It’s tricky to balance what people want to hear with what I feel I need to say. To me, the best starting point is to come from the heart. I mean this figurately as I will write about what is meaningful to me, but I also mean this literally because of Gerber Plumbing’s core values of HEART: humility, enthusiasm, accountability, resourcefulness and transparency. 

For me, humility stands out as the most crucial to leadership success. I don’t want to become too big to do the smallest task or “sweep the sheds,” as I like to say.

Admittedly, I almost missed acknowledging a fundamental fact about me in this column: I’m a woman. Even less obvious, I am a woman of color in leadership. I am a Latina who grew up in the South Side of Chicago — and the first woman to contribute to this column.

I’m incredibly blessed to work for an organization where 33 percent of the executive leadership team are women, and I’m one of three female presidents in the history of Gerber. Last week, I met a new manufacturer representative. She was introduced to me and giggled with joy when we shook hands, saying, “It is so cool to see a woman in leadership; sorry to geek out,” then apologized to her boss, “no offense.”

I share these facts because many readers may have had a similar experience. It’s hard to find a leader who looks like you, has a similar background or shares your values. For the first 10 years of my career, I longed for a mentor I could identify with, someone who I could see my future self in and who could give me guidance, wisdom and advice on navigating my career and building a successful future. 

Before joining the plumbing industry, I spent 18 years in the automotive aftermarket, often the only woman at the table. So for me, it was challenging to find a mentor who shared my life experience and aspirations. For many of us, this may look different. It may be hard to find a mentor or leader who has similar values, understands our family dynamics or is simply willing to take a more junior person under their wing. 

I found myself in a position where I had to look elsewhere to learn about leadership, and I did so by educating myself in every way I could. This could be books, podcasts, people in other companies and industries. Through this journey, I learned a lot about leadership, and I want to share the lessons that benefited me the most and I believe will benefit you as well. 

So, what is leadership anyway? This definition from Brené Brown — a professor, author and podcaster who studies courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy — resonates with me: “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and who has the courage to develop that potential.” 

I often tell my teams that leadership equals influence. By that definition, everyone is a leader, no matter their role. We all have influence and choose how to use it — positively or negatively.

Leading others has brought me immeasurable joy. Watching my team grow, thrive, and accomplish things they never thought possible fills me with a deep sense of fulfillment. There’s nothing quite like seeing the potential in people, guiding them, and then witnessing their success firsthand. It’s a privilege that I hold close to my heart, one that continually fuels my passion for leadership.

Regardless of where you are on your leadership journey, here are some practical insights that focus on growth and influence rather than personal success.

Define the Leader You Want to Be

Fifteen years ago, I reflected on the legacy I wanted to leave. As a professional, a mother of four and a marketing expert, I aimed to be a servant leader — focusing on the growth, well-being and empowerment of others. 

Since then, I have dedicated myself to helping people achieve their goals and unlock their potential. I want to create a lasting impact, where people continue to develop and support each other even after I’m gone. Although I am proud of my achievements, I want to be remembered for championing personal fulfillment and fostering young leaders to lead with purpose.

Reaching this leadership vision for myself took a lot of self-reflection, but here are some things I hope you will find helpful in defining your leadership style.

•  Know your strengths and weaknesses. Something that helped me find this quickly was through Gallup StrengthsFinder, followed by affirming the results with my own managers, coworkers, close friends and family. 

•  Define why you want to be a leader. I did a lot of journaling and self-reflection to answer this question, but highly recommend Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” as a resource. 

•  Emulate a leader you admire. Another way to define your personal leadership is to find a leader you admire (past or present) and identify what qualities you admire. I found myself returning to my Christian faith, which focuses on serving and loving others, and wanting to model my leadership style accordingly. 

•  Get out of your own way. Understand your goals and remove your own obstacles to achieve them. For me, the hardest part was understanding my blind spots and understanding which would be detrimental to achieving the vision of the legacy I had journaled about.

Committing to a definitive leadership style can be scary, especially if you do so “out loud” in any capacity. This holds you accountable and forces you to self-reflect and acknowledge when you have not lived up to an ideal. That’s OK, none of us are perfect. What has helped me in this situation is acknowledging my shortcomings and focusing on continuous improvement. 

Having my leadership legacy defined and documented guides me, keeps me grounded and makes work fulfilling and fun. Titles and power are fleeting; understanding my core beliefs allows me to lead with perseverance and peace in an uncertain world. 

Recognize You Have Two Career Paths

As I progressed, I realized being a leader is like having two separate jobs: the tactical side and what I call my “second career” — leadership. Typically, you get promoted because you excel at your tactical job. However, not everyone is prepared for the leadership challenges that come with it.

When I started as president at Gerber, an executive coach shared startling statistics: 40 percent of executive transitions fail in the first 18 months, and 60 percent of new managers fail in the first year. How’s that for some personal motivation? I’m kidding, but these statistics led me to dig to find out why so many new leaders fail. 

Moving up the corporate ladder is like exercising; you must develop different muscle groups to get strong. Most people focus on their “tactical muscles” or hard skills early in their careers. People often get promoted into leadership roles when they have well-developed tactical muscles and excel in their roles. 

However, the trap most new leaders often fall into is that they spent too much time growing their tactical muscles and neglected their “leadership muscles.” This is the leadership version of “skipping leg day,” and leaves leaders unprepared to guide their teams to success. The result is that rockstar contributors can turn into floundering leaders. How do we prevent this from happening?

Whether you are a new or seasoned leader, recognize that this position is your second career. The hard skills that made you excel in your tactical role may not translate into good leadership skills. Dedicate as much time and focus to developing your leadership muscles as you did your tactical ones. This may mean incorporating a new exercise into your day-to-day routine or flipping your routine to develop these new skills. 

Some practical things that have helped me develop these skills throughout my career are: 

•  Keep your ego in check. This seems obvious, but ego is the biggest barrier to successful leadership. When we hear “ego,” we often think of a larger-than-life egomaniac, but ego is sly and deceptive. Don’t let your ego creep up on you.

•  Develop your emotional intelligence (EQ). EQ is a skill that can be learned, unlike your IQ, which is thought to be inherited. Many resources are available to help you develop your EQ. 

•  Communicate openly, especially on difficult subjects. Learn to have hard conversations and give people open and honest feedback; this will help you develop strong relationships and create trust. I find that if I truly care about the well-being and development of a person, then having a hard conversation is the kind thing to do.

Regardless of your approach, developing soft skills is crucial to your success as a leader. You’ve had a successful career in your tactical field, now make sure your second career as a leader is even better. 

Be Curious and Never Stop Learning

After 22 years of experience, I’m still obsessed with learning about leadership. The key to always improving in leadership is to listen to feedback, be curious and never stop learning. 

The first step in being curious is listening to others. Listening to feedback will allow you to celebrate your victories and acknowledge your shortcomings. Ask for feedback readily and be prepared to respond to it openly. 

Last year, I wrote myself an affirmation after some eye-opening feedback from my children: “I am a present leader who listens intently to hear and understand. I do not engage with my phone when others are talking. I set boundaries with my phone.” If you want brutally honest feedback, talk to your family — they’ll tell you exactly where you’re falling short, likely in areas relevant at work, too. 

Take feedback from all levels of your organization for the most well-rounded vision. You do not need to incorporate every piece of advice or feedback you receive, but you must acknowledge it. What has helped me build trust is explaining why I am not acting on the feedback I received, rather than brushing off a comment. 

The next step is to never stop learning. Our world, our industry and the people we work with are constantly changing — we need to keep up if we want to succeed. Early in my career, I did not find the mentor I was looking for, so I had to find another way to learn. I used the adversities I faced to get better and not bitter, and I encourage you to do the same. 

I’ve provided a QR code with a list of the most influential books and podcasts that helped shape my leadership journey. I hope these resources are helpful to you, and I encourage you to dive into different areas so you can learn and grow your leadership muscles. 

I often joke that selling Gucci bags isn’t in my future — I’m more of a toilets and faucets kind of gal. I love this industry because it deals with relatable, everyday things that everyone needs. The opportunity to positively impact lives through our work is why I’m passionate about this business. I hope these notes help shape your leadership journey, and I look forward to learning more from each other! 

Carmen Fiordirosa is president of Gerber Plumbing Fixtures/ Globe Union North American Group. She was promoted in 2023 after previously holding the role of vice president of marketing. Before joining Gerber, Fiordirosa gained more than 18 years of experience in building category-leading consumer brands in the automotive aftermarket. Equipped with extensive expertise in marketing and leadership, she honed her skills in international business, e-commerce, omni-channel sales and cross-cultural marketing.