bev wiseman

Honestly, I would say a couple of things. Number one, I would say my mom. She was a person that instills a lot of those values in me, and taught me a lot about leadership without knowing it, so I would say definitely my mother. And then, I would say my ability to learn. So, a constant learner, even though you think you've got everything figured out, is there something that is a gap that you need to close? I'm always looking for ways to continue learning and growing, because being a continuous learner helps you avoid getting complacent or stagnant.

The best career advice I've received is that collaboration is one of the best tools in order to move faster. Being able to incorporate other people's insights and voices gets faster buy-in, especially when you're working on moving a team or moving an organization, so collaboration is really high. I would also say that you don't always have to have all the answers. Partnering and asking a lot of questions can help you figure out things a lot faster. One of the things that I talk about is that the answers are in the gap. If you have vulnerability in leadership, to know that you don't have all the answers, that definitely helps you for sure.

I would say, one, ground yourself in your identity. Know who you are, because things can happen that try to shake you. Two, I would say, fail fast. Being able to make mistakes is important, and it's not what mistake you make, it's what do you do after the mistake? How do you rebound? So, fail fast, find the gap, and course correct quickly. Don't let mistakes define you, but let your response to them show your strength.

I would say one of the biggest challenges is being a woman, a woman of color, leading in spaces that sometimes are male-dominated. That can be a challenge for a number of reasons, for how women show up in leadership positions and how you're perceived, and then adding being diverse, there's another layer that you have to navigate that the majority does not. A lot of the roles that I've had are either male-dominated, where I'm either the only woman - for instance, now I'm the only woman on my team - or I'm the only woman of color on the team. I have this whole context called The Only One, where I'm either the only one or the only woman on the team, and that has been challenging. As for opportunities, there's a ton in retail. There are opportunities to continue in the field-facing side where you're running the field, or you can go into the product side where you're a merchant selecting product and assortments for stores. There's also VP of stores where you're running the entire enterprise and setting strategies for the organization. There's field-facing roles, and there's headquarters roles with planning, merchandising, visuals, marketing departments, real estate - all of that falls under the umbrella in the retail sector. The path is not straight, so there are a couple of different avenues you can take.

Some of my core values are, I would say, people first. Having a high level of care, whether it be for your team or the people that you lead, as well as your friends and family. Definitely, people first. I also value a high level of accountability, both for self and others. And then, another one I would say is just gratitude. Especially sitting in a leadership seat, you lead people, you have people's careers in their hands. You also have their future in your hands. So, being grateful that people will follow you and allow you to lead is important. So, high gratitude, high self-accountability, and high care.