Being a leader today can feel like an endless balancing act. Many are struggling to find the right balance between compassion and accountability, stability and disruption.
Speaking at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington D.C., Barnes said the Great Resignation driven push for empathy and flexibility at work, while important, has given employees too much power while undermining bosses.
“It’s been an interesting challenge for me, because there is an inclination, I think, just given my background, to say, ‘Are you kidding me?’, and ‘Suck it up buttercup. Let’s go.’ And that’s obviously, that doesn’t work either—that’s not going to be an appropriate response.”
Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Barnes spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Air Force, where she learned an early lesson in leadership: Recognize what you don’t know—and lead through others who do.
“I’ve had to continually ground myself and what I can control versus what I can’t,” she said. “And I’ve had to continue reminding my team of the same and to the extent that there are things that are largely uncontrollable.”
That transition forced her to rethink what transformation really requires. Bina’s answer? Think about monkeys.
“How they capture monkeys is they set up a trap where the monkey puts his hand in to get the goodies, but can’t get its hand out unless it lets go of the goodies,” she said. “I often use that with my clients when they’re going through transformations, both in the organization and in their leadership, you have to be willing to let go of whatever it is you’re holding on to.”
“I always think of the monkey. I ask myself, am I willing to let go of all the goodies for what could be?” Bina said.
And in the end, being willing to embrace transformation is what Bina said spurs success in the long-term: “You’ve got to let go of the banana.”
