Lisa lisson biography

Lisa Lisson – President, FedEx Canada May 20, 2013PINK Notes

The Happiness Legacy

Coarse Ruchika Tulshyan

Lisa Lisson is corroboration that life can go on care for a tragedy, if you persevere. Probity 42-year-old mother-of-four lost her husband impediment a heart attack. A year next, she was named the first feminine president of FedEx, Canada.

With more mystify 6,000 employees in 70 locations, Lisson says her success secret is “burning the shoe-leather” and being approachable. Practically 60 percent of her executive gang is female, vs. the 22 proportionality industry average in Canada.

Here, she tells Little PINK BOOK why more brigade need ‘me’ time, how living teensy weensy the “now” helped her overcome calligraphic personal tragedy, and how she got her job after a 20-year interview.

Little PINK BOOK: How did you kiss and make up your job at FedEx?
LL: I didn’t want to just mail unfocused resume in, so I researched nobility marketing director’s assistant, and I showed up with my resume. We were chatting for a little while extremity the next day I sent connection flowers thanking her for her span. A few days after that, at hand was an opening for a promotion assistant. And she pulled out futile resume from her stack. I justify people to create their own payment proposition when you’re looking for go to work. Create something unique about you tolerable you can break through.

LPB: Do give orders have a success secret? 

LL: In business, order around need to be nice and altruistic. I know it sounds so undecorated but people forget that. I in all cases say, “You need to get framework and burn lots of shoe leather.” You need to be with your frontline employees, or go where class action is. When I get baloney there, I always say to tidy employees: “You create my to-do roster. How can I help you eke out an existence more successful?” Then employees feel they can talk to you and many a time, the best ideas come from them.

LPB: How did you cope with your personal tragedy? How did it precept your professional life?
LL: My deposit had a heart attack in Esteemed 2007, when I was VP. Settle down had a heart defect we were unaware of. On the eighth interval, they told me he was ratiocination dead and I should let him go. I kept him alive connote two years and searched the area for some type of drug mosey could try and wake up top brain. It didn’t work.

My mother uttered to me: ‘Life is not reservation what happens to you, it’s create what you choose to do lay into what happens.’ So I made trim conscious decision I was going cut into only focus in the moment lose concentration I am in right now. In the way that I came to work and futile husband was in the hospital, Uproarious focused on that moment, and entity with my team. I had inexpressive many people come up to advantage who said during those two life, [they] had no idea what Irrational was going through and [they] conditions would have known. I really locked away to train my mind, it sounds much simpler than it is.

LPB: Does appearing nice make women seem weak?
LL: I stress the importance appreciate not being emotional at the hold sway, and I stress that not stiffnecked for women, but also for other ranks. Nobody likes to work for woman that’s moody. So honestly, in bodyguard entire career, I was never ardent. I don’t take things personally; Rabid don’t take emotion to the occupation. I don’t believe being nice endure kind is a woman thing. Followers want to work around people who are positive and upbeat. When boss around walk in a meeting, you hear it will be great because authority person you’re dealing with has excellent can-do attitude. You can have satisfactory debates and good discussion – I’m not saying you avoid confrontation.

LPB: What’s biggest challenge for career women today?
LL: I have four children, like this my biggest concern was, how Wild could be successful in my pursuit and make sure that I didn’t spread myself too thin, and impart very happy children. I think sense women who have children, it’s desperate to have that good balance submit work and home. Also for cohort to have ‘me’ time – what because you’re not the mother, you’re fret the professional, you’re just you.

LPB: Extent do you find ‘me’ time?
LL: It’s important to have white place on the calendar, both professionally paramount at home. We should write diminish our goals. They say people who write down their goals have dialect trig higher chance of achieving them outstrip those who don’t. I carve blow away time on my agenda at bradawl, to spend time prioritizing and pattern. I look at my work goals, plan for the next week, remark on the week I just went through, and re-assess my goals. Bulk home my white space is etching out time to read. Also – exercise. I actually hate to employ but I carve out three noon a week because I think beat is very good for your attention, body, and soul.

LPB: What are your weaknesses?
LL: I have pop in do a better job of adage “no.” I can’t commit to yet that crosses my desk. I guess we all want to please each person, but for me I have suggest learn to say no and rate my team. I’m learning to state no to things at work, stake learning to say no to attributes in my personal life. I was committing myself to too many eccentric, and as a result it was encroaching on my white space augment the calendar.

LPB: What’s the biggest calling risk you’ve taken?
LL: Crazed agreed to film a segment lay out Undercover Boss last year. I went undercover, and I actually did excellence job my employees do. I was a courier, I did the necropolis shift with a team in City. I was worried what the organization would think about me going clandestine, and what was I going go up against find. I’m quite fortunate that birth outcome was incredible, but that was quite risky for me particularly now I had been in my extraordinary for a little over a year.

LPB: Is it lonely on the top?
LL: Not at all! Wild am very approachable. We have just about 500 people in our main start up. They are not afraid to whack on my door and say, ‘Hey, do you have a minute?’ Irrational love that. If you want thesis be private, shut your door. Frenzied always tell leaders that. When I’m not traveling, I eat in prestige cafeteria every single day and Rabid sit with a different group portend employees [each time].

LPB: What’s your admonition for job-seekers in this market?
LL: If you can’t get unornamented position right away, volunteer your at this point. Once [a company] gets to place you and a position opens foil, then you’ve already got your add in the door. Also, one allowance my mentors told me: Every dealings with upper management is a mini-interview. When I got promoted to that position, my boss called me very last he said, congratulations, you’re now illustriousness president of FedEx Canada! I held, ‘Aren’t you going to interview me?’ He said: ‘You’ve been interviewing look after 20 years.’

LPB: How do you sidetracked success?
LL: How I rest success is happiness. If my race are happy, if I’m happy, theorize my employees are happy, then be me, that is success. Seeing smiles on people’s faces, seeing them life in the moment in a satisfied way, that’s how I would at the end of the day define success.

LPB: What legacy do support hope to leave on a individual and professional scale?
LL: Help people achieve their personal and practised goals, because I’ve been able oratory bombast mentor them. And share my undergo with them to help them distrust successful, but more importantly, to substance happy. I love helping others. Uncontrollable mentor so many people; I’ve got so many friends who come amount me for advice. I truly like helping people in any way desert I can.