Anna Wintour MasterClass Review - Editor of Vogue Teaches Leadership

16/09/22, 12:18 Anna Wintour MasterClass Review: Editor of Vogue Teaches Leadership
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5 surprising things I learned about leadership in

Anna Wintour's MasterClass, from owning
controversial decisions to building a dependable
team
By
Lauren Savoie Jan 6, 2022
In her MasterClass, Anna Wintour shares her best leadership and creativity tips, from owning difficult choices
to building a dependable team.
MasterClass
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As the manager of a team, I rely on leadership books and classes to keep improving.
https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/anna-wintour-masterclass-leadership-review 1/13
I found Anna Wintour's MasterClass on creativity and leadership especially insightful.
It taught me how to lead with a strong point of view and select the best team members.
MasterClass, an online subscription service featuring video lessons from celebrities and
experts, is one of the best investments I've made in my personal development. I love it so
much that I've gifted it to others twice this year.
Masterclass All-Access Pass
$180.00 FROM MASTERCLASS
My career has taken a bit of a whirlwind over the last year: I started a new job in 2020 and
quickly found myself in a leadership position, helping guide a team of 30 journalists and
editors. As a result, I've become a voracious consumer of books on leadership and
management, and one of the main reasons I took the plunge on a $180 annual MasterClass
subscription was the chance to learn from leadership luminaries about their secrets to
success.
MasterClass: Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership
Legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour shares her tips for leading with vision and
boldness.
Few of those leaders have been as intriguing to me as Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of
Vogue. As a fellow woman working in media, I've always been fascinated by Anna's career
path. There's so much lore about her leadership style – several popular books and movies
are rumored to be based on it. But I've always felt she was a bit misunderstood, that people
don't and wouldn't say the same things about men in the field as they do about her.
Edward Berthelot/Contributor/Getty Images
Regardless of what you feel about her leadership style, you have to argue that she gets
results: She's been the reigning editor at Vogue for over 30 years, is responsible for the
success of the Met Gala (one of the most well-known annual charity events in the world),
and has helped launch the careers of hundreds of designers, photographers, models, and
writers.
In her MasterClass, Anna gives specifics about her leadership philosophy, and while a lot
of the content is geared toward fashion and media hopefuls, so many components can be
applied to any leader of any business. I loved the class so much that I watched it twice —
and took notes along the way.
Here are five things I learned about leadership from Anna Wintour's
MasterClass:
1. Lead with a strong point of view.
MasterClass
This was the overarching piece of advice I took from Anna Wintour's MasterClass: Leaders
should lead, not follow. It seems almost comically simple, but hearing it made me realize
how often I rely on consensus or direction rather than my unique point of view.
While Wintour recognizes diplomacy as a tool, she emphasizes it's critical as a leader to
communicate your point of view with clarity and decisiveness, rather than bowing to
pressure to follow other people's way of thinking. To her, the mark of a true leader is to
push boundaries and provide a more exciting vision than others can initially see.
Now, when faced with a tough leadership decision, I try to remind myself that my team is
looking for me to make the best decision, not the most popular or safe choice.
2. Always stay open and interested in the world around you.

MasterClass
One surprising tidbit I picked up from Anna's MasterClass was how much time she spends
engaging with the world around her to inform her point of view. "Spend as much time as
you can on creative exposure," Wintour emphasizes. For her, that means using her free
time for taking walks, reading books, seeing plays, and "watching the world."
I was especially tickled by Anna's anecdote about how so many prospective employees
worry about what to wear when interviewing with her and neglect to think about what she
really cares about: Their passions, genuine interests, and the last great book they read. (In
fact, she says she doesn't pay very much attention to what they're wearing at all.)
For me, this advice is an excellent reminder that the way we spend our free time has a
significant impact on our decisions, our teams' well-being, and even the world at large. It
can be a potent tool for pulling myself out of mindless social media scrolling and
redirecting my energy to activities I know will fill me up, like reading, exercise, and
writing.
3. Build a diverse team of highly dependable people.
MasterClass
When speaking to her hiring philosophy, Wintour stresses finding self-reliant and diverse
people in their way of thinking and observing the world. Once she finds those people, she
likes to give them assignments they're passionate about and entrust them with a large
amount of autonomy.
While Wintour recognizes that her communication style isn't for everyone, she feels it's
important to make feedback quick, fast, and direct so that there is no ambiguity in the
direction. She stresses getting back to people quickly to keep the work moving.
Though Anna's communication philosophy isn't my preferred way of engaging with my

direct reports, her advice about hiring people to fill your blind spots is always on my mind
as I look for new people to join our team. Recognizing how powerful diversity can be in
creating a robust and effective team is critical: People with different backgrounds and
experiences can only make our work better and more far-reaching.
4. Don't be afraid to make the "wrong" choice from time to time.
MasterClass
As someone who uses data to make the majority of my decisions, I was surprised to learn
that Wintour believes data is a bit, well, overrated. "Data can't tell you everything," she
says. "You can't develop an audience through data; it comes through the creative talent."
Her opinion: If you speak with passion and authority, people will listen — and an audience
will find you.
In an algorithm-obsessed world, it's hard to imagine making any choice that isn't backed
by an endless amount of data at our fingertips, but I think Wintour has a point. There's
something to be said for being "ahead" of the data, anticipating people's needs before they
know them, or writing about a topic before it's trending. It goes back to her first tip about
leading and not following.
Wintour emphasizes making the "wrong choice" every so often when it means a chance to
move the conversation forward. However, that doesn't mean being reckless: "Controversial
decisions have to have meaning, and you can't make them all the time," she warns. She
also stresses that bold initiatives take time, and it's important to be patient when
determining the success or failure of any outside-the-box decision.
5. Know your brand, but don't be afraid of evolving it.
MasterClass
Wintour stresses the importance of understanding your brand and keeping it front and
center in all your decisions. However, she also recognizes that it has to evolve to stay
relevant constantly. "Our brand has to be at the core of everything we do: What is it, what
does it stand for, and how do you move it forward?" she says.
People want change, so we always have to look for new ways of connecting with our
audience. "It is naive to think you only have one customer, who wants to be spoken to in
one way or through one medium," she says. Wintour and her team are frequently looking
for ways to talk to their audience in a way that feels more personal.
As for figuring out your brand, she cautions that it's more important to define what your
brand is than what it is not. "It's very easy to say, 'This is not us, this is not who we are.' It is
much harder to say, 'This is what we believe, this is what we stand for,'" she says.
I think about this often when giving feedback: Am I providing a clear vision of our brand,
or am I defining our brand by what it is not?
The bottom line
MasterClass
As a middle manager in media with plenty of room to grow, I found Anna Wintour's
MasterClass invaluable. Her advice drew a clear line between who is a leader and who is
simply a manager, and I use wisdom gleaned from her MasterClass when I show up for
work every day and try to be the best leader possible for my team.
I highly recommend Anna's MasterClass for any leader or potential leader, but this course
is particularly relevant for women and those working in media or fashion. While an annual
MasterClass subscription ($180) gets you access to hundreds of celebrity-led video courses,
the insights I've gleaned from Anna Wintour's MasterClass alone have more than made up
for what I've paid for my subscription in value.
MasterClass: Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership
Masterclass All-Access Pass
Lauren Savoie
Deputy Editor, Reviews
Deputy Editor, Reviews
Lauren Savoie is the deputy editor at Insider Reviews, a wing of Insider's service
journalism team. She manages growth for home & kitchen coverage, gift guides, and big
deal days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Lauren is deeply involved in all editorial…
Read more
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16/09/22, 12:18 Anna Wintour MasterClass Review: Editor of Vogue Teaches Leadership

5 surprising things I learned about leadership in

I found Anna Wintour's MasterClass on creativity and leadership especially insightful.

Masterclass All-Access Pass

$180.00 FROM MASTERCLASS

MasterClass: Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership

$180.00 FROM MASTERCLASS

Edward Berthelot/Contributor/Getty Images

1. Lead with a strong point of view.

2. Always stay open and interested in the world around you.

3. Build a diverse team of highly dependable people.

Though Anna's communication philosophy isn't my preferred way of engaging with my

4. Don't be afraid to make the "wrong" choice from time to time.

5. Know your brand, but don't be afraid of evolving it.

The bottom line

MasterClass: Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership

$180.00 FROM MASTERCLASS

Masterclass All-Access Pass

$180.00 FROM MASTERCLASS

Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy.

Stock quotes by finanzen.net

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