A Conversation with Paula Singer, Experienced CEO, Board Chair, and Public Company Officer
What does great leadership look like? My conversation with Paula explores her leadership philosophy, values, and approach to creating an environment of trust as the foundation for teams to provide their very best, not just from what comes from inside them, but from the way they are led. This post—full video interview included at the end—unfolds her leadership journey and the insights she has so generously shared to set other leaders up for success, exemplifying, with a solid gold attitude, what great leadership looks like.
Never imagining she would end up in business, Paula started her career as an elementary school teacher, working mostly in inner-city classrooms teaching students to read, before moving into running after-school learning programs and eventually into leadership in business.
What she discovered along the way was that the very skills that make a great teacher were the same ones that make a great leader. “Knowing how to get the best out of your students, knowing how to persuade, how to evaluate, how to set goals, how to communicate, all of those things came pretty handy, as I stepped into leadership roles in business.”
Leadership has been a part of Paula’s journey for most of her life—beginning in middle school as secretary or treasurer for her church youth program, in high school as cheer captain, and in college as a resident assistant. Experiences that she doesn’t take lightly.
“I’m very grateful for the early leadership experiences I had, and the early mistakes that I made in trying to be sure that we were all moving in the right direction.”
Paula’s leadership led her to become a president in her late twenties and CEO about five years later, ultimately leading her to what she refers to as the job of her lifetime, launching a division within Laureate Education that brought higher education to students all over the world who might not have had access. “It was so much fun building something that hadn’t been built before,” she said, “and seeing the impact on millions of students.”
Retired now but sitting on boards, Paula is still very much active, living out what she considers to be a fun and productive career.
For Paula, what matters most in leadership is creating an environment of trust, one where you as the leader earn the trust of your employees, where you trust them, and where they trust each other. She believes it’s in this type of environment that you can accomplish your goals faster, attract better employees, and get their best work.
Key elements of building an environment of trust include leading with competence, providing clear communication, following through on commitments, and fostering genuine connection through working together to achieve shared goals.
“You gain trust by sharing what you’re thinking, how you do your work, what the expectations are both ways, and then following through.”
Paula’s leadership philosophy is deeply influenced by Patrick Lencioni’s model: trust first, then dialogue, debate, decision, accountability, and results. “Trust allows you to have dialogue, debate, conversation that’s open. And if you establish that, then you can come to a decision together about how you’re going to move forward. And then people hold each other accountable, and then that accountability gives you results and achievement.”
She has seen firsthand that without an environment of trust, excellence slips. That ultimately revenue, profitability, and customer satisfaction takes a hit, and your best people leave first. She says, “People want to work in an environment of excellence, and they want to work in an environment in which they’re confident that the work that they’re doing is going to accomplish the goals.”
Without trust, excellence slips.
Paula talks about having a solid gold attitude, something she learned from an influential leader in her life named Robert Basseman, who used to say, “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that predicts your altitude.”
Paula shared that Bob would hand out solid gold attitude pins to those who demonstrated the right mindset—one of respect, trust, accountability, and ownership. She reflects, “It’s necessary to be competent, yes, but how you approach it matters the most. If you have a solid gold attitude about things, you’re going to be able to get to the goal that you’re working towards.” She adds, “All the competencies aren’t sufficient if you don’t have this attitude, this golden attitude that goes with it.”
Creating an environment of solid gold attitude comes from establishing that environment of trust through clear and frequent communication, providing and receiving daily feedback, and accepting the responsibility as a leader to make adjustments to get the best from people.
“I still, to this day, when I’m doing something, can feel Bob on my right shoulder saying, you know, are you following these things?”
Paula believes that as a leader, the most important thing to communicate is your strategy—knowing where you’re going, why you’re going there, and what you will need in order to get there—and to communicate to your employees in a way that makes sense to them, that gets them excited, and that helps them understand their role in achieving that strategy. “Strategy clearly articulated over and over again in an environment of trust and enthusiasm is what gets you to have a sustained group of people who are delighted to work hard to reach the goals you’re trying to get to.”
Communicating strategy in a way that people understand is critical to having everyone rowing in the same direction.
For Paula, giving and gaining respect is a core value, as is accountability and the resilience to make it to the finish line. She shares that these values have served her well in leadership and in life. Grateful for having experienced tough situations earlier in her career, she became zealous about treating each and every employee with respect.
“I’m never going to let someone who works for me be in a situation where they feel like they aren’t being respected, their talent isn’t valued, and they can’t contribute in the way they want to.”
When asked what advice she’d give to new leaders, Paula advises that you don’t have to be somebody you’re not. All you really have to do is have a lot of will, humility, and hunger, and share authentically with your teams.
From her own lessons learned Paula urges to recognize that not everyone works the same way you do and that it’s your job as the leader to understand and adjust, not the other way around. “You don’t get mad at people that aren’t like you,” she said. Instead, you ask yourself, “What do they need from me? How can I change what I do to get them to be able to be an A-player?”
Understanding and providing what each person needs to be successful is key to developing A-players.
She advises to listen and ask questions before making decisions, noting that this approach will be your best source of information for making the right decisions.
She admits people are sometimes the hardest thing in the world and yet the best thing in the world. Watching new people grow, get promoted, and build or turn companies around is something she wishes everyone could experience. She’s found so much fun in getting a team together to do things that others didn’t believe were possible to which she responds, “Watch us, we’re gonna be fine.”
“Watch us, we’re gonna be fine.”
Ultimately, Paula believes that people just want clarity, to know how they can help, and to share in the belief that we’re going to reach the goal no matter what.
Goals are reached with the belief that you will get there no matter what.