Cristiana Bronson is the type of leader who, instead of telling you what kind of leader she is, she asks her team.

The head of retail at Accent Group’s Hype DC, The Trybe and Subtype is passionate about championing retail as a career, and a lucrative one at that, and firmly believes that leaders can lead with empathy and get commercial results.

Bronson joined Accent Group in 2021 as a national retail sales manager for Vans before a position as head of retail at Hype DC and Subtype presented. A year later, the children’s footwear retailer Trybe was added to her plate.

Inside Retail: How have you seen retail change over the past two decades from a store and corporate level?

Cristiana Bronson: At a store level, the biggest shift and change has come from our customers’ expectations of us.

Retail is not just a transactional environment, some call it ‘retailtainment’, our stores the main stage and team, the stars of the show.

Brands that continued to do well over the last two decades are brands that have strategies in place to create ‘brand love’, trust and ultimately, loyalty.

Therefore, retailers who invest in teams and in understanding their customers, are the retail brands who win in building authentic connections.

IR: What does your current role include?

CB: As the head of retail, my role is multifaceted, I get to be part of all aspects of a retail business, from motivating, inspiring and leading people to building training and development programs and executing strategies to grow sales and profit.

IR: How big is the team you lead?

CB: I have seven direct reports, which are made up of state managers, and a national manager for Subtype and Trybe. Then I have 10 indirect reports, which are the area managers. We have a hierarchy, but we don’t work or operate in a very hierarchical manner.

I have a lot of interaction with our area managers and I’m very in tune with our store managers. They know it’s not unusual to get a ‘well done’ email from me.

I’ve fostered a relationship that breaks down barriers of hierarchy. One of the notions we drive is culture. We’re one team that are all driven to achieve the same result.

I ensure that they are empowered. An example is we have strategy days, like most businesses, prior to a new financial year, a lot of businesses would do that at a senior executive leadership level – we involve our state managers and prior to these meetings, we get buy-in from our area managers. We get feedback from our store managers, and try to involve all levels of leadership in decisions that are being made for the upcoming year’s strategies.

To empower, we get buy-in from our team and I let my team take the reins on projects. I guide, support and nurture them in whatever direction they may need to take and what support avenues they may need to tap into within our organisation. I give them ownership of a lot of projects, which ensures they’re growing, developing and are essentially ready to take on my role when I step away one day.

IR: How does leadership impact the workforce?

CB: Frankly speaking, a hell of a lot.

People are the foundation of a business and its biggest asset. I’ve worked in retail a long time and have heard that in numerous different iterations.

It is all down to actions. And you know what actually transpires within an organisation. That comes down to the leader and how they involve their team, the level of collaboration, empowerment, buy-in that the team at all different levels are given the opportunity to have within an organisation.

That’s what retains team and keeps them within the business. People seek roles within businesses based on the brand, people stay because of the leadership and the culture that is built by the leaders

If I speak to my role today, and in particular my direct report, that I report into, Liam Robson, the reason I choose to work for him is that I’m empowered and challenged in my role every day.

He sets the bar really high, and he knows that I thrive on that and it’s what drives me. I have a real level of accountability, and I can go away and do things my way and put strategies in place, and know that I’m going to have his support, without all the red tape that can be in place with certain organisations. That’s just not [the case] here. I’m entrusted in my role and given autonomy, even though we are part of the Accent Group. I’m treated with the respect to execute autonomously, without senior leadership holding your hand. 

Businesses that have leaders that drive an environment of collaboration, empowerment and buy-in are successful because people want to be part of that. People want to be part of ‘the why’ and to know what impact they have to the company’s overall business objectives.

At Accent Group that starts with Daniel [Agostinelli, the CEO] and trickles all the way down with how he leads his senior executive team, to my leader, and then myself to my team.

IR: What’s your leadership style?

CB: I messaged my state manager as I thought it would be better to ask someone that works in the team I lead.

She wrote, “Nurturing and inspiring. You’re clear on your expectations, which gives us clarity. You’re innovative, and you motivate us through the forward planning and your ideas. I know that you adapt your style depending on each individual you’re leading, and that’s what gets you the great results.”

IR: What do you want your career legacy to be?

CB: A leader can lead with empathy, kindness, be nurturing, supportive, and still have a very driven accountability culture within their team – which ultimately is what delivers the results. That’s a legacy I’d love to leave with my career.

I remember sitting in this conference with a fellow peer and she’s completely opposite to me.

I asked my boss if I needed to be a little bit more direct and harder with my team like she is. My boss said to me, Cris, people love working for you, and that’s why you deliver results, don’t ever change that and compare yourself to anybody else.

That always stuck with me. She’s right, I need to lead with my true self. They’re my values, and I know that I can deliver equally, if not better results and more long-term results by having a team that is engaged with the brand, connected to my true leadership style, attributes and values of being empathetic and nurturing and supportive.

If you ask my team, they’ll say I’ve got high standards and expectations. I expect only the best, so you can still have a balance of both.

This article is part of Inside Retail’s #IRWD365 campaign, in partnership with Airwallex, to shine a spotlight on inspiring women in Australia’s retail industry and drive tangible change towards gender equality.