We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Iris Navarrette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Iris below.
Hi Iris , thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I have always been intrigued by what drives people to highly aspirational levels of success, specifically those with a soulful intention of purpose and passion. Perhaps because I was determined to prove to my mom that I could have success by pursuing a career as a makeup artist despite her concern that it seemed more like a hobby than a sustainable, money-generating occupation! I fell in love with makeup at a very early age and wanted to work in the film industry doing special effects makeup. Through the excellent advice of my first teacher in makeup school, I got a job working in a department store in the cosmetics department. Although it seemed far from my ultimate goal, it put me in the environment of doing makeup, practicing my craft, and even honing my retail business skills. I soon realized I loved positioning my artistry this way, and I found it enriching to be of service to others through my love of makeup. Being open to possibilities while steeping yourself in the right surroundings can provide invaluable perspective on your career journey; it can also redirect your course in wonderful ways. Instead of pursuing the special effects makeup route, I chose to continue climbing the corporate ladder and forge my way into executive leadership. I do believe certain practices helped pave a successful path: tenacity, commitment, learning from “failures,” letting go of your ego, taking feedback from those with your highest good in mind and implementing it for growth, giving your best every day, serving others and bringing them along in your journey, and “doing a great job when no one is looking,” just to name a few! I believe success becomes the byproduct of melding purpose and passion with commitment and hard work while respecting the sounds of an intrinsic “calling.” Looking back, I can’t imagine navigating the inevitable career challenges, disappointments, and lessons if my love of makeup wasn’t the inherent purpose I felt unwaveringly compelled to honor.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
It has felt like an American dream come true. I am a first-generation Greek-American born in Los Angeles within a year of my parents’ emigrating to America. My father started a theater company in Los Angeles in the 1970s, and in that environment, from a very early age, I was around creative people pursuing their passion. My love of makeup and makeup artistry began in the tiny backstage area as I watched performers transform into characters through the power of this magical medium. After high school, I went to makeup school to begin my career journey.
It was almost as though I was on a personal mission to share the power of makeup with everyone I came into contact with. After a few years of working for various brands, I joined a fairly new company that had recently launched in the United States in the mid-1990s: MAC Cosmetics. I believe my customer-centric approach to service, teaching, and artistry caught the attention of my manager at the time, who suggested I apply for an introductory field position in the training department that had just been created. The rest, as they say, is history! Over the course of the next 20 years, I climbed through the ranks of the training department and ultimately went on to become the Vice President of Education and Makeup Artistry for North America as MAC became the leading makeup brand in America.
After six years in that role, I left the corporate world to pursue two lifelong dreams: launching my own consulting company, Glamour of Hope Productions, and publishing my first book. As an executive consultant, I work with Fortune 500 companies, start-up companies, and new business owners to provide them with creative ideation, training concepts, and strategic educational approaches meant to drive revenue, build consumer loyalty, and optimize talent. I believe that connecting a company’s distinctive culture and philosophy to its mission and mantra shows consumers what they believe in versus just what they do. In today’s world, powerful brand storytelling becomes synonymous with finding your voice and delivering it with intention and purpose.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
In my leadership experience, team morale has always been an incredibly important component of business success. At one point, my direct team was comprised of 180 field trainers who were responsible for educating tens of thousands of retail makeup artists across North America. It was imperative that the team had a clear understanding of the vision and how they individually contributed to it, which is why I believe transparent communication is so important. High team morale is usually aligned with authenticity and respect from leaders and management. People “work” for people, not companies. Giving your team a platform to share, problem-solve, and ideate solutions is a powerful way to leverage the team’s knowledge, drive business results, and even anticipate potential obstacles while encouraging the voicing of their perspective. Often times, the answer is in the room. It is also vitally important to groom and develop people based on their individual strengths and not with a blanket approach; talent development is not one size fits all. Making the investment to get to know what goals people have for themselves plays out beautifully when appointing the right talent to strategy and holding people accountable for their growth. Giving people permission to make mistakes makes them feel safe, and when they feel safe, they are more productive and engaged. Actually, some of the best learning can come from how mistakes are analyzed and reviewed for growth and development. I believe when people feel individually recognized, purposeful, and connected to the vision, they become more efficient in how the goals are executed. High morale, an engaged team, and highly productive employees are the result of how they are invested in, celebrated for their uniqueness, and given support to achieve their goals.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Perhaps it’s more of a limiting belief or falsehood that I had to release. I always thought that because I chose a creative path early on for my occupation, opting for makeup school instead of college, I wouldn’t be considered a viable candidate for an executive-level position along my corporate journey. This always loomed in the back of my mind and fostered the belief that an apex-level role in the company wouldn’t be possible for me because I didn’t have a traditional scholastic background. This self-imposed, false narrative seemed to “get louder” as I became increasingly intrigued with pursuing the more high-level, strategic business side of the company. What I discovered was that when I respectfully and proactively provided ideas to my bosses for departmental expansion, improved efficiencies, and innovative approaches based on my various job functions along the way, my ideas were appreciated, supported, and even implemented. I was always committed to doing the extra work, leading proof of concept, providing feedback on new ways of working, etc., which helped establish my role and value within the company. I realized that there were alternate ways of showcasing and validating my business acumen and affinity for strategic innovation. The unlearning came from knowing that when you are truly driven to want to accomplish big things, there are many ways to get there.
Contact Info:
- Website: glamourofhope.com
- Instagram: @iristotle1010
- Linkedin: Iris Navarrette