Fortune asked several prominent CEOs to name the most important things they do to help their employees be successful. In this video, Bob Swan of Intel, Greg Becker of Silicon Valley Bank, Elli Kaplan of Neurotrack, Margo Georgiadis of Ancestry, and Sara Menker of Gro Intelligence expand on their leadership strategies in steering each of their companies.
All five previously have served in other executive roles. As CEOs, however, they agree that it is essential to set the tone of the company and to be honest with employees.
“In every workplace, that sense of transparency and accountability in the leadership makes employees feel more confident,” said Georgiadis, who served as the CEO of Mattel and as a Google executive prior to taking on her role at Ancestry in 2018.
Confronting challenges and working through them alongside employees is crucial to achieving goals as well, the leaders noted.
“I’m their cheerleader,” said Menker, who was the vice president of commodities at Morgan Stanley before founding Gro Intelligence in 2012. “I help them get into uncomfortable zones—and help them feel comfortable that it’s okay to fail and to experiment.”
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