Femtech CEO on Management: Don’t ‘Want Extra Masculine Power’

“I’ve been considering a quantity about leadership models,” Sarah O’Leary, CEO of femtech corporate Willow, tells Entrepreneur. “ There’s been a lot of noise and news around, ‘We need more masculine energy in the workplace.’ It makes you question as a leader: What is my style? How effective is my style? I don’t believe that we need more masculine energy.”

^{Symbol Credit score: Courtesy of Willow}

O’Leary characterizes her leadership style and the tradition at Willow, the logo in the back of “patented leak-proof” wearable breast pumps and their equipment, as one who facilities transparency and empathy to form consider inside the place of job. In line with the CEO, groups that experience consider in each and every alternative — and of their leaders — are much more likely to serve as in some way that’s conducive to luck.

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“I believe [flexibility in the workplace] makes us more productive.”

Instilling consider inside of staff contributors way emphasizing a degree of sovereignty, O’Leary says. Willow is a “very flexible workplace,” O’Leary explains, noting that the corporate hasn’t ever given its staff return-to-office mandates. As a mom of 2 herself, O’Leary is especially cognizant of the on a regular basis hurdles staff contributors who’re additionally oldsters face, and she or he needs to aid them in anyway conceivable.

“ If my kids’ elementary school concert is happening at 10 a.m., I’m going to sign off,” O’Leary says. “I’m going to go to that, then come back and keep going with my day. I don’t believe that makes us any less productive. I believe it makes us more productive. I feel very passionately that we can build a tremendously successful business while also operating in ways that feel authentic to our leadership and team.”

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Willow is navigating its after enlargement bankruptcy with O’Leary on the helm. The corporate not too long ago introduced its acquisition of UK-based femtech innovator Elvie, which is predicted to spice up earnings by way of 50%. Willow additionally continues to spouse with organizations that aid oldsters. To kick off its Mother’s Day marketing campaign this time, the corporate announced a partnership with Canopie, a preventive maternal condition help platform, to donate a million hours of maternal psychological condition aid.

“[Being CEO is] a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”

Previous to getting into the CEO position at Willow, O’Leary served as the corporate’s prominent industrial officer and “loved” the paintings. O’Leary has mirrored a quantity over the generation time on her resolution to become CEO, and she or he says that ambition wasn’t her number one motivator; in lieu, she identified that she used to be the fitting particular person for the activity at this year.

“I cared deeply about our mission,” O’Leary explains. “I had a vision for where we could go. I understood the commercial operations of the business and could bring that together with our product teams. In some sense, [becoming CEO] has put me in a servant leader kind of role — It’s a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”

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On the finish of the era, O’Leary means that leaders assemble certain their motivation is unique to them — as a result of that’s what is going to aid them top thru essentially the most tricky instances.

“New tariffs are announced, and you’ve got to figure that out,” O’Leary says. “It is challenge after challenge, and the organization looks to you and says, ‘What are we going to do?’ This role is really about being willing to take responsibility for the people, products and customers. It’s not all glitz and glamor. You’re the first person who gets all the tough questions.”