Huda Kattan — Iraqi-American makeup artist, beauty blogger, CEO, and founder of billion dollar cosmetics line Huda Beauty — is one of the world’s most celebrated women entrepreneurs. Here she shares her secrets to leadership success.
I've learned a lot about being an Arab woman in leadership since starting my entrepreneurial journey 10 years ago. Here are five lessons in leadership success that I wish someone had told me on my way up the ladder:
1. Success is an inside job
When I first started Huda Beauty, some people treated me like a hobbyist. This made me work even harder for external validation.While that approach did help grow my business, it wasn’t fulfilling. And it was never enough.
Even when Huda Beauty became a billion-dollar business, I still looked for validation outside. I wanted someone else to tell me I was worth something. As a result I wasn’t the leader I wanted to be. I slipped into a deep depression and went on a painful journey with a life coach to remember why I’d started my business in the first place. I spoke about this at the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi:
I realised that when you’re seeking validation outside, you’re unlikely to find it. Only once I was operating from a place of passion and purpose again, and I could value my own success internally, did I feel fulfilled. And only then could I give my team the leader they needed.
2. Being a hype woman gets you further
We all hear stories about women not getting the same opportunities or pay as men do. However, another big challenge women experience is women not supporting women. Some of the worst discrimination I’ve faced in my career is from other women.
Judgment — of ourselves and other women — is holding us back. We must make time to have honest conversations with ourselves about our own insecurities. Only once we’ve done the inner work can we create the environments needed to confidently celebrate not just ourselves, but other women too.
3. Take the compliment
Women, and marginalised men, are the hardest on themselves. Many see a gap between where they are and where they think they should be. Often they haven’t seen themselves represented in society, so they don’t believe they’re meant for success.
If you want to be a leader who helps others see the great in themselves, you need to see the great in you first.
The same thing happened to me. I came from very humble beginnings. I was born to Iraqi parents in America and grew up in a part of the U.S. that was very discriminatory. I asked myself all the time what I was doing trying to be a success. I told myself I didn’t deserve it, and second-guessed my decisions.
One of the most important things you, as a leader, must learn is unlearning the habit of negative self-talk — and then encourage others to do the same. A major goal for me last year was accepting compliments. Instead of dismissing people when they said something nice, I’d say thank you.
If you want to be a leader who helps others see the great in themselves, you need to see the great in you first.
4. Self-reflection and listening go hand-in-hand
It’s a leader’s job to share a vision and give direction. But understanding how to give your teams what they really need to thrive is more important. And your team will always tell you what that is — if you just stop and listen.
When leaders are busy, they often hear what people are saying, but that’s not the same as listening. Active listening is a skill that goes beyond hearing someone’s words. It’s seeking the deeper meaning behind them, making eye contact, paying attention to body language — and being fully present.
And listening gets exponentially better with introspection. One of your main jobs as a leader is to actively work on self-evaluation. Personal reflection is the only way to deep dive into the “why” of what you do. This clears out the noise in your head so you can give your team what they’re asking of you.
5. Ditch the leader stereotype
Thankfully we now live in a world where leaders come in many different shapes and sizes, with different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. The stereotypical leader — an old, white man in a suit — isn’t necessarily the norm anymore. And the stereotypes attached to that image, like always being the loudest in the room, or having the fanciest title, are also falling away.
It’s important for women — and even men — leaders to remember that. It’s easy to become disillusioned by what we think a leader is supposed to be versus knowing what a good leader actually is. To me, a great leader is someone who cares about their team, but also takes time for themselves. Someone who celebrates their own successes, but gives props to their colleagues and peers.
Do the inner work needed to become the most authentic leader you can be, and then encourage your team to do the same as they grow their careers.
