My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future

by Indra Nooyi

The trappings of leadership in our world—money, travel, meeting famous and fascinating people, beautiful living and work spaces—become easy to adapt to and accept. But true leaders must keep their feet firmly rooted to the ground and focus on the responsibilities of their jobs. That’s what I always tried to do. I felt I was a role model, with everyone watching me. I had very difficult jobs to do and tried to take everything else in stride. Female leaders have this much tougher than male leaders because the world of power is designed for men. Women are always breaking ground as they navigate the upper reaches of business, government, or finance. We have to demonstrate our gravitas in a world where authority and brilliance, to many people, still look like an older gentleman. And we have to absorb dozens of the simple, little slights that show women are not yet fully embraced.