Leading with Heart: Maria McCool of Calista On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership
An Interview With Pirie Jones Grossman
My leadership method is one in which we all learn from one another. I firmly believe that two heads are always better than one, and even further, that 3, 4, 5 and 6 heads together can create dynamic and interesting ideas that I never would have come to on my own. I have never taken the stance that because I’m the boss, I know better. Especially in a business where we serve so many people, it’s important to recognize that raising each other up is the only way to raise up the company as a whole.
In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Maria McCool.
Maria McCool is the Founder and CEO of Calista, a brand that makes hair products and tools for quick, effective transformations that bring out the best in all of their uniquely beautiful customers. She is an entrepreneur, on-air presenter, professional hairstylist, and huge believer in self-love. Maria opened Calista Salon & Spa in 1989, when she was just 23 years old. After years of hearing complaints from frustrated clients wanting salon-quality hair at home, she decided to create products that could give it to them. Calista Salon grew into a brand and launched on QVC with major success in 2007. Since then, Calista has continued to expand, providing hair products and tools to women across the nation and perpetuating Maria’s mission to help all women love themselves and feel brave about their beauty, or as she calls it, BeautyBrave.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I started cutting my doll’s hair when I was 10 and by age 12, I cut and permed my best friend’s hair before going to a party. Immediately, I saw how empowering it was for her confidence and I knew right then and there that this is what I was going to do with my life: make others feel brave about their beauty (which I now call BeautyBrave).
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
25 years ago, we started an event called SHiNE that raises money for women coping with cancer. It started as a day of pampering where we offered all types of beauty services to 20 women in treatment and then had them star in a fashion show that evening. One of the women at the event gained so much confidence from the day of pampering that when she modeled her outfit, she grabbed the wig off her head and whipped it into the crowd (this was when women would never show their bald heads from chemo). I’ll never forget that experience — the power of BeautyBrave is real!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Haircare lines are often run by companies that never actually interact with the end user. Calista Salon serves 1000 clients a week. We hear the challenges real women have when it comes to styling their own hair every day and we come up with real solutions.
Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Passion, Hard Work, and the Desire to make women BeautyBrave.
Can you please share a story or example for each?
Passion: I lose track of time when I’m doing hair. I always knew that if I could make a living doing something I loved this much, it would never feel like work.
Hard Work: On top of servicing my robust clientele, I trained as a competitive stylist for the first 7 years of my career. That training was incredibly difficult, but it made me an exceptional stylist, which catapulted my following to a 3-month waitlist. Hard work always pays off.
BeautyBrave: This is a term I use to describe how great my clients feel when they leave my chair. They are so confident about the way they look that they feel as though they can take on the world. I create products and tools so that everyone can feel that same way when they do their own hair.
Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
It’s always hard to make sure you have the right people on your team. When you realize someone does not fit the culture or isn’t adding to the company, they need to move on from Calista. These decisions are incredibly tough to make, but it’s a huge part of being a leader.
How have these challenges shaped your leadership?
Making the right moves for your team members, even when it means making hard decisions, takes the business and its employees to the next level every time. When communicating with my employees, I operate by something I call the SEE Method. SEE stands for Support, Engage, and Empathize. This basically means that I have an open-door policy when it comes to communication with my staff — I want them to feel they can talk to me about what’s going on in their lives and ensure that they can expect to feel supported by me and the organization as a whole. I find this way of communicating with my employees is effective in ensuring they feel heard, supported, and seen (no pun intended, ha!).
Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?
My leadership method is one in which we all learn from one another. I firmly believe that two heads are always better than one, and even further, that 3, 4, 5 and 6 heads together can create dynamic and interesting ideas that I never would have come to on my own. I have never taken the stance that because I’m the boss, I know better. Especially in a business where we serve so many people, it’s important to recognize that raising each other up is the only way to raise up the company as a whole.
In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine?
As I mentioned above the with SEE Method, I want my employees to feel supported at work. While vulnerability is often perceived as a feminine trait, I actually feel that resilience can only be truly demonstrated when we’ve been truly vulnerable. Opening up my eyes and ears to my employees and making them understand that even though this is a workplace, they deserve to feel heard and understood is the best way I can demonstrate not just vulnerability, but resilience in the face of acknowledging and overcoming hardships. I always feel you need to lead by example. How you are is how the team will become.
Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?
I have an open-door policy. This is a huge part of the SEE Method — employees can come to me with something very stressful in their home life and we’ll plot out a way for them to still perform at work. They need to feel supported, engaged, and empathized with. When employees are vulnerable and willing to share, it’s important to be flexible with how they accomplish their job. In the end, it’s always gratifying to see how we can get to the other side of it without missing a beat.
As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?
Some men approach business as strictly business, but the truth of the matter is when things are turning upside down on an employee outside of the office, it’s not long before that finds its way into their work. It’s okay to take the time to let them share and then come up with a solution together.
How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?
When I handle team meetings, I do not overbook the agenda. I build in a lot of time for employees to share their thoughts and ideas. I do not ever want to talk at them in a meeting. It should always be conversation, so they feel engaged and heard. I want them to know that I trust and respect their knowledge.
What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?
Mentorship is my holy grail! Each time I begin a new venture, I will seek out someone who I feel excels at what I want to accomplish and ask for their guidance. It’s important to me to pay it forward. I mentor anyone who asks!
Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?
Compassion and empathy are a huge part of my leadership strategy, but this of course requires boundaries. You must know your bumpers. Having empathy does not have to mean you are soft and let people walk all over you. It does mean you will always listen, and you will make a sound decision about what is best for the business, all its employees, and its customers.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Empowering women to be BeautyBrave by:
Knowing they are beautiful!
Knowing they can do or be anything they dream of!
Knowing we live to raise each other up and never tear each other down!
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Pirie is a TedX speaker, author and a Life Empowerment Coach. She is a co-host of Own your Throne podcast, inspiring women in the 2nd chapter of their lives. With over 20 years in front of the camera, Pirie Grossman understands the power of storytelling. After success in commercials and acting. She spent 10 years reporting for E! Entertainment Television, Entertainment Tonight, also hosted ABC’s “Every Woman”. Her work off-camera capitalizes on her strength, producing, bringing people together for unique experiences. She produced a Children’s Day of Compassion during the Dalai Lama’s visit here in 2005. 10,000 children attended, sharing ideas about compassion with His Holiness. From 2006–2009, Pirie Co-chaired the Special Olympics World Winter Games, in Idaho, welcoming 3,000 athletes from over 150 countries. She founded Destiny Productions to create Wellness Festivals and is an Advisory Board member of the Sun Valley Wellness Board.In February 2017, Pirie produced, “Love is Louder”, a Brain Health Summit, bringing in Kevin Hines, noted suicide survivor to Sun Valley who spoke to school kids about suicide. Sun Valley is in the top 5% highest suicide rate per capita in the Northwest, prompting a community initiative with St. Luke’s and other stake holders, to begin healing. She lives in Sun Valley with her two children, serves on the Board of Community School. She has her Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and is an Executive Life Empowerment Coach, where she helps people meet their dreams and goals! The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal is a dream with a date on it!
