Jill Cress of H&R Block - "The Invested Leader"

Jill Cress is the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer for H&R Block. She also serves on the board of the AdCouncil, and she's been recognized on Forbes’ list of the World's 50 Most Influential CMOs. Before H&R Block, Jill spent 20 years at MasterCard. Now, a leader who spends most of their professional life working in financial institutions could easily build their success around the study of data, but the foundations of Jill's leadership are based on the most valuable investments of all. Delivering results has always been table stakes when you're stepping into a leadership position, and money will and should sit squarely on that table as one essential definition of success. But enduring financial success is a consequence of your willingness to take your eyes off the financial prize and fix them squarely on your most valuable assets: The people that work for you. And what matters to them are two things. First, that they matter. And second, that what they're doing makes a difference. During our conversation, I talked to Jill about the creativity diagnostic tool that we've developed. It measures when leaders are creating the conditions that maximize the creativity of their people. One of the critical insights that shows up time and time again is that the very best leaders are fully invested in creating a culture that ensures that everyone feels seen and heard and respected. Now, this investment carries personal risk, because it can make you as the leader feel vulnerable, and it is time consuming. But the ROI is through the roof. So what are you investing in?