If you looked at her résumé, you might believe that JuE Wong, most recently the global CEO of Moroccanoil, has sailed through her career. But her rise came amid a host of challenges.
JuE Wong
Originally from Singapore, Wong started her career as a commodity trader in Asia and Europe and was soon managing a global team and a $2.5 billion trading portfolio. Next came a position dealing with foreign-exchange currency swaps for PepsiCo International.
From there, she moved into the skin-care industry, climbing up the ladder to become executive vice president of international business and development at Murad, and eventually becoming CEO of Astral Brands. Following that, she moved to the top position at StriVectin, and then became president of Elizabeth Arden before accepting her position with Moroccanoil in 2017.
Here are three key lessons she learned along the way.
1
The “Right” Attitude Doesn’t Always Work
Like most people who have enjoyed extreme success, Wong experienced a stumble along the way: not taking credit for her work.
“We have always been told that you can achieve so much more if you have the right attitude and don’t care who gets the credit for an idea, a project and so forth,” she says.
Wong was disappointed when, twice in her early career, her direct supervisors took her ideas and received the recognition that she deserved. “At least we should have shared the credit,” she says.
2
Get the Credit
If she could talk to her younger self today, she would tell her that who gets the credit matters. “I learned that my ideas were presented verbatim as someone else’s, without any reference to me,” she says. “My manager’s boss printed the document, saw my credentials in the footer and realized what had happened. I was more surprised and disappointed in my supervisor than angry.”
The second time it happened, Wong was in the room—and more experienced—when her project was discussed. This time she was ready. When her boss took credit, she thanked him for “sponsoring” the idea, right in front of the senior executive team. A couple of executives asked her about it.
“My boss was not happy with me, and even reported me to human resources for insubordination. HR stood by him. So I went to my division manager, then the head of HR and eventually the CEO, who listened sympathetically but did not reprimand my supervisor, who still is head of that department,” she says.
3
Find the Right Role—and Keep Learning
As a result of the second incident, Wong realized that she was not cut out for office politics and was better off in profit-and-loss responsibility roles.
“In my experience, there is no tactful way to handle a situation like this, because once someone knows you are onto them, they will not be kind. As I’ve progressed in my career, I have gravitated to roles that leave no doubt what my contributions are.”
Still, Wong has a positive attitude about her experiences. “Corporate life, like your personal life, is continuous learning. We all have our war stories from our corporate career; what is important is that you keep learning, keep picking yourself up and be the best you can in whatever role you are in. The moment you feel defeated, you lose,” she says.
Pat Olsen is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Diversity Woman, Family Business, AARP and other outlets.
Inset photo courtesy of JuE Wong.
Read how Craig Wolfe learned from his early missteps to build his own business.