How H&M's customers inform plus-size style decisions

What's behind Mary Dillon's return to retail? | Don't fear uncertainty. Make it your superpower | Master leadership's push and pull to inspire your team Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( May 4, 2023 CONNECT WITH NEXTUP  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( €‰€‰[Tik tok]( [NEW SmartBrief]( Gender equity news from NextUp, Advancing All Women in Business [SIGN UP]( â‹… [SHARE]( [] Top of the week [] [What's behind Mary Dillon's return to retail?]( [What's behind Mary Dillon's return to retail?]( Dillon (Steve Granitz/Getty Images) The pull of a new retail challenge lured Mary Dillon out of retirement and into the CEO post at Foot Locker, the same title she held at Ulta Beauty during eight years of rapid growth. Dillon discusses similarities between the companies, Foot Locker's relationship with Nike and her short-lived retirement. "I didn't realize how much I would miss having one big thing to focus on and how much I would miss leading a retail company," Dillon said. Full Story: [Fortune (tiered subscription model)]( (4/28) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( SmartSummit: Leading through uncertain times Learn how to build a healthy culture of success and retain your work teams during an uncertain business landscape in this free one-hour webcast. [Register now for the Thursday May 18, 2pm EDT event.]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Today's leadership [] [Don't fear uncertainty. Make it your superpower]( [Don't fear uncertainty. Make it your superpower]( (Bulat Silvia/Getty Images) Embracing uncertainty can be uncomfortable, but Suzanne Bates, the managing director of BTS, Boston, writes that when we use it as a reminder to move deliberately, invite input from others and see it as a foundation for strategy and planning, it can be "a healthy quality." "Maintaining a healthy dose of uncertainty lets you learn your way forward and stay agile. When you do this as a team, you unleash the power of everyone's uncertainty to your advantage," Bates writes. Full Story: [Quartz]( (5/2) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Master leadership's push and pull to inspire your team]( [Master leadership's push and pull to inspire your team]( (Seiya Tabuchi/Getty Images) Leaders need to be skilled in -- and agile enough to switch between, as needed -- both push and pull styles of leadership, writes Paula Halewski, the founder of and principal coach at the Leadership Institute of Virginia, who notes that "push" leadership is prescriptive but could stifle innovation, while "pull" leadership unleashes creativity, but can be cumbersome. Halewski outlines the strengths of "pull" leadership, including promoting teamwork, strategic thinking and emotional intelligence. Full Story: [CEOWorld Magazine]( (4/29) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Want people to read your emails? Aim for short, specific]( Specific subject lines and relevant links can help improve your work-related emails, business management trainer Shari Harley, president of Candid Culture, writes. Upon opening one with several paragraphs, many business people tuck it away to read later and may never get to it, Harley explains. Full Story: [Candid Culture]( (4/30) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Qantas Airlines names its first woman CEO]( Qantas Airways has named Vanessa Hudson as its first woman CEO, to replace Alan Joyce in November. Hudson has been with the Australian airline for 28 years, currently as chief financial officer. She will join Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka as two of the country's top women corporate chiefs. Full Story: [Reuters]( (5/2) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Read the latest from SmartBrief [] - [Prioritize people instead of the chairs they fill]( SmartBrief/Leadership (5/2) [] - [Overwhelmed? Curb anxiety with 4 strategies]( SmartBrief/Leadership (5/1) [] - [8 strategies to improve how well you write on the job]( SmartBrief/Leadership (4/28) Free eBooks and Resources Free eBooks and resources brought to you by our sponsors - [Nonverbal Communications Skills -- The 10 Skills You Need to Learn]( - [70+ Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows (Free Cheat Sheet)]( - [Best Practices for Email Etiquette]( - [11 Habits That Will Give You A Complete And Successful Life]( - [Creating Positive Habits - The Ultimate Guide]( [] Diversity & Inclusion Trends [] [How H&M's customers inform plus-size style decisions]( [How H&M's customers inform plus-size style decisions]( (Mike Kemp/Getty Images) H&M's growing commitment to size inclusivity continues with the rollout of new collections including a curvy denim line that was a couple of years in the making, H&M executive Donna Dozier Gordon said. The retailer has gradually added more size-inclusive fashions in stores and online, and feedback from customers has helped inform the way H&M is introducing and merchandising plus-size fashions. Full Story: [Forbes (tiered subscription model)]( (5/2) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [VMLY&R's Jene Mitchell: Let's make generative AI inclusive]( Jene Mitchell, technology specialist for VMLY&R, writes about what the tech industry needs to do to eliminate bias from generative artificial intelligence through equitable coding, anti-bias guidelines and development teams that are diverse. "Imagine producing something that serves its creator and consumers equally; that's more than technology. It's art," Mitchell writes. Full Story: [Adweek]( (5/2) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Manufacturers can be smarter about competitive hiring]( To attract the most talented and diverse workforce for the ever-evolving manufacturing sector, transparency is a must, with hiring information including competitive pay and benefits and good working conditions, writes Susan Corcoran, a principal in the White Plains, N.Y., office of Jackson Lewis. Other efforts that will make an employer more competitive include shorter applications and effective pre-employment conversations, Corcoran suggests. Full Story: [Jackson Lewis]( (5/1) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Maryland pastry chef is baking up LGBTQ inclusion]( Pastry chef Kareem Queeman, owner of Mr. Bake Sweets in Maryland and 2023 James Beard Awards semifinalist, is tapping the power of his brand to make space for LGBTQ chefs of color, something he says he was not privy to while coming up in the industry. "Yes, I bake really well, and people enjoy it, but I really think I was pushed to do these things so I can liberate minds and unshackle us from our societal norms," Queeman said. Full Story: [Salon]( (5/1) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [] Art has really been the way I have been able to understand both cultures, and to undo the wrongdoing of both cultures. [Bernice Bing](, artist May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( LEARN MORE ABOUT NEXTUPâ„¢: [About Us]( | [Events]( | [Regions]( | [Partners]( | [Learning](   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:nextup@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE](mailto:cwarne@smartbrief.com) SmartBrief, a division of Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036