Taylor Lane believes leadership is key to a team’s success. This belief shaped his own career as a leader.  

At the start of 2026, Taylor became Sonoco’s Vice President and General Manager of Industrial Paper Packaging North America (IPP NA). He recently shared his experience and journey with a group of Sonoco young professionals, giving them advice on how to demonstrate leadership and develop high-performance teams with insights from one of his favorite books, “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.” Excerpts from this discussion have been shared below.

Lesson 1: Take responsibility for outcomes.

 “At any manufacturing company, success is a result of the marriage between strong processes and empowering people. At Sonoco, I’m working to create a culture where everyone is empowered and accountable to standard work through our performance system tools and processes. This approach frees our IPP NA workforce to focus on continuous improvement, prospecting and growth in other areas.”

Lesson 2: Empower teams to take action.

“I focus on putting the right people in the right places with the right tools for development. By creating and sharing a clear, simple vision, I can empower them to execute on their own and even provide opportunities for them to lead.

Together, we’re building a culture that strives for excellence in all that we do. The key is to position people in the right roles and equip them with what they need. This way each team member can more easily identify, own and solve problems as they arise.” 

Lesson 3: Check the ego.

“In my experience, effective leadership leaves little room for arrogance. My team’s performance is a direct reflection of my ability to lead. By taking ownership of how I impact outcomes, I can help them successfully perform, reach goals and continue growing.  

As a leader myself, I know that ego stems from a desire to protect myself. However, when I look in the mirror and don’t like what I see, I still choose to own my decisions because if I want to see change, I need to first change my mindset.”

Lesson 4: Build and maintain trust.

“Trust is not given; it’s something earned. As a leader, I work to build trust not only by being reliable, credible and personable, but also by demonstrating humility. I trust team members to take care of the day-to-day minutiae without stepping in or taking over. This trust expands my ability to listen well, identify risks, create contingency plans and jump into action. 

A large business like IPP NA can easily create silos or ineffective communication across divisions. By building trust, my team and I work to break down barriers, establish cross-divisional communication channels and ensure everyone understands the plan. When one team or team member springs into action, these networks enable teams to have each other’s backs and know how to step up. 

Lesson 5: Lead from where you’re at.

“Leadership is for everyone, even if you’re not in a leadership role. I encourage you to find opportunities to contribute to the success of your team. Especially if you’re early in your career, this mindset can make a meaningful, recognizable impact. Even individual contributors can demonstrate leadership by:

  • Learning broadly and independently.
  • Taking initiative and ownership of finding information.
  • Building a workplace and professional network.
  • Understanding the systems around you that you serve and support.
  • Aligning with the strategic vision and finding ways to move it forward.

Wherever you serve within a business, your contributions make a difference. By holding yourself accountable, you can help your team maintain focus on the top priorities and create freedom to keep improving.”

At Sonoco, ‘people build businesses by doing the right thing’ functions as a guiding principle. For Taylor, effective leadership takes on personal meaning and owning outcomes, communicating a clear vision and driving people to achieve success is the right thing to do. This approach matters because when the team wins, everyone wins. 

Learn more about our commitment to building businesses by doing the right thing.