In honor of Women’s History Month in 2020, we highlighted and celebrated a cross-section of the impressive women who make Purple the special place that it is. With women comprising almost 60% of our talented team, and more than 60% of our client teams benefitting from women in leadership roles, that spectrum of women to potentially feature was – and continues to be – wide.
For our 2021 project, we went narrow.
We grabbed five minutes with four executives leading critical segments of the business and people at Purple: the heads of our world-class creative and insights teams (Jillayne Rogers and Denise Brien), our executive and logistics function (Zibby Logie), and the firm as a whole (Kristen Morgante). And we asked them to share perspectives and thinking in honor of Women’s History Month. Here they reflect on the women who’ve inspired them, the best or worst leadership advice they’ve received, actions they think organizations could take to enhance their pipeline of women leaders, and more.
Partner and Chief Operating Officer
Kristen Morgante
A woman or women who have inspired you during your career.
“I’ve been blessed to work with so many amazingly talented women throughout my career, but I have to say I’ve gotten my inspiration from my mom and my younger sister for very different reasons. My mom always pushed me out of my comfort zone and my sister has modeled the effectiveness of quiet leadership. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to get people to listen, but you do have to be willing to share your point of view.”
The best or worst leadership advice you’ve gotten.
“It certainly wasn’t leadership advice, but I did have an experience that shaped the type of leader I aspire to be. Early in my career, a friend set up a meeting with a high profile political journalist to talk about opportunities in broadcasting and journalism. After speaking with me for 10 minutes, he sat back in his chair and said, ‘since you don’t really know what you want to do, I suggest you go waitress somewhere so as not to waste anyone’s time.’ From that one meeting, I learned how meaningful it can be to act as a generous advocate.“
One thing companies should do to retain or increase the number of women in their talent/leadership pipeline.
“Time is in short supply these days, especially for working parents. The one thing we’ve learned throughout this past year, is that the way people can work has changed. Offering flexibility for women may be a way to keep women in the work force for longer periods of time.“
What you wish you could tell a young woman starting out in her career, or yourself at that stage.
“Be brave. Push yourself to be uncomfortable and embrace change. It is not advice I’ve always followed, but it is something we are trying to instill in our two young daughters AND our two young sons.”
Something good – lesson, habit, memory, etc. – you’ll keep from this past crazy year.
“I’ve learned the importance of maintaining balance and establishing boundaries between work and family. Nobody will do it for you. And if you want to show up professionally, you have to be comfortable giving yourself permission to be present in your personal life.“
More on Kristen
Partner and Chief Creative Officer
Jillayne Rogers
A woman or women who have inspired you during your career.
“Coco Chanel. It’s cliché, of course, but what inspires me is her sticktuitiveness on ‘being different.’ She built a billion-dollar empire by breaking the mold.”
The best or worst leadership advice you’ve gotten.
“‘Anyone can hold the helm when it’s calm.’ I think I first heard this in a political strategy session in reference to a candidate, but it really oriented my thinking about leadership as a duty and not an accolade.”
One thing companies should do to retain or increase the number of women in their talent/leadership pipeline.
“I try not to think about retaining women, specifically, I try to think about retaining HUMANS, period. Recognizing that the people you work with have so many important things in their lives – including work – and many, many demands upon their time and resources helps up an organization’s empathy and keep great people. I think this is something Purple excels at, actually, thanks to the leaders we have (many of whom are women! ha!).”
What you wish you could tell a young woman starting out in her career, or yourself at that stage.
“‘Having it all’ means having it all at the same time! So be kind to yourself and embrace the chaos.”
Something good – lesson, habit, memory, etc. – you’ll keep from this past crazy year.
“With so much downside to this year, I’ve made it a habit to think about one upside thing every day. Like maybe more zoom calling with friends who are far away will stick around! I didn’t do that much before the pandemic.”
More on Jillayne
Managing Director, Insights Operations
Denise Brien
A woman or women who have inspired you during your career.
“I have been fortunate enough to work for several amazing women leaders throughout my career – women who gave me my first real job, introduced me to my current field, promoted me to my first management position, and brought me to Purple Strategies. But I’ll single out my late friend and mentor Patricia Martin, who was the COO of the first company I worked for – she taught me to stand up for myself when I was just starting out, she reminded me to take pride in every job that I did, no matter how small I might think it was (‘Because if you can’t do a small job well, why would anyone trust you to do more?’), and she gave me ‘permission’ to stop making homemade pie crust for Thanksgiving (in her trademark Lubbock drawl, ‘Honey, I haven’t made a pie crust in 30 years!’) – all lessons I am immensely thankful for to this day.”
The best or worst leadership advice you’ve gotten.
“The best advice I’ve received on leadership: when you think about how you want to lead, think of the people you think are great leaders. Reflect on what it is about them that resonates with you and inspires you, and what they do and say that makes you want to follow them. Do that, to the best of your ability. Then think about people you think are bad leaders, and what they do (or don’t do) that makes you feel that way – and try not to do that.”
One thing companies should do to retain or increase the number of women in their talent/leadership pipeline.
“Can I do two things? Larger companies should pair every emerging woman leader with someone in the C-suite, to help women develop their professional network, introduce those already in power to their competencies and accomplishments, and create sponsors who will be in a position to lobby for women leaders to get jobs at the next level in the future. And all companies should set goals in their hiring process to ensure that they are recruiting and interviewing women and diverse candidates.”
What you wish you could tell a young woman starting out in her career, or yourself at that stage.
“Develop a close relationship with feedback: listening for it, asking for it, internalizing it, addressing it. Understand that feedback comes in all shapes and sizes, and will just as often come indirectly (i.e., not called out specifically as feedback) as it will directly.”
Something good – lesson, habit, memory, etc. – you’ll keep from this past crazy year.
“We have a pink dogwood tree right outside the window of my home office. Until last year, I’d never been home during the day to see it blossom and fill my window with pink flowers. Early in the pandemic last Spring, I developed the habit of getting up from my desk for a 5-minute break to look out the window at this beautiful tree. My moment of zen.”
More on Denise
Head of Executive Operations and Logistics
Zibby Logie
A woman or women who have inspired you during your career.
My mom. She came here from New Zealand at the age of 23 with my dad to start a new life. She left all her family and friends for the unknown. It fills my heart every day with gratitude.
The best or worst leadership advice you’ve gotten.
Always treat people – no matter who they are – the way you would expect to be treated yourself. Be confident but always humble. And ask questions – no question is a dumb one.
One thing companies should do to retain or increase the number of women in their talent/leadership pipeline.
Include and empower female employees to shape the company culture. Better education around gender bias and inclusion. We can’t expect everyone to inherently know how to check their own biases. This has to be a proactive and ongoing effort to be inclusive and see things from another perspective.
What you wish you could tell a young woman starting out in her career, or yourself at that stage.
Build as many relationships as you can, don’t burn any bridges, and always be a team player.
Something good – lesson, habit, memory, etc. – you’ll keep from this past crazy year.
Life really is short. Appreciate the people you have in your life; let them know they are loved and valued.
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