This series spotlights senior Walpole members, many of whom are mentors or speakers on the Walpole Luxury Leaders of Tomorrow programme at London Business School - to discover their journey to getting and succeeding in the role, and any advice they have for the next generation. Interview by Diane Metcalfe, Leadership Coach.
1. Did you always want to be a CEO and what drove you?
No – I don’t see myself as a CEO, I see myself as a member of the family and this group, this business is a member of my family as well. It is something that has been nurtured, built and grown by my mother and uncle. Therefore, I feel a positive obligation to keep nurturing it – like a non-human child.
I probably define myself more as a creative strategist [than a CEO], and architecture was an ideal industry for me to cut my teeth in. I’m able to go from creative mode, to strategic planning mode, to analytical mode in conjunction, and I really enjoy the ability to combine all these things. What has driven me wasn’t a career decision to become a CEO, but a personal decision in my mid-thirties to commit myself to insuring a future for what my uncle and my mother have built, protecting that legacy and knowing that beyond our lifetimes this will have meaning and be valuable to others.
2. How did you land your first CEO role?
I was a partner in my architecture practice. I love building something, I love steering something in the right direction, I have learnt what leadership means to me, and I enjoy leading in my definition of it. So it wasn’t that I landed it – it is that I grew into it. I joined the family business pretty much when I was born, but on a formal level it was 2009, having said that for many, many, many years before that I was already helping support in various areas. Whilst on my school holidays I would help in the shop, in my university holidays I’d help in the press room, during my architecture days I'd help with imagery. I feel like a evolved into it, I grew with it. I needed to earn my stripes and when I joined in 2009, I joined bottom up, I joined in the press room and really wanted to just observe and do everything which I’d kind of already done.
3. What did you do to prepare yourself for the role, and in retrospect what else could you have done to be better prepared?
I don’t think you can prepare yourself for a role. I think in some ways I’m not traditional - with a family business it’s a non-traditional route in many ways even though I worked my way up. I think with any role, whether it’s a manager role, a head of, a director, or a C-suite role, you need to learn in it. It’s about asking who do I want to be in this role and not being indoctrinated by traditional rules and regulations of how things should be done, but finding your own way.
The thing I did that was the most valuable has two parts to it. The first was allowing myself to listen and the second was making myself vulnerable to the messages I was hearing. It was only through allowing myself to do that that I learnt what I was meant to be doing.
Having gone from a misguided belief that leaders forge ahead, tell everyone how things should be done, and push their views on situations – I learned that it's quite the opposite. It should be about listening, allowing people to feel empowered and heard, and I think the best way of doing that is through celebrating vulnerability. If you don’t know something just say: ‘sorry, I don’t understand that’, instead of pretending that you do, as that is always a mistake.
The advice I’d give is be as curious as you can every minute of the day, and there is no CEO or anyone at the top of their field that doesn’t have something to learn about themselves, their area of specialisation, their industry or the world in general.
4. In what way or ways was the role different to what you expected?
I’m going to look at the expectation I had at age 10 of what a leader is as an all-knowing, all-powerful sort of deity. When you get to a role of leadership it is quite the opposite, I’d say all of us feel slightly terrified all the time: do I know enough? Am I saying the right thing? Am I in the right place? Have I done the best I can? That’s one aspect of it but in actuality you’re more vulnerable as a leader than you are anywhere else in the business and that’s a wonderful place to be once you’ve made peace with it, accepted it, and you allow it to empower you. The other part is that the most important aspect of my role is to nurture the business' community, individuals, and values and that is more important than what you are doing. It’s the why and how you are doing it.
5. What were you’re greatest challenges early on?
Understanding my purpose, my role and my contribution and making sure it was the right one and not a misguided one.
6. Did you face any internal challenges upon finally reaching a leadership position?
I worry about the term ‘finally in a leadership position’ as it makes sound like it is almost a dead end. I don’t think you finally get anywhere, I think it is an obligation to keep evolving and keep moving.
Coming back to the question of internal challenges, we faced all of them plus, plus, plus. It's exactly those situations which help me challenge me to be better for myself, and for everyone around me everyday, professionally and personally.
If I’m fearful, worried or anxious I need to take time to understand myself, and think 'ok what’s happening, what is triggering me, what can and can’t I influence?' It is about having the skill and understanding to manage my internal conflicts and fears. These are rare moments though, and no one is perfect.
7. They say its lonely at the top, is this something you have experienced or experience and how do you deal with that?
It is scary at the top, and loneliness is linked to fear and abandonment, but I am very fortunate to have an amazing team. My senior leadership team is a complete cooperative of ideas and views - we have an incredible circle of trust within ourselves, so I feel very safe in that environment.
It’s also about creating an environment of safety, and I want the whole business to be a safe place for our people. At the beginning of the pandemic it was very lonely, but actually recognising that we were all feeling the same was very reassuring.
I think that what Walpole does is create a safe space for those that might feel lonely. There are moments that I’ve reached out to Walpole to ask questions and check: 'Am I on my own or is everyone feeling this?' It's an incredibly reassuring platform to be able to have. So, no I don’t feel lonely anymore.
8. What qualities do you think separate a CEO from other C-suite executives?
It’s not a quality, nor a skill, nor an attribute – it’s a choice and my choice is to have a full view of the business from one end to the other. Again, I may not be your conventional CEO as I’m probably a little too involved in too many things but I do understand the business end to end. I also don’t separate myself from my senior leadership team, we’re part of one whole group. I suppose my role is to ask questions, to challenge and to think the ridiculous thoughts. It’s asking questions that might be blue sky thinking (a very American term), which challenge the whole team in their individual areas and looks at the whole business. It’s a strange one, I don’t like to separate myself from people.
9. What advice would you give someone you aspires to be or is new in a CEO role?
Roll your sleeves up. You’re responsible for everything form the most junior, simple activity to the most senior. Get in there, do what needs to be done and don’t ever think you’re above it.
One, be as curious as you can be and always learn, and two, be vulnerable as you’re no better than anyone else, you just happen to have worked hard and achieved recognition. Being kind is also a huge recognition.
10. What does the future hold for Manolo Blahnik?
Anything and everything. No one has a crystal ball. What Manolo wants to achieve is beauty, comfort, and creativity. That’s all he wants to do. For me, it is about protecting and nurturing that vision, being independent and really enhancing the luxuries in life which for me are time, freedom, safety, and joy - as without these there is no such thing as luxury.
Its about continuing to make people smile in innovative and fun ways and continuing to put beautiful things on peoples’ feet. Beyond my lifetime, it is making sure that the story is untarnished by anything. All it should be about is beauty and creativity.
www.manoloblahnik.com
