a series featuring candid career advice
from some of the best in the business.
Today's episode is focused on a topic
near and dear to my heart.
And that's leading with purpose.
Leading with purpose is about so much more
Although that's certainly a part of it.
Maybe it's a cause you care about
can just really get behind.
Then leading from that place of purpose.
To help me unpack this topic,
I've invited someone with
an incredible track record
Helena Foulkes is the former
CEO of Hudson's Bay Company
and president of CVS Pharmacy.
She also is an active board member,
including the board overseers
This woman is doing it all.
Helena, welcome to Boss Talks.
It's so fun to be with you.
- Now, you know today's episode is all
about leading with purpose.
So can you tell us what it
and leading with purpose in your opinion?
- Yeah, I started on this
about this at CVS in about 2008.
And it really started as a journey to say,
do from a work perspective?
What is your individual purpose?
And we interviewed hundreds
of people all over the company,
of what motivates you to come to work?
And connected to that was an idea
that we had around something
we framed as who is your who?
And we had everyone bring
in pictures to their stores
of the person in their life
that they work for, that motivates them.
And so, as you can imagine
it was oftentimes children
And so, when I started to store visit,
I would always ask people
to share their who with me.
they're amazing people who work at retail.
purpose-driven conversation
to the front lines of our organization.
- I wanna ask you a question
that we get a lot here on Boss Talks
And it's such a tricky thing to navigate.
Because sometimes corporate
corporate politics can be challenging,
- So what are your tips for folks
looking to climb that corporate ladder?
checking in with yourself
your career is advancing,
what tips do you have for folks?
- Yeah, the thing I always think
is a good way to think about it,
especially early in your career.
kids are in their twenties
so I'm starting to have these
up and really thinking hard
about how you can help your boss.
We're doing Boss Talks here,
but I think instead of saying,
"How am I growing? What am I learning?"
to the person I'm working
for, the team I'm working with?"
who's always able to deliver
for your boss or your team,
mentor in my life say to me,
"Helena, you gotta give to get."
And if you come in with a
spirit of giving and generosity,
can happen in your career.
important lesson that I learned
about climbing the corporate ladder.
organization that you find.
perspective on the organization
And what you wanna remember
is when big decisions are
or who to put in a new role,
you want allies in the room.
and she really did a great job
And so, you wanna be thinking
based on how you're showing up.
couple things I would say.
So let's switch gears for a moment
and talk a little bit about
it's very hard to picture
anyone underestimating you ever
(giggles) just knowing you,
but I know we all have our
moments. It definitely happens.
and I get really motivated
How do you overcome being underestimated?
- Yeah, you're right. I love
being underestimated too.
And one of the things I've learned,
even in this last six months,
instincts and follow my gut
because the things I've learned in my past
really can apply to right now.
So, I think it is reminding yourself
to check in with your gut.
And if you have a funny feeling
that something's not going right,
Because I think that sometimes
there's other people underestimating you,
but there's also sometimes
you underestimating yourself.
confidence in yourself to say,
No, I got here for a reason.
I know how to do something
that maybe was different,
Our team's mantra for the
And it just is so applicable.
I love that you don't shy
So what are your tips for people looking
- Look, this is a very hard thing to do.
I had been at CVS for about
20 years when that happened
and every single year we'd
and we would talk about our mission
and our vision and our values.
usually in the back of the room,
would raise their hand and say,
"Well, why do we still sell cigarettes?"
And it was usually, if we were honest,
so it was a very hard thing to do.
I think that in that particular case,
the reason we were successful
was it was a massive team effort.
I don't think you can make
change at that level alone.
get the opportunity in life,
team effort around this?"
It's not about taking credit yourself,
it's about really figuring out
that the whole organization
And who's critical to get on
the bus to make it happen.
I just wanna go back to it and ask you
I think credit gets in the
way of purpose oftentimes,
- I mean, it's a very interesting thing
because I don't feel that
it is mine to take credit for.
that the decision wouldn't
relates to people feeling
people in your organization
who are grabbing for credit,
trust factor in the organization
what the true motives are.
So, I think that the best experiences
with are people you trust
to be doing things that are
right for the organization,
I'm sure you've had that experience.
- Oh, very much so. (laughs)
And why it just resonated with me
was in this entire conversation,
that you talked about team,
you gave credit to other people
and this was about purpose.
And a lot of times people
working in an organization,
your three questions were not about you
It was about what can you offer?
And I think that that's a
about leading with purpose
They can be mutually beneficial,
but you have to make sure
that the motivation is in the right place.
But it's so fun when you can do that
people at a whole new level.
So unfortunately, this has come to an end,
favorite and final question
and I'm really excited (giggles)
that I get to ask you this.
So, Helena, what is your superpower?
I think my greatest superpower
is my ability to listen deeply
where people are coming from
so that whether they're excited
about something I'm trying
to do or really resisting it,
I understand where they are
their greatest strengths.
I think that's what I'm good at.
And it allows me to bring
And as we've been talking about,
produce great things for people,
whether they're organizations
or groups you're part of.
- Well, thank you so much.
And I think we're all gonna walk away
and thanks for having me on.
and to watch more episodes of Boss Talks,
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and I'll see you all next time.
