The cover story of Total Retail’s Winter issue, Top Women in Retail, honored 15 women retail executives. Each honoree was asked a series of questions, including the following: How would you describe your leadership style? Here are select answers to that question from some of this year’s honorees.

Traci Milholen Inglis, Chief Marketing Officer, Fast Fashion at TechStyle (JustFab, ShoeDazzle): Calm, collaborative and empowering. I like to encourage my team to think outside the box to come up with realistic and creative solutions to problems. I usually have a point of view, but it’s important to be truly open to hearing new ideas. Steve Jobs put it well when he said, “it doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

I like to plan ahead so we’re ready for the unexpected. And when the unexpected happens, I can feel the room waiting for my reaction. Staying calm relieves the team’s anxiety and leads us to the best possible resolution in the quickest manner.

Stacey L. Renfro, Senior Vice President, E-Commerce, Pier 1 Imports: Transformational. I lead by inspiring, empowering and stimulating others to push themselves to a place that may not have seemed possible. I’m passionate about maximizing individual strengths, coaching and mentoring.

In addition to the people elements of my style, I’m also very results-focused and ensure that I clearly define the vision and translate this in a way that everyone knows how to achieve to desired result. As a transformational leader, I’m internally motivated and lead with high energy, passion, authenticity, collaboration and courage.

Liz Rodbell, President, Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay: Being trustworthy and authentic are really important to me. I have the mentality that we are a team at Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay, and we need to support and trust each other. I always want my team to know that I have their backs, and I’m in their corner. Treating people with respect, while coaching them to to better, is also critical.

Natalie Marten-Fopeano, President, Chief Marketing Officer, TUMI Outerwear: One of service. If you can’t serve your people and be in trenches with them, it’s hard to get the best from them. I believe you hire great talent and give them the freedom to create. I also believe in collaboration and transparency.