Skims cofounder Emma Grede says leaders can be empathetic without treating employees like family

Skims cofounder Emma Grede said good leaders won't let their employees get blindsided at work.

To Grede, effective leadership is about balancing empathy with what the business needs.

"You can, at once, be an extremely empathetic leader and have the needs of your team and your people at the absolute forefront of what you're doing," Grede told Kleiman. "And yet, what you must have is an enterprise mentality to do what is right for the business."

As founder and CEO, she said her first responsibility is to make decisions that serve the business, even when that means acknowledging that some employees may no longer be the right fit as it grows.

Grede recalled a lesson from Mellody Hobson, the former chair of the Starbucks board, who taught her that being honest does not require being harsh or brutal.

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That means employees are rarely caught off guard by feedback about their performance, Grede said — and because those conversations happen regularly, "nobody's surprised."

"We run a business just like anybody else, and that is with an enterprise mentality to do the best things that are right for the company," Grede added.

In May 2025, Grede said she sees it as a red flag when job candidates talk about work-life balance. "Work-life balance is your problem. It isn't your employer's responsibility," she said.

Grede's approach to work and motherhood also sparked discussion earlier this year when she described herself as a "max three-hour mum" on weekends in an April interview with The Wall Street Journal.