Recode Decode: Frances Frei

Decoder with Nilay Patel · with Frances Frei · June 3, 2020 · 49 min

Summary

This episode offers critical insights for ecommerce leaders on cultivating strong organizational cultures and authentic leadership. Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, discusses how to empower teams, address systemic biases, and navigate culture crises, drawing on her experiences with companies like Uber and WeWork. Listeners will learn how effective leadership impacts business success and ethical corporate practices, particularly relevant for scaling ecommerce businesses.

Key takeaways

• Prioritize authentic leadership over 'balance' or 'equal treatment' to foster true equity and empowerment within your organization.
• Understand that systemic biases exist within businesses and actively work to dismantle them to support women and people of color, which ultimately strengthens your workforce.
• Leverage crisis situations as opportunities for organizational culture transformation, as demonstrated by Uber's 'terrific success' in addressing past issues.
• Recognize that a company's treatment of its workers can significantly impact its market dominance and long-term stability, as highlighted by Amazon's example.
• Focus on empowering employees through clear communication and by building trust, which are foundational to strong leader-employee relationships and overall company performance.

Themes

Topics covered

Episode description

Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the new book she wrote with her wife Anne Morriss, Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. Frei — who has previously worked with Uber, WeWork, and Riot Games to address culture crises — discusses what good leadership today looks like, the unfair treatment of women and people of color in business, and why it's a mistake to chase "balance" or "equal treatment." She also reflects on her work with Uber and WeWork, calling the former a "terrific success," and explains the key difference between Uber's former CEO Travis Kalanick and WeWork's former chief Adam Neumann. Plus: Why Amazon's market dominance is threatened by its poor treatment of workers. Featuring: Frances Frei, co-author, Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You Host: Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large More to explore: On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything. On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media. On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next. And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon! About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Follow Us: Newsletter: Recode Daily Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Frequently asked about this episode

What does this episode say about founder & leadership?

Prioritize authentic leadership over 'balance' or 'equal treatment' to foster true equity and empowerment within your organization.

What does this episode say about brand & content?

Understand that systemic biases exist within businesses and actively work to dismantle them to support women and people of color, which ultimately strengthens your workforce.

What does this episode say about ai & automation?

Leverage crisis situations as opportunities for organizational culture transformation, as demonstrated by Uber's 'terrific success' in addressing past issues.

What does this episode say about founder & leadership?

Recognize that a company's treatment of its workers can significantly impact its market dominance and long-term stability, as highlighted by Amazon's example.

What does this episode say about founder & leadership?

Focus on empowering employees through clear communication and by building trust, which are foundational to strong leader-employee relationships and overall company performance.

Listen

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