Michael Leon Understands Employees’ Currency at JELD-WEN

As a finance executive who has led successful accounting, financial reporting, and policy and compliance functions, Michael Leon understands how to get the most out of a team. It starts with understanding their currency and accommodating their needs, he says.

“Some employees like to work on the most important matters in a quarter. Some coach their child’s football team and value that the most. Others value not having to check an email on Sunday and having the flexibility to go home early two days a week to have a family dinner,” Leon says. “If you take the time to get to know your staff and what they appreciate, you can proverbially pay them in their currency. That connection with an employee and that appreciation of what they value has been extremely rewarding for me throughout my career.”

After leveraging that philosophy for over eight years at Sealed Air Corporation, Leon brought his leadership to JELD-WEN, a leading global designer, manufacturer, and distributor of high-performance interior and exterior doors, windows, and related building products. There, he serves as chief accounting officer, where he oversees a global team of over 325 employees. In that capacity, he encourages his team to pay each other in what they value.

“By definition, I lead teams that operate in a rules-based profession, and we do rules really well as part of our daily discipline,” Leon says. “I want to make sure we tap into the other parts of our thought processes, from how we interact with each other to how we focus on our relationships and being intentional about investing in the currencies of others. When we do that, it becomes something we can feel. You can walk in a room, and everyone understands each other and understands what makes each other highly motivated. We have a commitment to each other that we have joint accountability for.”

Leon, a native Spanish speaker, has also aimed to accomplish that practice as an executive sponsor to the company’s Hispanic employee resource group (ERG), Mi Casa. He started asking questions and trying to understand ways he could aid in the success of ERG members. As a result, those kinds of talks allowed for several strides forward, including the creation of a Spanish language twenty-five-minute informational video about tax returns. Being able to respond to the needs of his peers in this way is one of Leon’s favorite aspects of the job.

“From the beginning, the ERG has been an avenue to sit in front of a group of my peers and say, as your executive sponsor, ‘What help do you want or need?’ I found it incredibility rewarding to be able to apply a level of servant leadership to them in this way, especially when you were given the assertive direction of what others value most”

Before joining JELD-WEN, Leon, a New York native, held roles of increasing responsibility in accounting and finance. Those experiences culminated in serving as corporate controller and chief accounting officer at Sealed Air Corporation. There, he played a significant role in supporting several functions, including treasury and investor relations, and was an integration leader for an acquisition with a global footprint.

That journey taught Leon about what it takes to create a culture of trust and respect.

“Your culture needs to make people feel like they belong and like they want to work here. We must intentionally foster that. Everyone needs to ask, ‘What can I do to better the culture?’ ‘What can we do to maximize the sense of inclusion?’ And that mindset needs to be ingrained in every process we have,” Leon says.

Couched in that wisdom is a dedication to constant improvement, a trait Leon credits much of his success to. He also brings that mentality to endeavors outside of work, such as his involvement in community service events. Every year, his teams aspire to volunteer in bigger and better ways.

“People at their core want to help others. If you recognize that and give them that outlet, it’s extremely impactful,” Leon says.

But nothing has been more impactful than his journey as a father. He’s proud to have leveraged his career to help in the development of his kids.

“This career has given me the means to take my family on global adventures and offer them enriching experiences. It’s also inspired me to teach others what I’ve learned along the way. The most important parenting lesson I learned was from a pastor that taught me a child spells love ‘t-i-m-e’ and that’s something I try to be very intentional about; I show them I love them by prioritizing time with them,” he shares.

Leon advises young professionals to be more open about what motivates them and to share that with their employers. 

“There’s usually a great cross-section between the business’ needs and your personal development passions. When you bring those together, the company wins, and you win. It’s a really enjoyable thing to watch,” he says. “The more assertive and expressive you can be about what motivates you, the more you’ll be able to help craft those rewarding career opportunities.”