From the ring to the C-suite, WWE’s Stephanie McMahon has shown the world that she’s a force to be reckoned in both the corporate and wrestling world.
Being a part of the family business — where her parents have both held the position of WWE CEO — McMahon currently holds the position of WWE’s chief brand officer, responsible for supporting growth initiatives within the entertainment firm, in addition to being a spokesperson for various areas.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, she told CNBC how she started off working on the switchboard when she was a teenager, before going on to other roles in the business.
“I basically interned and worked in every different department within our company and ultimately went on to become the first woman ever to head up our live events division, our talent relations division, our creative writing division, (and) our digital division,” she said.
And with every role McMahon has taken on, from modeling Rockers t-shirts in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) shop catalog to becoming WWE’s chief brand officer in 2013, there’s a lot of lessons McMahon has picked up on her way to the top.
“Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the way are: to listen — really listen to everyone.”
“Even if you get that two minute moment in the elevator to ask someone how they’re doing, or maybe what they’re working on or what one of their biggest challenges is,” she told CNBC’s Life Hacks Live.
Another aspect McMahon sees as incredibly important? “Empower your team,” she notes.
“You always want to hire people who are smarter than you, because you want to learn from them and you’re never going to necessarily know every aspect of what’s happening. The world is changing too fast, you have to have really smart people who can educate you from a high level perspective, so you can determine the best strategy and then let them go.”
“When you make decisions as a team, and ultimately strive towards a same goal, make sure you also celebrate those victories. I think too often in big rapidly-evolving companies, you don’t take the time to celebrate or to show your appreciation to your team — and that can be detrimental.”
Meanwhile, her father and current CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon has a frequent expression he uses: “Treat every day like it’s your first day on the job.” So for Stephanie this means people should challenge the status quo.
“Every single day — just because something has been done one way for a long time, doesn’t mean that it can’t be done better,” McMahon adds, echoing 14-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion and husband Triple H’s own thoughts in a recent interview with CNBC.
“Just because you’ve done something this way and it’s been successful, doesn’t mean it’s still the right way,” Paul Michael Levesque, better known as Triple H, told CNBC in November.
“Relook at it and if there’s a different way to do it, be willing to say ‘I’m going to forget about all of this and I’m going to take that risk again and I’m going to put all my chips on the table and I’m going to gamble on myself.'”
Life Hacks Live is a series produced by CNBC International for Facebook, where tomorrow’s leaders get to ask some of the world’s biggest influencers for advice. You can watch the full interview here.
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