If you’re in HR, you need to know about Leena Nair. Spoiler alert: today she’s the CEO at CHANEL. But she grew her career in HR. 3 of my favorite lessons from Leena to help grow your HR career: ✅ Make Deliberate, Unconventional Choices Her unconventional choice? Supervising factories. She didn’t just go through the motions. She spent time learning how each role drove the business. Which empowered her for future responsibilities. Unconventional choices. Unique learnings. ✅ Notice Details & Take Action on Those Details While supervising factories, Leena saw women didn’t have separate bathrooms. So she ensured separate women’s bathrooms were built at each location. Later, she kicked off her time at CHANEL by visiting more than 100 retail locations & manufacturing sites and regional offices. No small feat - but she made sure to visit each key area of the business. Even at the top, she continues to make time for details. ✅ Remain Dedicated to Helping Others One of her mantras is: “Lift as you climb” Through her success, her focus remains on making it easier for those who come after her. Not the “I struggled and so should others” mentality we too often see. Which lesson resonates the most with you? ------------------------------------------------------- ♻ Repost if you found this helpful and follow me, Amy Mencarelli, to grow your HR career.
Amy Mencarelli, PHR, MBA thank you for sharing this story! It is encouraging to see others be authentic, unconventional and lift others to succeed together - we are not alone on this journey! I have learned to embrace being unconventional (creating my HR career without traditional education/certificates) and feel empowered to use my success to help others. "Lift as you climb" resonates with me immensely, too often businesses and executives focus on the $ (saving costs, exploiting those below) instead of growing and succeeding together - which is the most rewarding part!
Amy Mencarelli, PHR, MBA Respect for Leena Nair we love to boost our own identity by sharing such names but the efforts and endeavour she had put in since started her career post MBA from XLRI made a huge impetus into her run up to CEO CHANEL. So all these points as mentioned above, did play a role and in addition her understanding of people, process and products must have played a decisive role in n her elevation.
Rolling up sleeves and going to the less glamorous places, where the action happens. There is no better foundation for sky rocketing your career if you are really serious about reaching the stars.
The last one you mentioned. Remain Dedicated to Helping Others!
Lift as you climb is a great attitude to have. Sharing what you have learnt, and your experiences is one of the best actions you take as a team member and a leader. Holding onto secrets and knowledge isn't helpful to anyone.
Notice Details & Take Action on Those Details Details impact outcomes and results. They impact people. They impact day-to-day. They're important in ensuring comprehensive health of an organization and teams. Thanks for sharing, Amy!
Very informative. For me it's noticing details and taking actions. It's not enough to notice something that needs a change. What are you doing about it? What can you do about it? When you answer this question, the next step is to Do it. Thanks for sharing this.
There's so much to be said for getting out there and getting amongst it with your people to make them know you care about what they do and consider it in the work you're delivering.
They all are so effective, but it takes courage and confidence to make unconventional choices, especially when you, yourself are unconventional. I strive to be like that
Human Resource Professional | Relationship Builder | Employee Engagement Champion | Mental Health and Wellness Advocate| People over Profits
1wI LOVE “Lift as you climb” I have always tried to live by that kind of rule in both my career and personal life, but now I have a mantra that goes so well with it!