Anna Wintour, THE emblem of Vogue, Fashion & Style

Anna Wintour is a genuine legend in the field of fashion. Editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Wintour is omnipresent in the fashion industry. The novel and movie The Devil Wears Prada are described as fictionalized accounts of her management style.

Being a good manager in Anna Wintour's opinion :

Lesson 1 : Keep Meetings Short 

In Anna’s world, meetings often start a few minutes before they’re scheduled. If you arrive five minutes late, chances are you’ll have missed it entirely. 

« Details make perfection, and the perfection is not a detail » -Leonard De Vinci- who she quotes to explain her way of managing.

Lesson 2 : Trust your instincts

It’s quintessential Anna Wintour: knowing what she wants, making clear decisions and moving on.
Here is someone who knows that her gut instincts have gotten her to where she is, so she listens to them, trusts them and isn’t afraid to put them on the line.

Lesson 3 : Surround yourself with Great Talent

Anna Wintour knows that you’re only as good as the people who work for you, that bad leaders are threatened by strong team members, and that success comes from surrounding yourself with the most talented people you can find.
Besides her image of cruella devil, she kept the same team for two decades, and had with them a relationship based on trust and faith.

Lesson 4 : Don't look back

The best recap of Anna’s management style, might come from her own comment at the end of The September Issue, when she says, “Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.” 

Or it might come from Karl Lagerfeld whose favorite expression, Anna once told me, is “On to the next.”

Lesson 5 : Be a Shark, not a Shrimp

By simple nod of the head, Anna Wintour can destroy an entire collection. 

Being respected in such a competitive industry is more than important to survive and to climb the ladder. 

Self-confidence is a daily obligation at that level, you just can’t show your weaknesses.

Lesson 6 : Kindness is a Weakness

At work : you have no friends whatsoever, you just make alliances and have enemies because everybody is ready to stab you in the back.

As Karl Lagerfeld once said : « Well, you can make a film in Hollywood without Steven Spielberg’s blessing, and you can publish software in Silicon Valley without Bill Gates’ blessing, but it’s pretty clear to me that you can’t succeed in the fashion industry without Anna Wintour’s blessing.»

Photos copyrights : Women Management & Gawker & Fashion Fox