Staying courageous is important as a leader, said Jaylene Kunze, chief financial officer at Hexure. “I find that leading with courage drives a culture of performance and with courage, we can continue to transform the workplace culture for current and future generations,” she said.
It took courage for Kunze to leave a position where she worked 70-plus hours per week and take a six-month hiatus to rebalance and rediscover her passion. The break was a fruitful experience for Kunze and led to her current position as chief financial officer at Hexure, a software company serving life insurance, financial services and wealth management industries.
Within six months at Hexure, Kunze, a Hall of Fame Titan 100, was able to work across the entire c-suite to drive the adoption of a new operating plan for the entire organization to drive alignment on the company’s top priorities and the priority within those priorities. Kunze led the leadership team through planning that included defining the company values and priorities.
“Driving that kind of clarity will drive employee engagement which will propel our company metrics, but most importantly give each employee a sense of direction, alignment and clarity, which will impact not only their work in the short term but will help impact their career and employee satisfaction,” said Kunze. “I believe providing clarity is the single kindest thing we can do for our employees.”
As a leader, Kunze embraces empathy. “For me, it’s important to create a culture that meets employees where they are and who they are,” she said. “Being able to create a culture that allows an employee to show up as their authentic self and to surround them with support when life happens is the most important thing to me as a leader, and I believe it allows employees to ultimately show up better in the long run.”
The most important legacy Kunze wants to leave behind is that you can find balance and be a successful leader but also be an involved mom and involved in your community. “I want to be seen as someone who found that balance, who inspired other young females wondering if they must choose a career or be a parent – that they can not only do both but also be successful at both,” she said. “There is still so much work we have to do in corporate cultures for our young moms and part of that means walking the walk.”
