I interviewed Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s new chief executive, several years ago for one of my books. My research for Fire Them Up led me to discover the qualities that all inspiring leaders share. Inspiration simply means to “elicit a fervent enthusiasm.” In other words, to get people excited about your ideas. Here are three leadership traits that I learned about the former Google vice president; qualities that will serve Mayer as she attempts to turn around Yahoo as its new CEO.
Mayer has passion. All inspiring leaders are passionate about their topic. As Google employee number 20, Mayer could be retired by now, sipping Mai Tai’s on a Caribbean island. But when I interviewed her, Mayer was working from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. After a workout in the Google gym, Mayer answered emails until 11:00 pm. A person simply cannot have that energy unless she is committed to the brand, its products, and is excited about the potential of that product to change the world. “I’m amazed at the role Google plays in the world today,” she told me. “Touching people’s lives and giving them information to choose better jobs, take better educational paths, find better medical treatment. Information is fundamentally critical.”
Mayer is a persuasive speaker. Inspiring leaders are great communicators. They tell stories to make an emotional connection with their audience. Mayer is an exceptional storyteller and presenter. I recently worked with an executive at one of the largest tech companies in the world. The executive said he had attended a presentation by Mayer who “blew away” the audience because her entire one-hour discussion was accompanied by ten slides—all pictures! It didn’t surprise me because I know Mayer adheres to the picture superiority principle I’ve discussed in previous columns; namely, pictures are more persuasive than bullet points. Mayer doesn’t deliver presentations. She tells stories and uses presentation slides to complement the story.
Mayer is a motivator. Inspiring leaders create meaning. “Employees, especially young people, want more than a paycheck,” Mayer told me.” They want to feel as though their work has meaning. Mayer isn’t just a good listener. She actively invites her employees to help build the brand. Mayer adopted a concept from her days at Stanford—office hours. For about 90 minutes a day, beginning at 4:00 pm, Mayer used to hold office hours at Google. Employees would add their name to a board outside her office and, on a first-come basis, would get a few minutes of her time. These interactions were held outside of the longer, regularly scheduled meetings. They were more impromptu and offered her subordinates an opportunity to give feedback on projects or to pitch ideas. Mayer said many of Google’s most popular features got their start during office hours. Her employees may only have received a few minutes of her time but they all left knowing they had been heard.