We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Nutt Bello a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

Complex problems have complex solutions, and I think leaders in the workplace have to remember that. So many times policies treat symptoms in a silo without thinking about the implications or greater cause of the situation they’re trying to resolve. A huge example of this is companies’ policies around parental leave (or lack there of). So many companies state, many times well intentioned, their support for workplace equality and their commitment to closing the wage gap. That said, most companies parental leave policies are focused on a “primary caregiver” which in the vast majority of situations means the woman/mom. Among the companies that do offer equal parental leave for all parents regardless of gender — in the majority of cases men are made to feel like if they take the leave the policy outlines they will be penalized for it. In both of these cases there is a huge problem — an underlying assumption within the workplace that there is another parent, in the vast majority of cases a woman, who is home with the baby — “so why should the father need time off?”. This assumption has a tsunami of ripple effects for women causing an unequal share of caretaking responsibilities at home that extends well beyond when she returns to work, an uneven playing field at work as men are present and perceived as more committed while women are perceived as less committed and “putting things on pause”, and due to these biases many women don’t feel like they can pursue job changes, and aren’t considered for promotions etc that typically result in higher earnings. All of this has measurable impact on earnings and heavily contributes to the wage gap widening. Companies have to be cognizant of reversing this trend, and the only way to do so is by treating all parents equally, providing the time off they need to transition through a major life change, and remove the double standards and biases created by antiquated policies. By making parental leave mandatory for all parents, you remove the ability for any managers to discourage employees from taking the leave they’re entitled to, you embody your values as a company devoted to creating equality in the workplace, and you create an even playing field for all parents in the workplace — regardless of gender.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m CEO of Ready Set Rocket, a full-service digital marketing and creative agency based in NYC. I joined the agency as its fourth team member in 2012—starting as an account manager and growing to my current role in 2020. I helped grow my agency to become the most diverse it’s ever been with its first all-women-led executive team while implementing new policies, such as a mandatory 8-week paid parental leave for all of our team members.

In a world where women’s pay still lags behind men’s, I’ve used a good portion of my platform as an industry thought leader toward educating others on the subjects of DEI, inclusivity, and women’s advancement—and I’ve been featured in media outlets such as Fast Company, Huffington Post, CBS News, Adweek, Ad Age, and more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I made partner at 28 because I ran with the wolves. I got thrown into the deep end and had to figure a lot of things out myself; creating processes, systems, and best practices that helped pave my own path. When I first started managing people, I definitely had a mentality of, “Well, I did this, and you should be able to do this, too.” It came from a very naive place because I grew up in a professional world where I had to figure things out on my own, so I just assumed others would do what I did. I had so much more success managing my teams when I started to understand how I could use my skillset to complement the skills of the people I was managing and help them understand where their growth opportunities were.

Bottom line: you’re not setting anyone up for success when you assume everyone’s going to be like you.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

‘Radical Candor’ by Kim Scott was something of a rallying cry for me. Just thinking about communication in a different way, like not being afraid to give feedback to your teams. If you want to be fair to your direct reports, one of the best things you can do is give them feedback as quickly as you have it. It’ll make the work output better, you’ll be a better manager, and you’ll have a more successful team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.readysetrocket.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readysetrocket/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-nutt-bello/

Image Credits
Courtesy Ready Set Rocket