💪 💪 Hard work and grit outshine talent; commitment is key to achieving extraordinary results.
• 💼 💼 Emma's company champions equity for talent, addressing gaps like inclusive sizing in fashion.
• 🌱 🌱 Empathy can be a double-edged sword in leadership; tough decisions are part of the role.
• 🏢 🏢 A supportive partner enhances ambition; remote work can hinder personal and professional growth.
• 🚀 🚀 Effective leadership necessitates decisive action over seeking approval; being a people pleaser isn't viable.
• 🧐 🧐 Flexibility doesn't imply a lack of commitment; extraordinary efforts lead to extraordinary outcomes.
• 🔍 🔍 Rejection is often a stepping stone in the journey to success; resilience shapes great leaders.

Q&A

• What does Emma mean by leadership requiring decisiveness? 🚀

  Emma Grady asserts that effective leadership is about taking decisive action rather than seeking universal approval from others. She maintains that one cannot be a leader and a people-pleaser simultaneously, emphasizing continuous improvement and proactive measures as essential traits for successful leaders.

• What role does a supportive partner play in ambition according to Emma? 🏢

  Emma highlights the importance of having a supportive partner in fostering ambition and self-belief. She believes that a non-competitive partnership can significantly enhance one's professional journey, while also critiquing remote work for its negative effects on company culture and personal development opportunities.

• How does Emma handle empathy as a leader? 🌱

  Emma struggles with balancing empathy in her leadership role, especially when making tough decisions such as firing employees. She has evolved from shielding her team from bad news to involving them in problem-solving, learning from her past and understanding the significance of accountability within her team.

• What is Emma's perspective on equity and inclusivity in business? 💼

  Emma founded a company focused on providing equity to talent from the outset, seeking to address gaps in inclusive sizing within the fashion industry. She critiques hustle culture and stresses that extraordinary effort is necessary for extraordinary results, referencing her own companies, Good American and Skims, as examples of this philosophy.

• How does grit factor into success? 💪

  Emma emphasizes that grit and initiative are more crucial than natural talent in standing out in competitive environments. She asserts that her own success stemmed from hard work rather than formal education, highlighting that a relentless drive to improve often leads to greater achievements.

• What does Emma Greed say about work-life balance? 🤔

  Emma Greed challenges the idea of work-life balance, asserting that true success requires significant sacrifices. She believes that achieving greatness often means dedicating time beyond regular hours, and suggests that asking about work-life balance in interviews indicates a potential lack of commitment to one's career.

• 00:00 Emma Greed reveals that genuine success requires sacrifice, challenging the myth of work-life balance and emphasizing grit over talent. 🏆
• 01:32 Emma emphasizes the importance of hard work and grit over talent in achieving success, stating that commitment often requires going above and beyond standard expectations. 💪
• 03:03 Emma created a company providing equity to talent, filling gaps in inclusive sizing, while addressing the harsh realities of success and the emotional toll of being a CEO. 💼
• 04:32 Emma shares her struggle with empathy as a leader, particularly when having to make tough decisions like firing staff, and reflects on her personal growth from early challenges. 🌱
• 06:03 Emma emphasizes the importance of a supportive partner in ambition and critiques remote work for stunting professional growth. 🏢
• 07:40 Leadership requires tough decisions and action over mere inspiration. Emma Grady emphasizes the need to act decisively rather than seek universal approval. 🚀