When Michael Polk, the former CEO of Newell Brands, came out of retirement to lead Implus, he stepped into a company that was smaller, younger, and more nimble than anything in his previous experience. The adjustment required a different style of leadership one built on presence rather than structure.

Polk spent more than 40 years in executive roles across large multinational companies before leading Implus, a private equity-owned business. The contrast with his prior roles was significant, particularly when it came to the experience level of his team.

Working Alongside a Younger Workforce

“While the talent in my company is hungry and competitive, they tend to be younger and have less breadth of experience,” Michael Polk Newell Brands explains. That inexperience is not a problem to manage around it is a feature of the environment that shapes how he works.

Rather than directing from a distance, Polk embeds himself in the day-to-day work. He works directly with the marketing team on campaigns, collaborates with the commercial team on selling systems, and helps design go-to-market programs. This level of involvement stands in sharp contrast to the delegation-driven model he used at large public companies.

Modeling the Culture He Wants to Build

At Implus, Polk functions less as a strategic overseer and more as an active participant in the organization. “I’m doing marketing with the marketing team. I’m doing the strategic selling, the design of our selling systems, and the design of our go-to-market programs with the commercial team,” he says. This approach lets him model the behaviors he wants the broader team to adopt.

Polk finds the hands-on role genuinely rewarding. His career shows that leadership is not a fixed set of behaviors but a practice that must flex to meet the organization. Accessibility, authenticity, and sharp decision-making principles he applies everywhere take on a more literal meaning when you are sitting alongside the team doing the work. See related link for more information.

 

Follow for more about Michael Polk Newell Brands on https://www.implus.com/leadership/