You can learn to be a great leader

2008-2010

Managing director, Microsoft Australia

“I said no to this job initially. I wasn’t a great leader and it terrified me. But I stopped trying to be what I wasn’t and became very clear about what I am. And when you get feedback on how you make people feel, you understand the impact of your actions and you change your actions. How do I want people to feel at the end of this meeting, not just what do I want them to do? At Microsoft it was about the how. How you show up as a leader, the things you accept, the standards you set and the environment you create mattered as much as business results. But showing vulnerability was painful. [During the GFC] I stood in front of 800 people crying and thought, ‘This is taking vulnerability to a stage I never planned.’ But people talked about it. That has stayed with me forever. Vulnerability doesn’t make you weaker.”