Leaders from C-suite share their secrets

How I got this job: Leaders from the C-suite share their secrets

May 29, 2024 2:30 PM

Woman in business clothes leaning against office window, corporate, executive

Employees often aspire to reach the C-suite on their career journeys, but getting to the top isn't always as easy as it looks.

For leaders at Walmart, Lyft, DailyPay and more, their career paths have been far from a straight line, filled with challenges, career changes and some tough lessons along the way. While learning how to lead comes with a few growing pains, these leaders prove that the right mindset can lead to success.

"Back [in college], I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and it was so freeing for me," says Pat Wadors, chief people officer at UKG. "I realized I was smart — I just have a hitch in my giddyup. I learned to be resilient and gritty and tenacious in my approach. I wouldn't let myself fail."

Check out EBN's full special report on how to navigate your career in 2024:

And when leaders thrive, their employees do, too. Wadors and several other executives share how career switches, pay cuts, supportive mentors, personal challenges and plenty of mistakes have led them to where they are today.

Peter de Norville, global head of DEI and well-being at software company Sage, on why embracing his differences helped him connect with his team:

Peter de Norville, global head of DEI and well-being at Sage

"I'm autistic; I was diagnosed five years ago, and the experience made me realize I don't want people to feel excluded. I also identify as pansexual, and [at one time,] I could have lost my job if the people I was closest to found out. I don't want people to have to live like that, and I wanted to create an environment where they don't have to. I want to be completely open, honest and transparent about everything we do. If we get something wrong, I want to tell people. If we get something right, I want to tell people. I want to share the journey with everybody."

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Pat Wadors, chief people officer at technology company UKG, on how she broke through the glass ceiling:

"[When I started], women were not heads of HR, and I was like, 'I'm going to run it.' The first decade was learning the craft and doing the rotations, and part of it was in benefits and comp. And then I spent a decade learning how to lead others and manage and do complex programs. I jumped in and out of HR, but I always came back with business knowledge. HR is business: In that third decade, I became the CHRO."

Read more:

How UKG's chief people officer broke the glass ceiling to build the career of her dreams

Gillian Davis, chief people officer at communications agency Mission North, on the importance of having a mentor:

Gillian Davis, chief people officer at Mission North

"One CHRO was an incredible mentor to me as a boss. We've actually worked at two companies together, and I learned a ton from her and her experience forging ahead at the C-suite level, at a time when a lot of times the most senior position was held by males — there's kind of a ceiling there. I still get in touch with her sometimes. I think those relationships are really important — they continue to cheer me on as I'm continuing on my own path."

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Tanner Brunsdale, head of benefits and global mobility at transportation company Lyft, on learning to put his own oxygen mask on first:

Tanner Brunsdale, director of benefits and mobility at Lyft

"I have a manager who takes time for himself — I see him utilizing PTO and spending time with his family, and so I try to do that as well for my team. By seeing your leader exemplify taking time for themselves, leaning into rest, not getting burned out, not sending emails at all hours of the night shows my team, 'Hey, it's OK for me to take time off.' They know I value that flexibility and the need for taking care of yourself."

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Lyft's head of benefits shares the moment when benefits became personal

Ed Ligonde, market director at brokerage firm Nava Benefits on how a pay cut clarified his career trajectory:

Ed Ligonde, market director at Nava Benefits

"I was working in business-to-consumer financial advising as a young kid out of college and I wasn't getting a lot of joy out of it. A friend of mine was a benefits adviser in the B2B space and suggested I join him, so I took a leap of faith and a massive pay cut, not knowing anything about what I was getting myself into. I realized that there is a drastic void of education in our system [and] I made it my mission to understand what kind of impact brokers have. I found this passion for connecting education and access to care."

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Karen Light, group director of benefits at retail chain Walmart, on how life-long financial wellness education guides her leadership today:

Karen Light, group director of benefits at Walmart

"My college degree was in economics. After law school, I went to work for a wealth manager in the retirement administration space, and I was there for a number of years before I came to Walmart. So my professional career has always been in plan administration and learning about retirement, and I think there's a natural relationship between retirement and financial well-being, which is my role today. I learned about how to achieve financial independence early in life, and it's important to share that with our associates. It's not just coursework that you teach someone; it's helping them understand money."

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Jon Lowe, chief people officer at early wage access platform DailyPay, on learning that it’s OK to let employees go:

Jon Lowe, chief people officer at DailyPay

"One of the management challenges I've had within the last three or four years is the idea that depending on where people are in their career, they will outgrow the organization. But I've learned it's actually OK for there to be a mismatch between the growth of the organization and the growth of people. I used to beat myself up wondering why I couldn't retain more 26-year-old MBAs, and the reason for it is they are growing at a rate that significantly outpaces the growth of the organization. I think that organizations do a disservice to people when they entice them to stay in a role that doesn't maximize their value during their high-growth years."

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