Najoh Tita-Reid on Making It Safe for Teams to Be Great

What I’ve Learned

Early in her career, Najoh Tita-Reid believed leadership meant projecting strength at all times. She thought her role was to push through obstacles and carry responsibility for the team on her shoulders. But one piece of feedback shifted everything:

“You were trying to show up with your strengths and never really showing up with your vulnerability. And you were more accountable for people than they were for themselves.”

It was a wake-up call. Najoh realized that by shielding her team and never revealing her own vulnerabilities, she was unintentionally creating dependency and limiting growth.

“My job is to make it safe for my team to be great.”

How I’ve Sharpened

Najoh reshaped her leadership approach, learning to clear the path not by carrying every burden herself, but by creating space for her teams to take ownership and thrive.

• Lead with vulnerability. She began acknowledging what she didn’t know and asking more questions, modeling that it’s safe to learn out loud.
• Balance accountability. She stopped over-owning for others and made accountability mutual. “Shared accountability builds capacity.”
• Name barriers directly. When fear, politics, or confusion slow things down, she surfaces them openly. “You can’t clear what you won’t acknowledge.”
• Create cover for risk-taking. She takes responsibility for calculated risks, giving her teams confidence to be bold.
• Coach in real time. Instead of saving feedback for later, she leans into live coaching so progress isn’t delayed.

Why It Matters

Clearing the path is about more than eliminating operational hurdles. It’s about removing the invisible barriers of fear and over-dependence that keep teams from realizing their full potential.

Najoh’s story shows that when leaders combine vulnerability with accountability, they don’t just carry their teams — they unleash them.

“Vulnerability builds trust. Shared accountability builds capacity. That’s how you make it safe for people to be great.”

About Najoh Tita-Reid

Najoh Tita-Reid is Chief Brand & Experience Officer at Mars Petcare. With a career spanning Procter & Gamble, Bayer, Merck, and Logitech, she has led global transformations while championing diverse talent and inclusive leadership.