- PayPal CEO Dan Schulman has a reputation as being one of Silicon Valley's more sympathetic bosses.
- He credits his father as his leadership hero because he taught him soft skills.
- Schulman told the Financial Times that humility and respect are what truly inspires people.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman can boast at least one great business mentor, having spent eight years being personally mentored by Virgin founder Richard Branson.
But he credits his father with teaching him one of his most valuable leadership lessons.
Schulman spoke to the Financial Times about his journey transitioning online payments giant PayPal into a broader payments platform and his views on cryptocurrencies.
He was also asked to share some leadership advice and asked to name his leadership hero. He chose his father, Mel Schulman, described as a World War Two veteran and chemical engineer.
"He always said: 'You aren't what you say you are, you are what you do – be as authentic as you can," Schulman told the newspaper. "Things change on the ground: whatever we talk about today, tomorrow will be different. But you and I are the same person."
He went on to explain that his father taught him his first leadership lesson - one that has continued to serve him throughout his career.
"My Dad said something to me early on in my life: 'Real respect, real leadership comes from softer things like humility, listening to people, respect - that's what inspires people,'" Schulman said.
There has been growing awareness over the last couple of decades as to the effectiveness of leaders who display traits like emotional intelligence, empathy, and kindness over those who are tough leaders or excel at driving profits.
Soft skills have become even more important since the beginning of the pandemic, as employees have struggled with the burnout, uncertainty, and loneliness of remote work.
Schulman has previously been CEO of Virgin Mobile between 2001 and 2009, an executive at American Express and Verizon, and joined PayPal in 2014 just after it had split from parent Ebay.
His time at the helm has coincided with PayPal's transformation from a company that he describes as one a lot of people thought "had seen its best days" to a business with a market capitalization of more than $320 billion.
He has a reputation for his empathetic leadership.
Insider previously reported Schulman raised wages after learning that PayPal employees were struggling to cover their basic living expenses. In 2014, he spent 24 hours living on the streets in New York to experience what it felt like.
Schulman credits Branson with teaching him that successful businesses put their employees first and has previously said that the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga had impacted his approach to business and leadership because it had taught him how to pick his battles.