Women in Power: Sperry’s Katherine Cousins on Leading With Inclusivity and Empathy

Leadership mantra:

“I think a lot about an inclusive and empathy-driven model of leadership — listening to all different parts of the organization — and trying to be really inclusive. I also think about grit. I’m [almost a year] into my role, but I’ve definitely seen clear grit in this team and an incredible amount of resilience as they’ve gotten through a tough couple of years with the pandemic. This is my first time running a brand of this size and a lifestyle brand. We have international opportunities and aspirations. For me, it’s stretching beyond what I had done previously at VF and taking on a bigger team and a bigger business.”

Most significant career barrier and how I overcame it:

“The most significant barriers arise when other people’s expectations and your own expectations of your career path don’t align. For me, growing over the years, it was really recognizing that it mattered what I thought. People’s feedback is important and they have constructive guidance and mentorship, but it’s also important to have a vision of where you want to go and not necessarily listen to every single thing that everyone said. In my own career journey, it was having the confidence to make change when I needed to or to reach for something new or to articulate where I thought I should go.”