When you’re looking for a good place to eat, what app do you use? More than likely, you’re using OpenTable to secure your seat at one of your city’s hottest restaurants.
Susan Lee is the chief growth officer at OpenTable. Cold Tea Collective’s founder, Natasha Jung, met with Lee to ask her what AAPI excellence and leadership look like and offered advice on navigating motherhood in the workforce.
Being an AAPI executive in a global company
Lee is one of three Asian-American women on the executive team at OpenTable, a global company serving up the best in restaurant recommendations in more than 105 countries.
“The three of us come from an Asian Pacific background. It’s really nourishing, really comfortable and really inspiring… because for me and my career growing up, it was hard to find role models that looked like me or had my background.”
Lee tells a personal story about someone asking her to pour coffee at a business meeting in Asia, making an assumption based on her gender. “But sharing that and how that brings other stories of other people’s experiences to the table, can be triggering,” says Lee.
This experience Lee faced reminds us that we need to step up and speak our minds. “There’s been really great advancements in the last few years, but there’s more that needs to continue to be done… We need to show up not only for ourselves but for each other,” Lee shares.
What AAPI excellence looks like
For Lee, AAPI excellence looks like, “bringing our whole selves to what we do and being proud of who we are because of our background.” One of Lee’s strengths in the workplace is that she has diverse perspectives and experiences that are uniquely hers.
“Growing up, I struggled with feeling like I belonged. And that isn’t the story that I have told until recently because it didn’t feel safe to do so,” says Lee. “I grew up in Korea, and I came to America at a later age. In Korea, I was too American to fit in, then in America, I was too Korean to fit in,” shares Lee. And now as a leader, Lee aims to create a space of belonging for others by leading with their identities.
“I talk about it [now] because I want others to feel that what they’re feeling is not just them, but there are others that are like them so that they can feel a sense of belonging. And I think the first step is to share that,” Lee says.
Advice and support for working mothers and parents
Not only is Lee the chief growth officer at OpenTable, but she is also the mother of two young children. When asked about what she’s seen change regarding working mothers across her career, she shares, “I think it’s really important to walk the talk.”
Often, expecting mothers and new parents feel pressure to take the minimum qualified leave time or return to work quickly. To move away from these unsaid expectations, Lee shared she takes the allotted time the company and state provide fully. “I need to walk the talk. I can’t say one thing and do another. I think that that’s been helpful for my teammates to see and then also just recognizing people’s whole life.”
When preparing to take maternity leave, Lee says building a good relationship with your direct leaders can help set up a successful leave and eventual return.
Lee also suggests checking in on your career plan and with those who have the ability to influence it to ensure no assumptions are made during your leave. Questions to consider are:
- What have you missed?
- What is the current status of projects or upcoming initiatives?
- Where are the business priorities or priorities of the role now?
- Where do you stand regarding catching up and picking up where you left off?
- What were you working towards (in terms of individual and company goals)?
- What must we do in the next 30 or 90 days to get back on track?
Lee’s authentic approach to leadership as an AAPI executive is something Asian American businesswomen can look up to. Her ability to lean into her identity in a professional setting empowers people to bring their whole selves to work and enable people of all backgrounds and new working parents to be successful.
Disclaimer: The content in this article has not been pre-reviews, approved or endorsed by Discover.
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