ABOUT ANNE

I didn’t know how the game worked, so I learned it from the inside.

I didn’t know how the game worked, so I learned it from the inside.

I started my career managing people before I really understood what leadership was.

I was young, often the only woman in the room, and trying to figure out how to lead, make good decisions and build a career inside environments where nobody handed you the rulebook.

Over the next decade, I learned by doing.

Some lessons came from promotions.

Some came from mistakes.

Most came from sitting inside the rooms where the decisions about people, performance, opportunity and scope were actually being made.

That experience became Leaders With Style.

WHERE IT STARTED

I was leading before I felt ready to lead.

I was leading before I felt ready to lead.

My first real leadership role put me in charge of a large team before I had much experience to fall back on.

There was no moment where I suddenly felt qualified.

I had to learn how to make decisions with incomplete information, give direction when I was still figuring things out myself, manage people with more experience than I had and build credibility without pretending I knew everything.

At the same time, I was navigating a new career, new environments and rooms where I was often the youngest person — and frequently the only woman.

I learned very quickly that working hard was necessary.

But it wasn’t enough.

WHAT TEN YEARS TAUGHT ME

The corporate ladder isn’t a meritocracy.

But it isn’t random either.

The corporate ladder isn’t a meritocracy.

But it isn’t random either.

There are patterns.

People get trusted with bigger scope for reasons.

They get promoted for reasons.

They get quietly written off for reasons.

And many of those reasons have very little to do with whether they are the hardest-working person in the room.

01

EXECUTION IS THE TICKET TO ENTRY

EXECUTION IS THE TICKET TO ENTRY

Being excellent at the work matters.

But eventually it becomes evidence, not the entire case.

02

THE RIGHT PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE EVIDENCE

THE RIGHT PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE EVIDENCE

Your work does not speak for itself.

Someone has to understand what it says about your judgment, readiness and ability to handle greater scope.

03

JUDGMENT MATTERS MORE AS THE ANSWERS GET LESS OBVIOUS

JUDGMENT MATTERS MORE AS THE ANSWERS GET LESS OBVIOUS

The more senior you become, the fewer problems come with a playbook.

04

PERCEPTION IS NOT SUPERFICIAL

PERCEPTION IS NOT SUPERFICIAL

Perception is how other people interpret the evidence you give them.

That interpretation influences trust, opportunity and scope.

05

THE MEETING BEFORE THE MEETING MATTERS

THE MEETING BEFORE THE MEETING MATTERS

Important decisions are often shaped before the formal meeting starts.

06

MECHANISMS SCALE. BLAME DOESN’T.

MECHANISMS SCALE. BLAME DOESN’T.

When something goes wrong, strong leaders ask why the system allowed the miss and what changes so it does not happen again.

THE EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE POINT OF VIEW

10+

10+

YEARS INSIDE A FORTUNE 10 COMPANY

4

4

PROMOTIONS IN FIVE YEARS

5+

5+

YEARS IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

1,000+

1,000+

PEOPLE LED

I have built teams, led large operations, worked across complex organizations and sat in performance and talent conversations where decisions about scope and readiness were being made.

I have been the person being evaluated.

And I have been the leader evaluating other people.

That is the perspective I bring to Leaders With Style.

WHY I BUILT LEADERS WITH STYLE

You shouldn’t have to spend ten years learning the unwritten rules by accident.

You shouldn’t have to spend ten years learning the unwritten rules by accident.

For a long time, I assumed everyone eventually figured these things out.

Then I realized how much career advice focuses on the visible part of success:

Work hard.

Do good work.

Ask for feedback.

Find a mentor.

Speak up more.

All useful.

But incomplete.

The questions I was hearing from ambitious professionals were different:

How do senior leaders actually make decisions?

How do senior leaders actually make decisions?

Why does my manager keep telling me to “be more strategic”?

Why does my manager keep telling me to “be more strategic”?

How do I know what to escalate?

How do I know what to escalate?

How do I disagree with someone more senior without making it political?

How do I disagree with someone more senior without making it political?

How do I build confidence in my judgment?

How do I build confidence in my judgment?

Why am I doing everything right but still not being seen as ready?

Why am I doing everything right but still not being seen as ready?

Those are the questions Leaders With Style exists to answer.

I teach the part nobody puts in the leadership handbook.

I teach the part nobody puts in the leadership handbook.

A FEW THINGS I BELIEVE

01

Ambition is not something you need to apologize for.

Ambition is not something you need to apologize for.

02

A powerful career should create options, not consume your entire identity.

A powerful career should create options, not consume your entire identity.

03

Money matters.

Money matters.

04

Scope matters more than title.

Scope matters more than title.

05

You should understand the game you are playing.

You should understand the game you are playing.

06

Being needed is not the same as being senior.

Being needed is not the same as being senior.

07

Good leadership is transferable.

Good leadership is transferable.

08

Your team should become stronger because you led them.

Your team should become stronger because you led them.

09

You should know when a problem needs more effort — and when effort is not the problem.

You should know when a problem needs more effort — and when effort is not the problem.

10

You should be able to explain why you made the decision you made.

You should be able to explain why you made the decision you made.

OUTSIDE THE ORG CHART

I care deeply about building an ambitious career.

I also believe the point of building one is to create a life you actually want to live.

I like beautiful things, loud music, good coffee, great clothes and rewarding myself when I hit a goal.

I am an introvert.

I have spent a lot of my career learning how to lead without becoming the loudest person in the room.

And I still think one of the most useful career skills is learning how to take the work seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

THE PERSON BEHIND LEADERS WITH STYLE

A few things to know about me.

Leadership is a big part of my life, but it isn’t the whole story. A little more about the person behind Leaders With Style — what I care about, how I work and what I’m building.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE

Leadership strategy for the part of your career nobody really teaches you.

Leadership strategy for the part of your career nobody really teaches you.

01

Judgment

02

Managing up

03

Executive communication

04

Influence

05

Perception

06

Promotion strategy

07

Leading through ambiguity

08

Stakeholder management

09

Decision making

10

Career strategy

EXPLORE IDEAS →

WORK WITH ANNE

If the problem is not effort, but judgment, influence, communication or positioning, this is the work.

If the problem is not effort, but judgment, influence, communication or positioning, this is the work.

I work with ambitious professionals who are already good at what they do and want to operate at greater scope.

WORK WITH ANNE →

You do not need to become someone else to operate at a higher level.

You do not need to become someone else to operate at a higher level.

You need to understand what the level actually requires.

You need to understand what the level actually requires.