Creating a work environment where openness is valued can drive business results and create loyal employees, Paula Boggs, the former general counsel of Starbucks, said in a keynote discussion on Wednesday. In her case, it also changed the trajectory of her career.

In a keynote program of the Women Influence & Power in Law Conference, Boggs now a nationally touring musician based in Seattle, said she had to learn to be an empathetic leader to create an efficient and open work environment.