One of my favorite opening questions to my podcast guests is, “What did your 11-year-old self want to be when you grew up?” If you follow the podcast, WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™, or have read my new book, Facing the Seduction of Success, you know how this has proven to be a great way to jumpstart a conversation.
At age 11, my guest this week, Rebecca Boston, Chief Marketing Officer of True Botanicals, was passionate about makeup and had a career goal of becoming a Mary Kay lady, lured in part by the possibility of a pink Cadillac. When it came time for college, her interests had pivoted to politics, and she studied public affairs, thinking that would be her way of positively impacting the world. She could not have known then that her career journey would lead her back to the beauty world — although not the Mary Kay beauty world of her tween years — where she would discover that there are lots of ways to contribute to the planet and that marketing clean, sustainable beauty is one of them.
As Rebecca talked about her journey, from Edelman to Bare Minerals to Google to Fenty Beauty to True Botanicals, she shared an attitude she developed early on, with sage advice from a mentor: “If you’re given papers to file, you file the heck out of those papers… If they’re sending you out to get coffee, you nail that coffee order.” She believes that giving herself 110% to every task shows that you can be counted on always to do your best. She is sure that attitude has contributed to her success as much as her talent. Even now, as a C-suite executive, she feels that no task is beneath her, which also explains why she has a dedicated team, including colleagues who have followed her from company to company.
This brings me to our discussion of leadership. A lot of Rebecca’s approach to leadership mirrors my own. She tries to create a work culture that says to her team members, “let’s focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses and develop what you do best.” She works to ensure that everyone on her team uses their talents to the greatest extent possible. While she pushes people to grow and reach, she does it in the style of a coach and a cheerleader rather than a critical boss. What brings her joy is watching those on her team blossom.
Throughout our conversation, we kept coming back to choices since Rebecca has had to make many during her impressive career. She voiced more wisdom from her mother that keeps resonating with her at each step: There are no wrong choices. You follow the opportunities you have, do your best, use your talents, and eventually, you’ll get to where you are supposed to be. This reminded me of a metaphor I use of having a lifelong backpack that you keep filling with experiences and skills, never knowing when they will be of use but keeping it open and continuing to fill it up just the same.
This episode is jam-packed with more reflections on building a career while cherishing life outside of work. There are meaningful moments here for everyone, so I hope you’ll tune in to hear our full conversation. I mean, who couldn’t use a few more nuggets of wisdom?
Listen to the WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ Podcast Episode 210 featuring Rebecca Boston.