588: Tara Viswanathan (CEO Of Rupa) - Handling Rejection, Creating Magical Moments, Leadership Hiring 'Must-Haves,' Learnings From Lululemon, and Keys To a Great Off-Site Retreat
Sign in to listenEpisode Description
Order our new book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3VJoYFZ Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com This episode is supported by Insight Global. Insight Global is a staffing company dedicated to empowering people. Please CLICK HERE for premier staffing and talent. • Rejection is a learned skill. Tara has gone through rejection therapy. Go out and ask for something crazy big. Get comfortable with being rejected. Hearing the word no. Go big. • Confidence is about keeping promises to yourself. Create evidence for yourself. • Create magical moments for the people you're leading. Show them how much you care for them. The small touches are a big deal. The magic is in the small details. • How to have fun at your company: Fun (and culture) cannot be outsourced. You cannot delegate "culture carriers." You (the leader) are the ultimate culture carrier. It has to come from you. • "Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money." • "If it's too easy, you get soft." • It's important to set high expectations for the people you're leading. "The boss I respected the most was a hard ass and very demanding." • The difference between nice and kind: • Nice = Soft, easy. • Kind = Set high expectations. Hold you accountable to them. You're better long-term being kind. • Tara's "must-haves" when hiring a leader: • Raw intelligence - How quickly can you learn? Must be a clear and critical thinker. • Fantastic communicator • Intensity, drive, hunger • Sense of humor - Need to be able to laugh and have fun. • Values: • Business owner • Kid at heart • Design thinking - Craft for the end-user • Peak performance • Be human • Keys to a great off-site retreat • Craft for the people • High energy • Sense of connection - get to know each other • Peak performance workbook - set goals • Small touches - personalized gifts for the team (like picture frames with personalized pictures in them) • Create magical moments to connect • Focus on the arrival - make it special • Eliminate loneliness - Assigned seats, name tags, conversation prompts (especially helps introverts) • Tara worked at LuluLemon while in grad school at Stanford. It was a useful learning experience for her. She worked for a world-class manager. • What Tara learned from her parents: • Leadership is about modeling the right behaviors. • Advice - "If you want to be extraordinary, you can't fit in." • "Give way more than everybody else." • "Follow great people and be around greatness." • Tara created a 50-slide PowerPoint while going for a role as a part-time content writer. Going above and beyond for that leader left an impression and that woman who Tara impressed remains a mentor, investor, and friend to this day more than a decade later. You never know what will happen if you consistently over-deliver for people.