FEATURE CONVERSATION

Power is earned by listening to people and giving them a chance to achieve success.

Effective action begins with listening. Peterson quoted that the worst thing a new leader can do upon arrival is saying, “I have all the answers” and bringing their own people with them to change an organisation. Her approach is to find voices that have been overlooked below the senior management team and spend time to understand their opinions.

Identifying and addressing blockers helps build the respect needed to galvanise change. Peterson observed that many people outwardly agree with a new leader while quietly resisting change, expecting to outlast them. Identifying and removing these blockers shows the organisation that the leader understands its inner workings, and builds the respect needed for culture change to take hold.

Delivering results builds the trust needed to lead. Peterson strongly believes in winning the trust of employees by helping them to achieve success or turning the business around. She drew parallelisms to politics, where people trust leaders who get the basics right for them.

Successful transformation requires preserving what works while confronting what holds an organisation back.

Organisations should acknowledge the drivers of past success but change what holds them back. Peterson joined long-established companies in times of crisis, including Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Her approach is to decide which parts of the culture should endure, such as what makes the company unique, and be clear about what must change to ensure progress.

In a crisis, fixing problems should take priority, before rebuilding trust. When Peterson joined J&J, its stock had been flat for a decade and many of its businesses had lost category leadership. Its over-the-counter (OTC) business was also rebuilding after regulatory problems forced its products off the shelves. She worked with the recovery team to form a clear, disciplined work plan and then focused on rebuilding trust with customers, retailers and regulators.

Culture comes first before strategy. Peterson quoted her experience in Microsoft, which had a culture where people competed to look smarter than the other and were reluctant to flag problems. Satya Nadella, an insider respected by the company’s engineers, made fixing this culture his priority. He recognised that without the right culture, no strategy or new technology could be deployed sustainably over the long term. Satya advocated collaborating, staying curious, flagging problems early and asking for help.

Power is best used to build diverse teams, empower people who understand local markets, and pass hard-won experience on to others.

Culture diversity is essential to help solve complex problems. Working across Asia, Europe and Latin America taught Peterson that different cultures make decisions differently. Leaders who prioritise diversity are more likely to gain exposure to better solutions, helping them navigate the complexities of our ever-changing world.

Peterson defined “power” as her ability to leverage her position to shape hiring trends at her organisations. Peterson described herself as someone who was guarded and believed in overachieving to earn the trust of peers, especially within her past experience in male-dominated environments. As she climbed up the corporate ladder, Peterson realised that whoever controlled hiring could change the organisation’s culture. Today, she leverages her position to advocate women and ethnic diversity, contributing to the vibrancy and success of her organisations.

Power can also manifest in the form of experience rather than direct authority. At Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, she draws on her cross-sector experiences to advise investment teams, often by posing a few key questions that help them assess investment opportunities. Beyond investments, she mentors young professionals and CEOs, passing on the lessons she has gathered throughout her career.

Quotes

“One of the things that is super important is you establish your power and your influence by earning it, by listening to people, by giving them a chance.”

“You need to learn from others, you need to be collaborative, you need to always be curious… and celebrate that versus saying, “I figured this out on my own.””

“If you surround yourself with people who have the exact same ideas as you do, why bother working on a team or having a team of people?”
– Sandra E. Peterson