Senior Vice President, Product & Marketing (incl. European Retail), Jack Wolfskin GmbH & Co. KGaA
Leadership with Claire Midwood, Ex Adidas and Apple Exec
This special guest edition of Bite-Size marketing features ex adidas and Apple executive Claire Midwood, who shares her approach to leadership.
Claire shares with us her tips for being a great leader and draws on all of here experiences as a CEO.
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Transcript (41 segments)
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Miles0:00
Hello, I'm Miles and welcome to the bite-size marketing podcast. This episode aims to make marketing easy to understand for businesses of any size. I hope you enjoy.
Okay, hello and welcome to August. I'm joined by Claire Midwood. Hello Claire!
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Claire Midwood0:30
Hello Miles, hello everybody! Hello from Berlin, Germany.
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Miles0:44
We'll do a little preamble while people log on. We're going to talk about leadership today. I'm very excited because we've known each other a long time.
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Claire Midwood1:10
Yes, we met when we were about 12 – the Spice Girls were still spicy! We spoke about this yesterday – January 1997. I was 15? No, I was in my later 20s. Anyway, let's not dwell on that.
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Miles1:50
We've been using the old oil of U and we don't look a day over our early 30s. Right, Claire is going to run through a presentation on leadership. She's a leadership coach and freelance consultant. We started our corporate careers at Adidas. Please put comments in the chat and ask questions.
Claire, we have 12 people watching worldwide. Please let us know where you are. I'm going to hand over to you.
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Claire Midwood3:55
All right, I'll take it away. Hello everybody! I'm going to talk about the art of good leadership. First, a little about me. I'm a farmer's daughter, a single mother of an 11-year-old boy called Elliot. Family is very important.
In the 1980s I liked to match my shirt with the sofa – we had a denim sofa! I love sport, I was a big Soul Cyclist when I lived in America. I'm a keen baker – I do sport so I can eat my baking. And I'm a secret Taylor Swift fan – actually not secret, I proclaim my love for Tay. Elliot's first concert was Taylor Swift.
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Miles6:10
Aspirations for Bake Off, Claire?
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Claire Midwood6:12
I'd quite like to do the Great British Bake Off. Is there a German version? My German is poor, so maybe one day.
Let me talk about my career. I started at Adidas in 1997 as a sales training and retail support executive – that's how I met Miles. I then moved to head up women's training, then to global headquarters in Germany for 16 years. I took roles in training strategy, brand management, and then built the Adidas NEO brand from scratch – a wonderful opportunity to take risks and learn from failures.
I then took on Y-3 and Porsche Design Sport. Porsche Design Sport we closed because it didn't pay into the brand strategy – difficult decisions are part of leadership. Y-3 was a turnaround. My last role at Adidas was Concept to Consumer, managing global merchandising frameworks, retail environments, and embedding data analytics.
Then I moved to California as Managing Director of Channel for a brand, responsible for wholesale, franchise, e-commerce, and partner relationships. After two and a half years, I became CEO of Amari, a sexual wellness brand in Germany. That was a wonderful opportunity to test all my skills in transformation from startup to scale-up, resetting mission and purpose.
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Miles15:23
From Adidas days, values and tone of voice are drilled into you. Imparting that into a company that hasn't had that culture can make a big difference.
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Claire Midwood15:48
Absolutely. I work in the transformational space, supporting companies from startup to scale-up. Understanding purpose, vision, and mission – the North Star – is often missing.
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Miles16:14
Part of being a leader is knowing where you're leading people. This is your show – 22 people watching live worldwide. We have ex-colleagues in the chat. Questions welcome.
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Claire Midwood17:36
Why is leadership important? Leadership drives culture, culture drives behavior, behavior drives strategy. It's all interlinked. Not everyone is built for leadership – that's okay. Companies should have an expert path and a leadership path. Reflect before jumping into leading people.
One does not manage people; we lead people. The goal is to make productive the specific strengths of every individual. Management is about creating a plan, vision, purpose, and culture. Leadership is inspiring and motivating others to achieve their greatness. Ego and pride must be left at the door. Combined, they attract and retain talent.
Start with your 'why' – your purpose. Understand your personal why. I want to inspire and motivate people to achieve their greatness. That's why I do what I do.
The art of good leadership: be authentic, act with integrity, take responsibility for those in your charge and for failures. It's okay to say 'I don't know' – we'll find out together. Be courageous, take risks. Persistence is key. Create solutions. Listen and care – you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio. Be kind. Delegate liberally. Take care of yourself. Roll up your sleeves – never be afraid to unpack boxes or clean the toilet.
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Miles28:52
We have a question from Susanna: how do you handle saying 'I don't know' when others are ego-driven and want to get one over on you?
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Claire Midwood29:40
Have belief in yourself and be truthful. Faking it will be found out. Say 'I don't know, does anyone have ideas?' That takes courage and authenticity. Ego often comes from insecurity – remember the iceberg theory: you only see what's on top. Reflect on why you or others react that way.
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Miles32:28
Perfect. I'll save the next question for later.
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Claire Midwood32:34
It's not about being in charge; it's about taking care of those in your charge. I don't like the term CEO – Simon Sinek's 'Chief Visionary Officer' is better. My role is taking care of people. Hold great value in culture and people. Be empathetic and show vulnerability. Support people to achieve their greatness. Be honest, don't play games. There's only one version of you – don't pretend.
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Miles34:50
Many management books say don't show weakness, lead with the stick. That's exhausting. Brené Brown's TED Talk on vulnerability is excellent.
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Claire Midwood35:18
Be courageous, take risks, be non-hierarchical. I once asked a junior social media manager to write the strategy – she needed help. I learned to empower with support. Ask for feedback – only then will you truly know. Lead by example. A friend told me: 'You are at your best when you glide, walk slowly.' If I run, everyone runs; if I glide, everyone glides. Your behaviors become the norm and culture.
Finally, your energy batteries: emotional, inspirational, rational, physical. You are only as strong as your weakest axis. Take care of yourself – like putting your own oxygen mask on first. Self-care is critical.
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Miles40:14
Very inspiring. Thank you, Claire. We have questions. Fraser asks: if a company has no vision or north star, is that justification to move on?
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Claire Midwood41:11
First, try speaking to management – maybe it's missing or outdated. If they don't want to go down that path, then maybe it's not the place for you. Understand your own why to see if the company aligns.
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Miles42:28
Sometimes senior managers write a vision and shove it in a drawer. Investigate.
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Claire Midwood42:45
Exactly. Susanna asked about authenticity – it's fear and insecurity. Don't let that change your behavior. Myths like 'fake it till you make it' affect people.
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Miles43:37
Norin says you were a role model. Philip asks about your approach to mentoring.
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Claire Midwood44:09
Mentoring is helpful. If your company doesn't have a program, find your own mentors through networking. Know what you want to develop, then ask people for coffee. People love to impart wisdom. If there's no program, create one. Also, ask a coach who their coach is – that tells you if they take it seriously.
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Miles46:16
Fraser says he raised the mission issue with no positive signs, so he'll review his why. Great. Another Claire asks for advice for a woman in a leadership role.
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Claire Midwood48:04
Be yourself, be authentic, keep true to your values. I was often one of few women in leadership at Adidas. Don't let it deter you – you bring a valuable different perspective. 51% of the population is female, but we don't have that ratio in leadership yet. Don't try to be a man; be yourself.
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Miles49:15
Sarah asks for your top tip.
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Claire Midwood49:22
I have three: 1) Look after yourself – it's my weak spot. 2) Drink lots of water. 3) Self-reflection – reflect on your actions and others' to learn. Don't be afraid to look inside.
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Miles50:21
Making time for self-awareness is so important. Thank you, Claire. This will be on my website. If you're interested in leadership, get in touch with Claire. Thank you all for joining.
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Claire Midwood52:10
Thank you for having me, Miles. Thank you everybody. Love to all!
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Miles52:31
Thank you for listening to this bite-sized podcast. If you have questions, email me at [email protected] or WhatsApp me at +447540695785. Let me know what you think and if you put any tips into action. See you next time.