Stop and Listen: Interview with Rhonda Vetere, CIO of Herbalife
I recently went one on one again with Rhonda Vetere. Rhonda previously participated in my Lessons in Leadership series in Thrive Global. Rhonda is currently the Chief Information Officer of Herbalife and had previously served as the Chief Information & Technology Officer for Esteé Lauder.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Rhonda: My Mom has always had the biggest impact in my life. I grew up as only child and watched her work two jobs to support our family. It was her struggle that gave me the tough skin and resiliency that I continue to carry forever. This is also why I knew at an early age I wanted to make this world a better place by building unity and strong bonds in my life.
In my life and my career, I’ve always recognized the stigma around women in the workplace and how it translated into a lack female mentors in the business world. This inspired me to push myself stronger to make this world a better place and be a role model for others. So as a leader, I overcame being one of the youngest, female Managing Directors in the Finance Sector in my career. I didn’t know it at the time but in hindsight, it prepared me to have grit in many industries that were historically male dominated and to have empathy for all walks of life.
That’s why it’s my life mission to be a competitive, team-focused leader, mentor a diverse group of executives from all line of business and to continue to use my platform to inspire others {most importantly women}.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key characteristics of an effective leader?
Rhonda: Great question Adam. In my experience, there are 3 characteristics of an effective leader.
The first and most important is that effective leadership is built on the people that you surround yourself with. Every single person contributes to the overall wellness of the organization. A strong team is the key to growth, stability, and impact. Learning to foster strong relationships with those people on your team is vital, no matter how many are on your team, where they live or what they do. Furthermore, you must learn to recognize your people and appreciate how much each individual matters not only boost team moral, but also makes your shine as a leader.
Secondly, time management. Time is the most valuable asset and is the only true, non-renewable resources. Poor use of time is a major contributor to blown deadlines and missed project markers which leads to inefficiencies and lack of positive impact to the business. I learned this very early on in my career and attribute much of my success in my ability to manage my time and my team’s time effectively.
Lastly, be accountable and responsible. Effective leaders recognize that the buck stops with you. You must use power and authority appropriately in holding ourselves accountable and taking responsibility for any and all successes as well as mistakes. It is only by your example that your team will know that they must do the same. You must set the precedent by setting goals, establishing guidelines, taking action, and do what you say you’re going to do. Your team will follow your example.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Rhonda: Leaders and aspiring leaders can take their leadership skills to the next level by continuing to work on the foundational areas of leadership. One of the most important characteristics that we must continually work on and practice is communication and transparency. In order to up level, you must continuously communicate well and embrace this skill with every fiber of your being. Getting the right message across at the right time in the right tone and context impact your organization and team performance, both positively and negatively. It’s important to be flexible, try different things with different people and provide training when needed.
Adam: What are your best tips on leading during a time of crisis?
Rhonda: The most important tip that I can give any leader managing in a time of crisis is to stop and ‘listen.’ It is vital to your success as an effective leader to learn to ‘problem solve’ under complex and rapidly changing situations, especially when definitive information isn’t readily available. I’ve developed a 3 step process that I live that not only makes others feel understood and validated, but also helps me to process and react wisely.
Step 1, get the facts. The first thing you must do is not act, but gather all the available information so you must put yourself in ‘listen’ mode in order to do so.
Step 2, process the information. This includes everything that you are being briefed on, but also includes very important contextual visual and audio cues as well as the setting and any background information. Most importantly in step 2 is that you must ask questions to clarify.
Step 3, react. When you react, handle the most urgent matter first, and then work your way down the list, listening to hear and understand, processing and pivot/tackle as you go.
Adam: What are your best tips for leaders on the topic of mental health?
Rhonda: I’m an avid sports fan and real-world corporate athlete. As a part of who I am, I stay focused and sharp by incorporating health into all aspects of my life. While I love to compete in marathons, triathlons and Ironmans on a regular basis, I know that it’s not for everyone. That being said, I encourage and push my team to uphold the corporate athlete mentality by assimilating physical fitness in their routines. It’s my belief that high-performing professionals must be both mentally and physically strong.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Rhonda: The best advice that I can give any effective leader about building, leading and managing teams is to work for your team. Servant leadership is a huge part of how I run my teams and this type of full-contact leadership requires you to roll up your sleeves, get in the trenches and do the hard things with your people.
Adam: What are the key trends in technology leaders should be aware of and what should they understand about them?
Rhonda: Collaboration is key to making anything work in life, both personally and professionally. In the post-COVID world where people are working at home in isolation, it is important that you learn even more about how people crave, need human contact and what makes us tick as human beings.
In any organization, you must ensure that your collaboration tool suite is scalable, reliable, sustainable and ultimately allows your people to socialize easily. While we are always focused on reliability for our systems, it is clear that we needed to humanize technology and create ‘communities’ for people to work and continue on the journey together. Design, digital, and innovation thinking sessions are now on collaboration tools online.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing and branding?
Rhonda: The best tip that I believe is most important for any line of sales, marketing and branding is ‘authenticity.’ People buy from people they trust and the only way to uphold integrity is to be as authentic in your messaging as possible. Whether you are selling/marketing yourself or the next big technology, you lose credibility if people don’t believe that you believe in what you are pushing.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Rhonda: The best advice that I’ve ever received was “you will never be so smart, so accomplished, or so advanced that you won’t benefit from learning from someone ahead of you.” This is why I place such a big emphasis on person-to-person mentorship and mentor so many. I am blessed with the opportunity to have so many experiences in my lifetime so far and it’s my goal to help others learn from those experiences.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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