From janitor to CEO: Four lessons from Lowe's CEO on climbing the corporate ladder

These leadership takeaways are part of a new primetime series, CNBC Leaders Playbook, all new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by CNBC's Julia Boorstin, the series goes inside the minds of the world's top business leaders to reveal how lasting success is built.

Before Marvin Ellison ever became CEO, he worked the kinds of jobs most people overlook.

He unloaded trucks. He drove forklifts. He worked as a janitor.

All of these were hourly jobs that helped him pay his way through college. Ellison says those frontline roles shape how he leads and every decision he makes.

When he got the top job at Lowe's, instead of meeting with the executive team at headquarters, he went out to the stores to meet with frontline associates.

Ellison says that approach was shaped years earlier, when he was making $4.35 an hour as a security guard at Target and wondering how companies would be different if executives were spending time in the stores.

At the heart of his strategy, was the belief that executives who understand their frontline employees are better equipped to lead.

When COVID hit, demand at Lowe's surged overnight. This challenged leaders to make major decisions quickly – from rolling out a system for curbside pick-up to navigating a strained global supply chain.

Ellison said the experience exposed a hard truth: layers of bureaucracy were slowing the business down. As a result, he removed obstacles and focused on speed, this meant that capital approvals and tech processes went from taking months to just days.

That urgency revealed a new way of operating for the company. He said that lesson stuck – and today leaders at Lowe's are empowered to move fast and be decisive.

Ellison said one of the biggest leadership mistakes is overcomplicating the work. If teams don't clearly understand the plan, they can't execute it.

He said that too often, leaders come up with plans just to show how smart they are – not how simple and straightforward the work needs to be.

It's the reason why he grounded the company around just a few core priorities — what he calls "retail fundamentals." As a result, he says execution improved and results followed.

Ellison said strategy only works when the people closest to the customer have clarity on what matters most. If they don't, the strategy will fall apart.

Ellison grew up in a small town in rural Tennessee and worked multiple jobs to pay for school. He says his background shaped him, but he did not let it limit him.

Throughout his career, Ellison said he intentionally took on tough jobs that others did not want. He was often replacing leaders who had been forced out. When things went wrong, he said he didn't blame circumstances, he looked inward.

He believes progress comes from resilience, learning, and refusing to make excuses, no matter where you start.