Hello, welcome to Women in Retail Talks, the podcast where C-suite executive women in the retail space share their stories of professional growth, leadership development, personal journeys and more.
I'm Melissa Campanelli, the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle, which is a membership-based community of executive women at leading retailers and brands.
In today's episode I'm excited to be chatting with Keisha Steelman, the president and CEO of Ulta Beauty, live from the Outstanding Mother Awards Luncheon in New York City.
Today we're going to be speaking about Keisha's leadership style as well as being a working mom.
Welcome, Keisha.
Thank you, Melissa, for having me.
I'm so excited to be here with you today, and I'd love to dive in a little bit.
So before we get started, tell me a little bit about your background and your family.
Yes, Melissa.
Well, I'm currently the president and CEO of Ulta Beauty, and I've been in retail for 30 plus years.
I can't believe how fast time has gone by.
I'm a proud mom of five kids, and I have three little grandbabies that are just the joy of my life.
You can imagine how crazy my life is between not only having a very big, demanding job, but also trying to spend as much time with my family and loved ones as much as I can.
I'm also proudly married to my husband Gray, who is, I'd call, the backbone of our entire family and tries to keep everything organized and us all aligned and keeping things moving forward.
That's so great.
So many women in retails senior level women in retail speak to have are always talking about how great their husbands are and how they help keep the family together.
Yeah, absolutely.
I could not do what i do without him and his support of just keeping our lives on track and having me be able to just focus on doing my job, which is fantastic.
That's great.
Um, so today, since we're here for the mother's day awards um, i'd love and you're getting actually one of the outstanding other awards Is there a lesson from your mom or maternal figure in your life that shaped the way you lead today?
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, my mom is the one person I knew I could always count on and in good times and in bad.
And I think that's one thing that I feel, as a leader, is really important, especially when you have a big responsibility and a rather large team, is that they know that they can count on you.
If they make a mistake, you're still going to be there.
You're going to help coach, course correct, give them guidance.
And when they have great things that are happening, you're also there to support and cheer them along the way.
I'd say, in some ways I think of my role as the big I call myself sometimes the big mother bear at the helm here is because you know it's about people.
We're a people business.
While we're running retail, it's really the people behind the business that are helping make the numbers happen.
That's so fantastic.
It is true.
You're the mama bear of the team.
So what message would you share with working mothers who might be listening to this podcast, who are striving to lead at home and in their careers?
It's so challenging.
Oh, absolutely.
You know, I would just say you can't do everything all at the same time.
And, you know, I often say you've got to give yourself grace.
And prioritize your personal life on a calendar just as much as you do your work life and things that are really important in your personal life.
Make sure that you make those a priority.
Otherwise, you end up not being very balanced at all.
You know, trying to be totally in balance, I would say you're setting yourself up for not being very successful because you know, when you're a career working woman, It's totally imbalanced all the time.
But when you've got those free time, spend time with your family.
And when the work is demanding, make sure that you make sure that your family understands and they're supportive of that too.
At the same time,
So I would say give yourself some grace.
Hold your personal calendar.
Just as important to not miss those events with your kids or with your loved ones as you would a meeting with the boss or an important meeting at work.
You got to make sure you're prioritizing both.
Perfect.
Can you talk about maybe an example, or offer an example, of how you personally balance showing up fully for both your family and your team?
Maybe you can give me an example of something that you've done around that personally.
Yeah, I talked a little bit about the calendar is a big thing.
I actually have a personal calendar that my husband has a copy of.
My family has a copy of the personal calendar.
And you also see, especially when I'm traveling a lot, they always know where I am and where I'm going to be.
So I think that transparency is really, really important.
And then, you know, just making sure that there's a level set of expectation.
If the family knows that I can't be at an event, they know exactly why.
And if there's something that I need to be prioritizing my family over versus work, I let my work team know.
Here's why I'm not doing that.
I think it's important.
I set the example for everybody.
So you've got to make sure that.
Uh, you know we we talk a lot about work life balance, but if I don't live by those same values, I'm not setting a good example for my team.
So I try really hard to make sure that there's times where I prioritize my family over work, and vice versa.
Yeah.
And I think communication is key, right?
Like I like the idea of letting your family know where you are, as long as they know.
It's like then people feel you know comfortable.
Um, and same with your work team or your work family.
Um, So you've led through a lot of change and challenge in your career.
Can you talk a little bit how your leadership style has evolved over time?
Yeah, I think early on in my career, I felt like I had to have a lot of the answers myself.
And that's one thing that's really evolved and changed as I've taken on greater responsibility is that I don't always have to have the answers, but I have to have really great strong, functional leaders around me and create the space in which we have the conversation.
And I'm known for like letting the conversation happening happen before I come out with my opinion or my advice.
Cause I want to hear what everybody else's perspectives are.
And many times I've changed my mind a lot, even in the midst of the conversation, and they don't even realize it.
So I think being okay with not having all the answers and listening to your team, that's one thing that's really changed for me.
That's super interesting.
That came up so many times at our most recent event in Florida just the importance of having your team there and having people around you that maybe do things better than you.
Absolutely.
I've found that the most successful team is when I have people that are actually quite better than me in many different things.
That's helped me grow and learn.
That's how I've learned as a leader even.
Exactly.
I know that you're known for having a culture where people feel seen, heard, valued.
Can you talk a little bit about how you do that?
Yeah, I think really being present.
You know I used to be a multitasker and try to do a couple things at once, but when I'm one-on-one with someone, they're the most important person in that room.
So really being present, having your phone down, turning your phone upside down so you're not trying to do text messages or emails while somebody's talking to you, and really listening.
Listening and seeking to understand before jumping to a conclusion.
So really listen and if you don't, maybe understand what they're asking or what they're needing assistance with.
Ask questions and probe to really make sure that you can help make whatever decision that they're needing assistance with or guidance to the best of their ability, that you really truly are understanding what they're needing from you.
Couple more questions.
I'd love to get your perspective for some of the folks listening who might be director level and sort of looking to grow in their career.
I mean, what advice do you have for women stepping into leadership roles?
What are some quick best practices or tips you can offer them?
Yeah, I would say learn from others.
Don't feel like you we were just talking about this before.
Don't feel like you always have to have all the answers.
Learn from everyone.
There is no finish line in leadership.
It's a marathon.
It's not a sprint.
And like I said, there's no finish line.
So just continuing to learn and challenge yourself and stay out of your comfort zone.
When you start to feel like you're too comfortable, it's time for you to ask for more or take on a different assignment, because you're not actually continuing to learn and grow.
So, in closing, as we are here at the Outstanding Mother Awards which, I've said earlier, you're being honored today.
If you could give one gift non-material, to every mom out there this Mother's Day, what would it be?
Yeah, I would say, I mentioned this word earlier, I would say grace.
Having grace for yourself and not being so hard on yourself.
And I'd say that's the one thing I would give that's not material.
I wish I would have had a little bit more grace for myself, as I was a young mom raising kids and trying to work hard and build my career.
Have grace.
Give yourself grace.
That's a perfect way to end the conversation.
Well, thank you so, so much, Keisha.
This was a pleasure.
I loved learning about you and your career and your family.
And congratulations today.
Yeah, thank you so much, Melissa.
Thanks for listening.
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