Feed your team’s courage, not their fear

I first met Carlos Zepeda, Senior Vice President of Consumer Connections, Insights and Strategy for Moët Hennessy USA at a gathering for Northwestern alumni. He spoke at the event, and after hearing his thoughts on leadership, I knew I had to interview him for Your Future, Your Work.

Carlos has over 20 years of experience, previously holding senior marketing roles at leading brands like Pepsi, Havaianas, and Belvedere. His prowess for collaborative leadership and expertise as a people-connector have made him a valued thought leader. I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you.

Courage vs. fear—which are you feeding?

When I heard Carlos speak for the first time, I was particularly taken by his perspective on leading with courage versus fear. For him, that means focusing on what you’re great at and on improving what can be even better. Carlos explains this concept with a tennis analogy, “You don’t win tennis matches with your worst shots, you win them with your best shots. To me, it’s the courage to focus on that.” As a leader, it can be easy to focus on what isn’t going well, what people aren’t delivering, or what you need to work on, yet by doing so, you may actually be feeding your team’s fear. When you concentrate on utilizing what you do best instead, you build the confidence and courage of your team.

Carlos stresses that you should still have constructive and transparent developmental conversations. However, when leaders get bogged down in what’s not working, it has a negative effect on those around you. “This is where the empathy filter has to kick in,” says Carlos. “I always ask myself what the person is going to think or feel when I say something. And it doesn’t have to be feedback, it can just be daily interaction.” Part of feeding courage is understanding when what you say is going to help someone—and when it’s not.

Choosing courage requires both an understanding of the individuals on your team and of yourself. Start by identifying what is most important to you, how you prefer others to communicate with you, and your own standards. “It is an active exercise to know yourself first,” Carlos says. Then, increase your understanding of all your team members, especially your direct reports. What communication methods do they prefer? What motivates them, and how do they like to be rewarded? Everyone is different. Carlos says that “the ultimate exercise of empathy and inclusion is adaptability. You need to adapt as a leader to actually be effective.”

Ask yourself: What would shift for my team if we created space to recognize moments of excellence consistently? What actions are you taking to align your leadership style to your team members’ preferences for communication and incentives?

Making collaborative leadership possible

A change in perspective from fear to courage fosters a collaborative leadership model— where leaders regularly seek out a diversity of opinions and ideas to build strategies and solve problems—something Carlos is a proponent of. He shared that this differs from traditional hierarchical leadership, explaining, “Collaborative leadership is about the power of the collective, not the power of one. It is not top down; it is grounded on empathy and inclusion. It is about idea exchange, and creates a more evolving environment, not a rigid one.” Benefits include increased employee engagement and job satisfaction, improved decision-making, better productivity, and a boost in innovation.

digits.co.uk / Flickr

If this sounds like a free-for-all to you, don’t worry, it isn’t. The first step is to share your compelling vision for the team with your employees and then iterate. “I think the leader owes a vision to the team, almost like a first pass,” Carlos says. “You need to show up with a 1.0. You might end up with a 1.0. But if you say, ‘let’s build a 1.0 together,’ I don’t think that works.”

It's easy for those who created the vision to love it. Looking at something through rose-colored glasses won’t give you the complete picture, but collaborative leadership lessens the chances of this happening.

Does everything have to be a consensus? Absolutely not. But having a team that feels safe in saying, “I don’t think that works, but what if we adjust it this way?” is invaluable.

Ask yourself: How aligned is your team around a common goal meaningful to the organization and its clients? What would shift for your organization if your employees were motivated to work to achieve a common purpose?

Opening the door to innovation

Leaders have an essential role in fostering and supporting innovation, and there are many ways to get there. Carlos takes an active approach to this with collective discovery sessions. Recently, he and his team went to an exhibit about travel and left with new ideas. And it doesn’t have to be off-site. Bringing an outside expert to you can help keep your team from becoming too inwardly focused. Experiencing a fresh perspective —together— is a critical component to inspiring innovation.

Diversity is a boon to any team; utilizing their unique talents and thoughts can help get things moving in the right direction. Carlos uses an example from his own multi-generational team. Instead of leading sessions on emerging technologies, he gave the assignment to his younger marketers, who were more suited to it. “I think that’s also a way to innovate,” Carlos says. “Who do you give the task to? It’s not the people with the most power. It is those that are better suited to do it.”

Ask yourself: What shared experiences could your team engage in to cultivate a culture of innovation and fresh perspectives? What steps could you take to delegate tasks based on suitability rather than hierarchy?

Gary Vaynerchuk advises to “focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses,” solid advice that shares Carlos’ emphasis on leading with courage, not fear. I hope you feel as inspired as I do to lead with a mindset that promotes collaboration, diversity of thought, and—of course— courage.