Femtech CEO on Leadership: Don’t ‘Need More Masculine Energy’

“I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership models,” Sarah O’Leary, CEO of femtech company Willow, tells Entrepreneur. “ There’s been a lot of noise and news around, ‘We need more masculine energy in the workplace.’ It makes you question as a leader: What is my style? How effective is my style? I don’t believe that we need more masculine energy.”

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Willow}

O’Leary characterizes her leadership style and the culture at Willow, the brand behind “patented leak-proof” wearable breast pumps and their accessories, as one that centers transparency and empathy to build trust within the workplace. According to the CEO, teams that have trust in each other — and in their leaders — are more likely to function in a way that’s conducive to success.

Related: Strong Leaders Use These 4 Strategies to Build Trust in Their Workplace

“I believe [flexibility in the workplace] makes us more productive.”

Instilling trust within team members means emphasizing a level of autonomy, O’Leary says. Willow is a “very flexible workplace,” O’Leary explains, noting that the company has never given its employees return-to-office mandates. As a mother of two herself, O’Leary is particularly cognizant of the everyday hurdles team members who are also parents face, and she wants to support them in any way possible.

“ If my kids’ elementary school concert is happening at 10 a.m., I’m going to sign off,” O’Leary says. “I’m going to go to that, then come back and keep going with my day. I don’t believe that makes us any less productive. I believe it makes us more productive. I feel very passionately that we can build a tremendously successful business while also operating in ways that feel authentic to our leadership and team.”

Related: This Mother of 6 Created a Hit Children’s Brand Without Any Industry Experience — Here’s Her No. 1 Secret for Entrepreneurial Parents Who Want to Achieve Big Goals

Willow is navigating its next growth chapter with O’Leary at the helm. The company recently announced its acquisition of UK-based femtech innovator Elvie, which is expected to boost revenue by 50%. Willow also continues to partner with organizations that support parents. To kick off its Mother’s Day campaign this year, the company announced a partnership with Canopie, a preventive maternal health care platform, to donate one million hours of maternal mental health support.

“[Being CEO is] a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”

Prior to stepping into the CEO role at Willow, O’Leary served as the company’s chief commercial officer and “loved” the work. O’Leary has reflected a lot over the past year on her decision to become CEO, and she says that ambition wasn’t her primary motivator; instead, she recognized that she was the right person for the job at this moment.

“I cared deeply about our mission,” O’Leary explains. “I had a vision for where we could go. I understood the commercial operations of the business and could bring that together with our product teams. In some sense, [becoming CEO] has put me in a servant leader kind of role — It’s a responsibility as much as it is a cool title.”

Related: 10 Leadership Lessons From Successful CEOs — An Insightful Guide for the Ambitious Entrepreneur

At the end of the day, O’Leary suggests that leaders make sure their motivation is authentic to them — because that’s what will help them lead through the most difficult times.

“New tariffs are announced, and you’ve got to figure that out,” O’Leary says. “It is challenge after challenge, and the organization looks to you and says, ‘What are we going to do?’ This role is really about being willing to take responsibility for the people, products and customers. It’s not all glitz and glamor. You’re the first person who gets all the tough questions.”