Fearless Leadership through Embracing Failure by Lucy Lim.
Sara Blakely, the founder and CEO of Spanx, achieved the accolade of the youngest self-made female billionaire in 2012 at 41. Starting her business in 2000 with $5,000, Blakely built an empire in innovative hosiery and underwear. Like the brand ‘Hoover, ‘Spanx’ has become synonymous with all shapewear brands. Blakely could not have done this with entrepreneurial spirit alone; her leadership style has been instrumental in Spanx’s success over the decades since its inception.
Reframing Failure
Blakely credits elements of her success to her father’s reframing of failure at the family dinner table during childhood. Blakely’s father would ask the children what they had failed at and what they had learned from it, causing Blakely to see opportunities for growth in every misstep. Blakely enshrined this ethos into the Spanx culture and coined the Spanx ‘Oops Moments.’ Oops Moments are learnings from mistakes. Employees are encouraged to share with the broader team, creating a culture of psychological safety, vulnerability and learning, leading to improvements.
Supportive Leadership
Blakely’s leadership style of encouragement, support and motivation has seen Spanx thrive through the years and remain one of the world’s most popular shapewear brands. Instead of creating a fear culture where people can’t take a risk for fear of failure, the Spanx ‘Oops moments’ are there to encourage a safe space for growth, innovation and improvement. Prioritising work-life balance and a supportive environment make employees more resilient, creative and productive. Furthermore, the focus on experimentation and learning through failed attempts bolsters a growth mindset culture at Spanx.
Walking the Talk
Blakely leads from the top by displaying authenticity, fallibility, vision and determination. Encouraging risk-taking, supporting her team and making failure safe creates and continues a successful and innovative brand.
Blakely’s leadership qualities not only continue her success, but they filter throughout the culture at Spanx, set the tone for the whole workforce and have wider-reaching influence over those who follow and admire her.
Lucy Lim is an energetic go-getter and a proud rebel working with We Are Brave as an Associate.
