Situational Background

Melanie Perkins, Canva co-founder and CEO, leads with inclusive optimism, simplicity, and long-term stewardship. She makes design accessible, sets clear narratives, and keeps teams focused on usefulness and kindness. Perkins pairs ambition with gratitude, modelling humility and consistency. Distinctive for human-centered clarity, she shows how empathy, simplicity, and steady delivery scale in any mission-driven company.

Practical Leadership Principles

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1) Make it simple for everyone.

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Accessibility is strategy.

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Behaviours to model:

• Replace jargon with examples.
• Remove one step from a core flow monthly.
• Test with first-time users and act.

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2) Kindness with standards.

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Warmth and excellence can coexist.

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Behaviours to model:

• Define the bar with examples.
• Give timely, specific feedback.
• Recognise helpfulness as a performance trait.

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3) Purpose that persists.

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Think decades, ship weekly.

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Behaviours to model:

• Share the long-term aim in one sentence.
• Mark visible progress each week.
• Tie growth to community benefit.

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Call to action

Rewrite one message for clarity, ship a small accessibility win, and thank someone whose kindness improved the work.

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