Walgreens CEO on the bumpy path to top-level leadership

Walgreens CEO on the bumpy path to top-level leadership | Social skills are increasingly critical for CEOs | Q&A: Hershey CEO on essential leadership skills Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( June 22, 2022 [WFF Leadership SmartBrief]( Advancing and Empowering Women Leaders [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [SHARE](  [] A Leader's Edge [] [Walgreens CEO on the bumpy path to top-level leadership]( [Walgreens CEO on the bumpy path to top-level leadership]( Brewer (Charles Eshelman/Getty Images) Rosalind Brewer says she sometimes took a step back in her career on the path to becoming CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, when she saw those steps as a way to develop the skills she would need to grow in leadership and have an impact in the Black community. Brewer now uses her status to help new hires find their voice because early in her career, she says, "I actually didn't have the courage to raise my hand and say the things that needed to be said in those settings." Full Story: [CNN]( (6/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Career Progression: Developing Leaders [] [Social skills are increasingly critical for CEOs]( Companies will always value traditional administrative and management skills when selecting CEOs, but research shows that businesses are increasingly prioritizing social skills such as good communication and a talent for leading a diverse workforce, write business professors Raffaella Sadun, Joseph Fuller and Stephen Hansen and Russell Reynolds Associates executive P.J. Neal. The authors lay out a framework for integrating these considerations into the process of finding and developing future C-suite leaders. Full Story: [Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model)]( (July-August 2022) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Q&A: Hershey CEO on essential leadership skills]( [Q&A: Hershey CEO on essential leadership skills]( (Bloomberg/Getty Images) Hershey CEO Michele Buck prioritizes listening because the practice drives co-creation, which drives growth, adding that agile leadership is key to overcoming obstacles related to the pandemic, inflation and changing consumer demands. "Today, we put even more weight on seizing opportunities anticipated with disruption as a part of scale, and we define how we get to success in new ways," Buck added. Full Story: [Progressive Grocer]( (6/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [3 nontraditional mentoring models that work]( Mentoring has evolved from a "sage on the stage" teaching arrangement to a broader process that may include group mentoring, senior executives learning from junior employees and peer mentoring, writes Lisa Fain, CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence. "When we seek wisdom, what we are really looking for is someone who can provide a new perspective," Fain writes. Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (6/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Want to know what your team thinks? Ask and listen]( Leaders can create an effective feedback loop with their team by making it safe to speak up, intentionally connecting with others and holding regular one-on-one meetings, writes Robyn McLeod, a principal with Chatsworth Consulting Group. "It is in those conversations that you get to know your team, hear their unique accomplishments and challenges, and get feedback that may not come up in larger settings," McLeod writes. Full Story: [Chatsworth Consulting Group]( (6/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] SmartBrief Originals [] - [How fancy food brands are faring amid the shifting supply chain]( SmartBrief/Food (6/21) [] - [What defines the American meal? Protein, paper towels and TV]( SmartBrief/Food (6/13) [] - [Lessons from the pandemic: What's next in diet and eating behavior?]( SmartBrief/Food (6/8) Free eBooks and Resources Free eBooks and resources brought to you by our partners - [8-Step Guide: How to Overcome Laziness and Start taking Action]( - [How Technology Can help You Get a Good Night’s Sleep]( - [Effective Leadership Primer]( - [Quick Reference Guide – Time Management]( - [Quick Reference Guide – Office 365 Essentials]( [] Diversity and Inclusion [] [Mela promotes women of color in the wine industry]( Four college friends have introduced Napa Valley-based private-label wine and lifestyle brand Mela with aspirations to address the wine industry's underrepresentation of women of color. The company is focused on direct-to-consumer sales and approachability, which the founders say they have achieved with grapes grown in recognizable regions. Full Story: [North Bay Business Journal (Santa Rosa, Calif.)]( (6/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Why employers should stop trying to justify diversity]( About 80% of large companies justify workplace diversity by saying it improves business, but research suggests companies have more success with diversity when they approach it as a moral issue and stop trying to explain the reasons for it. "If you don't need an explanation for the presence of well-represented groups in the workplace beyond their expertise, then you don't need a justification for the presence of underrepresented groups either," write researchers Oriane Georgeac and Aneeta Rattan. Full Story: [Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model)]( (6/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Diversity is core to Aspen's Food & Wine Classic]( Aspen's Food & Wine Classic is celebrating the diversity in the culinary arts by spotlighting renowned chefs like this year's James Beard Award recipient Chintan Pandya and Indian-American chef Maneet Chauhan, who revel in the opportunity to promote their authentic cuisines to the masses. "There's literally nothing bigger than this, and the more it comes (in front of) people's eyes, and more people see it, it will get more marketing of it, and more people will be able to accept it and understand," said Pandya. Full Story: [The Aspen Times (Colo.)]( (6/19) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Women and Innovation in the Workforce [] [Trends offer positive news for female entrepreneurs]( There is still much to be done, but the venture capital industry has shown some signs of progress toward being more inclusive of women, and more women-led businesses are achieving unicorn status, writes Doone Roisin, host of the Female Startup Club podcast. Full Story: [Entrepreneur]( (6/20) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Women recognized as trailblazers in grocery industry]( More women are breaking into male-dominated segments of the grocery industry and are rising to the C-suite, as shown by Progressive Grocer's 2022 Top Women in Grocery list. This year's 401 honorees include Carol Abel, vice president of education program development at FMI -- The Food Industry Association; Julie Morales, vice president of finance and chief financial officer at The Giant Co.; Brittni Furrow, vice president of health and sustainability at Ahold Delhaize USA; Michelle Larson, division president for the Southwest at Albertsons. Full Story: [Progressive Grocer]( (6/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] WFF News [] [Persuasion starts with giving in]( The best debaters and negotiators, those who actually get to the outcome they desire, do something that at first seems counterproductive; they look for all the areas where they agree with the other side. In Think Again, author Adam Grant explains that persuading someone to your way of thinking is far more effective when approached like a dance being choreographed in real time, and much less like a war with entrenched battle plans. More agreeing, more questions and fewer facts actually win the day. [Read more](. [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( LEARN MORE ABOUT the WFF: [About the WFF]( | [Join the WFF]( | [WFF Programs]( [] [] There's nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns. [Octavia E. Butler](, writer [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( SmartBrief publishes more than 200 free industry newsletters - [Browse our portfolio]( [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Advertise with SmartBrief]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy policy]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:wff@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE](mailto:cwarne@smartbrief.com) SmartBrief, a division of Future US LLC © 1100 13th St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005