In this 6‑questions‑in‑7‑minutes interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Meeta Mallick, a multicultural marketing storyteller and DEI leader who also balances motherhood. Meeta shares what makes her smile at work—interacting with people—and emphasizes two core leadership lessons: the critical need for leaders to listen, lest passionate employees become silent, and the underrated power of kindness as a strength, not a weakness, especially in the current talent‑war climate. She illustrates the impact of kindness through a vivid anecdote about her first job as an assistant wedding photographer, where a supportive boss’s empathy shaped her approach to leadership. Meeta also recommends a fellow leader, Kate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, for future podcast episodes, and directs listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn, which she describes as a generous networking platform.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Thanks for having me. I'm Meeta Malik. I am a passionate storyteller with a focus on multicultural marketing. I'm a diversity, equity, and inclusion leader and the most important job I have is to be mom to Jay, who is 8 going on 18, and Priya, who is 6 going on 16.
Meeta, it's a pleasure to have you on the show, and as a parent myself, I could totally appreciate, uh, going 8 going on 18 and stuff. That's exactly what my kids were like as well. Yes, it is, it is. Question number 2: What is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
I love working with people. I just really enjoy it, and that's why I'm in a role where I get to interact with lots of people all day long, mostly over Zoom now, and looking forward to moving back into in-person.
Me too. And I think a lot of people are the same way. So question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I love the quote around leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say. And I think we have lost the ability to disagree with each other and still continue to move forward, whether that's in work and life. And so I ask myself as a leader and other leaders, when your most passionate people become quiet, ask yourself what's going on and what role have you played in that?
Mm-hmm. That is very, very insightful. Yeah. You know, I think many times about, uh, certain leaders in, in organizations that I worked for that Yeah, the, the speaking up was not encouraged, and that, uh, the culture on that can be a very— though there's very negative effects of that.
Absolutely.
Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
I think one of the things I've discovered during this time in the pandemic is that kindness was and now more than ever is so important, but it continues to be one of the most underrated, undervalued leadership qualities because you start to think, well, kindness is weakness. Kindness is not a strength. And kindness is a strength. And don't mistake my kindness for weakness because I can be kind and I can be firm. And I think particularly during this time, the leaders who have showed up with a lot of kindness and empathy are going to be the ones that are winning and are going to be the ones that will continue to hold on to their talent. And we know it's a war for talent right now.
Mm-hmm. And it really is true. It's interesting how so many people, you know, thinking the kindness is, is a sign of weakness. It's not. It's just treating other people the way that you want to be treated. And it is amazing how much a positive effect just being kind can be. And, and I, I love that, that insight that you have, and I think that that's going to resonate very well with our listeners. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself, would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Well, I have many, but I'll just nominate one for the moment, and that is my good friend Kate Luzio, who is the founder and CEO of Luminary. So I look forward to have— to listening to her on your show.
Wonderful. Thank you for that referral. I look forward to talking with her. And our final question, question number 6: please tell me about your first job.
Oh gosh, well, my first job was I was an assistant wedding photographer. And I was terrible at it. The equipment was heavier than I was. I dropped the tripod once in the church during the ceremony. I had a light stick and couldn't move fast enough, so I was like in pictures with the bride and groom as they were dancing. And I once, with my boss, uh, left the venue and had left a piece of the equipment there, so we had to drive back. But what I learned from that experience is that like I could have been labeled a poor performer. But my boss stuck it out and coached me and guided me because I didn't know how to do any of this. And so I go back on that experience and really think about the kindness and empathy he showed to me. It wasn't my destiny to go into wedding photography, but I learned a lot from that experience and learned a lot about how he showed up for me and coached me.
I love that story. It's, it's got so many things going on there, and I love the part that you tie it back to, uh, question number 4, your insight about being kindness. The, the, the, the fact that you were able to to tie that back to your first job and what you learned from that is wonderful. It just shows you that you're such a great storyteller. So thank you for that. And Mita, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Um, LinkedIn. That's the best place. I love LinkedIn. It's a platform of generosity and look forward to connecting and meeting with more people there. So thank you.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Get hundreds of amazing business insights from previous guest episodes on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.
