Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. Here are a few insights provided during an interview of Alexa von Tobel, chief executive of LearnVest, the financial planning company. She dropped out of Harvard Business School to start her financial planning service, LearnVest. Now with more than 150 employees, Shed says she often sees that people don’t dream big enough. To read the complete interview, check out other articles, and obtain subscription information, please click here.
Photo credit: Chester Higgins Jr/The New York Times
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Were you in leadership roles when you were younger?
I did some unpredictable things early on. I transferred to a new school between fifth and sixth grade. I was a brand new student, and I ran for class president after a month and won.
I had this really great platform where I had everyone stand up. I said, “Everyone on the right side of the room raise your hand and then put it down.” And then, “Everyone on the left side of the room raise your hand and put it down.” And then I said to them, “Are those leadership skills or what?”
How have your parents influenced your leadership style?
My dad was a doctor. He passed away when I was younger, and my mom is a pediatric nurse practitioner. My mom isn’t going to tell you her opinions unless asked. She’s more of a silent leader, and at 31, I’m starting to really understand the value of not sharing all of my opinions.
What are some other leadership lessons you’ve learned?
Developing management skills is hard for everybody, and it’s about making mistakes, and trial and error. It’s about trying to figure out who you are as a manager and your own genuine strengths and weaknesses. There are certain things that come naturally — I am a great communicator. On the flip side, I don’t like giving people bad news. I am a positive person who wants to believe in people.
One of the biggest insights for me has been that your gut really knows what you have to do and sometimes they’re things that are not easy. You have to listen to that and say, this is a really tough decision. It’s not one I’m excited about, but it’s the right decision, and you have to focus your energy on doing those things.
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To read the complete interview as well as Bryant’s interviews of other executives, please click here.
Adam Bryant, deputy national editor of The New York Times, oversees coverage of education issues, military affairs, law, and works with reporters in many of the Times’ domestic bureaus. He also conducts interviews with CEOs and other leaders for Corner Office, a weekly feature in the SundayBusiness section and on nytimes.com that he started in March 2009. In his book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, (Times Books), he analyzes the broader lessons that emerge from his interviews with more than 70 leaders. To read an excerpt, please click here. To contact him, please click here.