Joy Atkinson, president and chief executive officer of Presperse, is a self-described learner and manifester, something she consistently shares with her team.
Atkinson’s path to success includes an openness to new ideas, monthly meetings to discuss and manifest the journey the company is taking to achieve its goals, and caring for the emotional health of her employees. Manifesting a successful future for Presperse is something Atkinson began in her interview with the ingredient supplier, when she created a five-year strategy, presenting what she thought was possible for the company to achieve, she said at the WWD x FN x Beauty Inc Woman in Power event in New York.
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Atkinson said she brings together employees once a month for a “journey” meeting, where the team goes through the journey that the team is on together. This is a time to share ideas, concerns and questions with Atkinson and other executives. Taking a cue from Tony Hsieh’s book, “Delivering Happiness,” Atkinson also responds to questions from a question box during the meeting, telling the audience this is done authentically and without preparation.
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Atkinson laughed at herself as she acknowledged the reputation she has earned throughout her career for sharing books with those who come to her office. In fact, Atkinson keeps a sort of library and collection of books to give away in her office as she encourages others to learn and grow. Two books that are in Atkinson’s top recommendations are “Outlive” by Peter Atita and “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.
Atkinson also acts as a mentor, and credits her mentors with helping her achieve success.
“It’s those gifts that you all have that we all have, that when your gifts are being utilized and you’re happy you will never work a day in your life,” Atkinson said. “What we try to do is to make sure that the gifts that people are bringing to work every day are really getting utilized. We’re setting examples and we’re working with both men and young women, to help them lead and not be afraid and to be resilient and to say that’s OK, and to give everyone a safety net when the stakes are great in our company because that’s how we learn. We don’t want to make the same mistake over and over clearly, but we embrace learning and this makes us happy.”
Moreover, as a leader, Atkinson aims to set a good example for everyone she works with, citing mental health and emotional and spiritual health as the most important things, followed by family, putting work in third place.
“We’ve constantly talked about mental health,” Atkinson said. “And if you need the space to breathe, if you need the space to take a step back, all you have to do is say ‘I need some time’ and that’s it. No one ever questions that if a person takes a step back. I feel that sometimes you just [have to] go and do something or I [have to] go for a walk on the beach or walk in the neighborhood. That’s really how we do it — we believe in empathy.”
Answering Atkinson’s manifestation of a bright future for Presperse, through purpose-driven action, the company continues to hit new goals and tackle new ones. It’s important, she said, to listen to your voice and the voices of others. Change is hard but leading with empathy along the journey makes a huge difference, she said.