Editorial
This article is the third in an ongoing series about Management by Haiku, a concept that Alludo CEO Christa Quarles developed to inspire leaders to focus on their core priorities in order to expedite decision-making; stay on track; be intentional; and go further, faster.
“One problem in business is that we cling to an archetype of what leadership looks like, and we ask everybody to fit it.”
Jenna Fisher said this during a recent conversation where we managed to pick up right where we left off last time, like we always do. I have known Jenna for years. She’s fabulous company when you need to take a walk and talk out an idea, and I consider her both a friend and an inspiration. She serves as managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates and is also a bestselling author. Her latest book is called “To The Top: How Women in Corporate Leadership Are Rewriting the Rules for Success.”
I knew she’d be the right person to weigh in on this part of the Management by Haiku philosophy: To manage by haiku, widen your aperture on what makes a good leader.
I asked Jenna what happens when everybody tries to fit the archetype of a leader. “You lose the best part of your ability to lead, manage and help people and organizations grow,” she said.
I probably don’t have to explain to you what that archetype looks like, or how it acts. But for many, the snapshot of traditional business leadership is full of words like bold, extroverted, aggressive and serious. And more often than not, it’s been dominated by men.
Obviously, this model of leadership leaves so, so, so much on the table. It leaves the powerful, groundbreaking ideas, energy and ability to inspire that comes from people who don’t fit. From a purely financial point of view, it also leaves behind dollars (more on this shortly.)
“Tone Down the Pink.”
Jenna received this suggestion from a well-meaning colleague early in her career. She was a rising leader in the company, and a more senior team member let her know that he was concerned that her proclivity for displaying her color preference via pens, attire and office décor may be making her appear less convincing as leadership material.
Jenna politely but firmly rejected this feedback and carried on with her work — all the way to the top. It’s not an accident that this is the name of her new book, which is a masterclass on women in the workplace. Jenna started out intending to write advice for women on how to thrive in a workplace landscape. But she realized that women aren’t the problem. The landscape is the problem.
“Women make up more than 50% of college graduates, and 71% of valedictorians, but only 9% of CEO slots. Why is that?” Jenna points out. Women are plenty talented and plenty motivated. As with other historically marginalized groups, the onus has always been put on women to work harder while being recognized less, with constant barriers along the way.
They’ve been encouraged to fit into a working world that was designed with a particular leader in mind. And for many of the women Jenna spoke with while working on her book, it meant leaving parts of themselves behind, adopting new personas and hiding the realities of their lives and who they truly were. It meant wasting way too much energy on things that in no way made them a better leader.
When Jenna puts the onus back on the landscape itself, and the institutions within that landscape, that doesn’t mean she’s asking for altruistic or artificial boosts for women. To really change the system, that change has to be rooted in “carnivorous capitalism and data.” (Her words, and I love them.) Study after study shows that companies with higher rates of diversity among their leadership perform better than those with homogenous leadership. There are those dollars I was mentioning.
Expanding your view of what makes a leader isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the financially right thing to do for your business as well.
Related Article: Management by Haiku Means Ditching Your Comfort Zone
Living by Haiku
The whole idea of managing by haiku is distilling broad, convoluted possibilities and decisions down to something distinct and unwavering. When you manage by haiku, you can hold an idea or decision up to your haiku and ask, “Does this fit?” If so, game on. If not, move on.
The haiku doesn’t only apply to your leadership priorities. When talking about this topic, we realized that a haiku can also apply to you as a person, and how you live your life. For Jenna, her haiku would definitely include empowering and elevating women. It would include authenticity. I’m pretty sure it would include pink. When you live by haiku, you don’t waste energy on being something you’re not. Authenticity brings focus that makes you a better leader.
“People who are truly, highly successful are authentic to who they are,” says Jenna. And when they’re in environments that would require them to exist outside of their authenticity, they do what they can to find another place to plant themselves so they can grow.
Or, if they choose to stay, they find a way to be authentic where they are.
Jenna knew she was right to ignore the suggestion to tone down the pink. In fact, it’s practically her trademark. Later, after Jenna had elevated within the company, that same colleague approached her and said, “I owe you an apology. Seems like the pink worked for you.”
Conference
Sep
16
HR Tech Conference Las Vegas 2025
Register
Conference
Oct
27
Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
And that’s the point. It worked. For her. It was never about the pink. The color was part of Jenna embracing and leveraging her whole self to be the best leader she could be. On her terms. No one else’s. And yeah, it worked.
Let’s end with a haiku:
Stuck? Widen your view.
Strength lies in diversity.
Let’s grow to the top.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
