Leading with Heart: Kathleen Bokar of The Kitchen by Kraft Heinz On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership

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 Kathleen Bokar, Head of Strategy — The Kitchen North America

Kathleen has made a career out of telling stories and tapping into the cultural zeitgeist. Having started her career in a rapidly changing public relations field, she took a human-centered approach to social media and solving brand’s problems and never looked back. She leads teams to develop user-first content made for social and digital platforms in service of iconic brands.

Before joining The Kitchen, Kathleen directed the social team at FCB across a multitude of verticals, developing and supporting award winning work at Cannes, The Shorty’s and The One Show. She briefed work for Clorox, Kimberly Clark, J.M. Smucker, Allergan and more. Kathleen started her journey in the sports communication world building strategies for brands like Converse, Constellation Brands (Corona, Pacifico, St. Pauli Girl), Levy Restaurants, The Big Ten and Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Leading strategy in The Kitchen, Kathleen is a driving force behind Kraft Heinz brands and teams showing up as creators in the platforms, leaning into consumer passions, culturally relevant conversations and providing value and entertainment in-feed.

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?

My career has been punctuated by strong, smart, fearless women. I had a marketing professor at Loyola University who thought I’d be good at shaping stories for brands, she suggested I look into Public Relations. She helped me get my first PR internship that gave me the experience to land my first job. During that time, another friend introduced me to his boss’ wife who happened to lead sports communications for a major shoe company. All I wanted to do was work for that woman and soak up her brilliance. I hounded her for the summer until I was offered an opportunity. My career in PR really started at the time when social media became a viable tool for people and brands to leverage. I transitioned my focus from media relations to social content to get closer to consumer behavior and communication and have been working in and around this space ever since.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I have had lots of interesting things happen to me since the start of my career. I’ve been behind the scenes of a multitude of large-scale events — marathons, MLB opening days, the Kentucky Derby, NBA events, an arcade game world championship. The moments I find most interesting are the ones that expose me to something new: a new lesson, new perspective, a new way to take in the world around me. It expands my perspective as a strategist and a storyteller.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

The Kitchen at Kraft Heinz is in a special place right now. We are two years old and have hired some incredible talent in both Chicago and Toronto with the promise of doing consumer marketing better. There are so many hurdles when you are in a traditional agency-client relationship; it requires a massive amount of selling and convincing to get great (often brave) work done. The trust being built with partners internally at Kraft Heinz is enabling massive growth in our capabilities and output. We’re creating and publishing with AI, exploring new platforms, driving personalization at scale, and getting both industry and consumer recognition for it.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Creativity — I use creativity in every aspect of my life, as a mom, a manager, a friend, a partner, an owner of a really old house. The minute Chat GPT became commercially available, I started using it as a personal assistant to find efficiencies in my life and as a constant source of inspiration for briefs and beyond.
2. Honesty — Colleagues have told me time and again they always know where they stand with me. I don’t take things personally (out loud) and genuinely believe honest feedback is a gift.
3. Being Considerate — Every work environment demands socialization and teamwork. If you can anticipate your colleague’s needs and make their lives easier, you move closer to your collective goal and grow closer as individuals. It is easy to deprioritize human connection at work, which is SO counterintuitive because we’re all human and need socialization to thrive (even in the office and especially on Zoom calls).

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.

You don’t get to a position of leadership without making difficult choices, it’s important to know who you are and what you stand for in making those choices. I signed up to build an agency from scratch. I have interviewed hundreds of people in the last two years. Every person brings their own unique flavor to the table. Early on, I valued experience. I needed people to come in and help shape what we were building. As time has gone on, I look at each person’s strengths and perspectives and consider what they might do to our existing ecosystem. Always looking for culture ‘adds’ rather than culture ‘fits.’

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. 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?

We are all still adjusting to working in a hybrid world, but scheduled Zoom calls every 30 minutes does not make a conversation. I often start video conference calls talking about the personal details of my life or intrusive thoughts in my head with the first few people who join. It breaks the silence while the rest of the call joins and it grounds the entire meeting in humanity instead of impersonal small talk or worse — diving straight into the work. An initial connection drives the tone and energy of any call.

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? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?

Working in a creative industry, work gets killed all the time. As you gain more experience, more work dies. Your skin gets thicker, but now you are in the position to ease the blow for others. Occasionally, a project comes along that takes on a life of its own with the team that created it. Developed in such earnestness, the thought it could never see the light of day never enters their mind. The first time I had to help deliver unwelcome news it became very apparent to me in that moment that it wasn’t about the work. It was about the people who made it. I had to present the facts and listen, give them as much of my time as they wanted, check in afterwards and demonstrate that I really did care about their efforts because I cared about them.

Resilience doesn’t hold weight if you don’t honor the trauma that had to precede someone being resilient. As humans, we love to move on, we must — it’s in our DNA to survive. It’s the same in business. If we are going to champion people for withstanding the struggle, it’s OK to acknowledge what caused the struggle and honor the feelings that go with it.

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?

I find myself fortunate to have worked in an industry that is on the progressive end of culture. Great advertising challenges norms and expectations, it sparks debate and big conversations. It’s inclusive and acknowledges all gender identities. Paradoxically, it was also molded in the image of the patriarchy, social constructs that still guide us as a society. As a leader, you must align your values with those of your company as much as you can. It makes it possible to show up authentically. People are not merely their stereotypes. I can be both warm and firm with my words. I can be both competent and communal. And at times I must remind people that different than the ‘norm’ is a good thing.

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?”

Emotional Intelligence is a superpower, it’s what allows me to see problems from different angles. There are a few ways I tap into EI in my job. I often revisit conversations after they happen to understand the motivations of what was said. Understanding motivations significantly reduces swirl and miscommunications. Before decisions are made by our team, I forecast how the dominos may fall and how parties might respond based on their motivations. This aids in the communication roll out of said decisions and keeps teams on the same page and moving in the same direction.

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 vulnerability. Laying your cards bare and seeking advice is brave. My communication style is transparent, honest, often vulnerable, and always supportive.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.

1 . Embrace a quiet confidence. I am not a shy person by any means, but I am rarely the person who walks into the room and throws my weight around. I know my strengths and contributions and I know their value. You can talk over me as much as you want, when it is my turn to speak it will be with intent and it will direct the conversation in the room.

2 . Show up as yourself. I don’t do heels. I respect women who do. I owned two power suits when I first graduated college, never wore them, and eventually donated them. I started my career at a sneaker company. I am a casual person; my communication style is casual. I ask others to come as themselves, it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t do the same.

3 . Make room for feelings. With every passing generation, people have never been more comfortable or hungry to talk about their feelings. Letting people discuss openly their feelings without shutting them down or judging them for working through their thoughts demonstrates compassion. It creates an environment of psychological safety, which has a direct correlation to productivity and moral.

4 . Be open to being wrong. Contemporary adages like, “make mistakes and move on” or “progress over perfection” are at odds with the historical “get results at all costs” in a traditional masculine work structure. They embrace imperfection, collaboration, and the messy process of work. They are innately feminine, and they are necessary.

5 . Stay true to your values. If you find yourself in a compromising position, in an environment that is rigid or inflexible, it’s OK to demand change or remove yourself from the situation.

Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?

Empathy is important to effective communication. That said, it can also be a slippery slope getting caught up in others’ distress. It can leave a person exhausted, stressed, or apathetic to that person’s situation. It’s important to understand your role in the situation, hold on to the facts and not to over-invest in problems out of your control. Protect your peace.

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? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

World Peace

How can our readers further follow you online?

Personal LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kathleenneuman

The Kitchen North America:
www.wearethekitchen.com

Linked In

@wearethekitchen

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!