Omar L. Harris's Blog, page 6

Becoming an Advocate for Black Talent in the Workplace

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I attended college at a historically black university (HBCU) - #FloridaA&MUniversity (FAMU) and earned my MBA there as well. As a graduate of the world-renowned

In 2020, we find ourselves at a watershed moment where many people are begining to recognize and account for the detrimental impacts of

I have come to the conclusion that it is a combination of my own adaptation and track record that has made me successful where so many have failed. But the fact that I had to make the adaptation at all in a so-called modern society is where the true fault lies. At FAMU, most of my esteemed classmates grew up as the only black person in mostly white environments because that was deemed as the path to success. And over time, little by little, you begin to give up your cultural identity and essence to fit in with your corporate peers. Whereas, in many instances, my white counterparts have been permitted to become more of who they actually are - we have to become less. This is the essence of whitewashing - assimilating in order to succeed.

Unfortunately, none of my previous employers in the healthcare industry have fully capitalized on my unique perspectives related to race and cultural identity that could have added significant value - whether it be in clinical study design for African-American populations, product branding, marketing campaigns, patient support programs, and/or physician targeting and outreach. And ultimately who suffered from this whitewashing were the patients who might have come into the funnel more rapidly and avidly had messages been tailored to their needs.

It has been a significant pleasure for me over my corporate career to mentor young black talents in various stages of their corporate matriculation. I have also had the distinct opportunity to return to my university and speak to the student body about how to remain competitive and successful in the evolving workplace. Still, all my efforts have not put a dent in the status quo. That's why I am pleading for my like-minded white colleagues to heed this message and join me in the effort to attract, onboard, develop, and promote black talent.

Diversity and inclusion is more than a nice buzzword of the moment. It is truly good business.

Purposely attract black talent:
Are you going to where black talent exists en mass? Are you attending the annual Black MBA conference or recruiting at the top HBCU's? Is it an organizational or departmental imperative to evaluate and include these talents in the recruiting process? In order to transform your teams and organizations you have to go seek the talent, not the other way around. And if the talent is limited in your space - create developmental programs to attract black students to pursue these career paths. Often times, we are less exposed to the opportunities in these spaces like coding etc and therefore don't see chances down these paths.

Leverage their voice:
Race is usually an electrified third rail in business. No one wants to touch it with a ten-foot poll. And as a black professional, I don't want to feel like I was hired specifically because I'm black. However, there are ways to engage your black talents that are complementary and don't create awkward situations. Simply ask for their perspective on different issues or ask them to study a problem from a demographic angle in order to enhance the ultimate solution. This is especially needed in marketing and advertising functions but it can apply in a myriad of situations.

Find them black mentors and coaches:
As black talent develops it is important to have advocates, mentors, and coaches that represent them within and outside of the organization. Understand that there are aspects of being black in the workforce that you will ultimately never fully appreciate but you can demonstrate empathy and compassion for your colleague by helping them find voices that can connect with their challenges in a more direct manner.

Empower them:
Black talent requires empowerment even more so than other nationalities because in many cases we have been taught to play it safe and not stand out in order to succeed. One of the most important moments in my career came when I was sent overseas on a stretch assignment and the senior vice president told me that no matter what happened while on assignment he had my back. That level of empowerment and belief transformed my own self-confidence and allowed me to give my all to the assignment. Don't assume your black colleague knows and understands how much free reign they have in order to overcome challenges and achieve goals.
,Don't be surprised if they have a perfectionism complex borne from having to be far better than their white colleagues to be seen and appreciated.
Be vocal with them on this and remain supportive so they don't feel abandoned either.

Push them:
It's not so long ago that African-Americans could not participate in higher order jobs like medicine and law. As a people, we have been conditioned to play it safe as it relates to employment and opportunities for advancement. Consider this, if a white colleague has a certain fear of failure, amplify this by a magnitude of 1,000 to understand the vantage point of a black person in the same position. So if you manage a black talent, you need to understand this perspective and work to continuously push your colleage outside of their comfort zone. Whether that be via international assignments or matriculating through different departments in the organization, exposure is something we desperately need. Be a strong advocate for diverse experiences and also a parachute if things don't work out.

This was not meant to be an exahustive list by any means, but it can be a starting point for anyone seeking to increase their allyship during these turbulent times. We need your support, understanding, and positive action now more than ever. Please pass this article through your organization to get the conversation started!

,Omar L. Harris is the managing partner at Intent Consulting LLC a firm dedicated to improving employee experience and organizational performance and author of 

Leadership Lessons from The Last Dance documentary

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I'm sure I'm not alone in being grateful to

The synopsis of the documentary goes: In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls allowed a film crew to follow them as they went for their sixth NBA title in eight seasons. That resulted in a stunning portrait of one of the sport's most iconic athletes and a celebrated team. "The Last Dance" follows the Bulls' 1997-98 season from start to finish, while also covering the rest of the chapters in Jordan's remarkable career. The 10-part docuseries follows the Jordan timeline from when he was an emerging star on his high school team to becoming a worldwide marketing force and cultural figure. The series takes its name from a phrase coined by then-Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who knew that the season would likely be the final run for the core members of that 1990s Bulls dynasty.

As Bruce Tuckman detailed in his landmark publication on teams - people come together and pass through at least

“One is too small a number to achieve greatness.”

With this thought in mind, allow me to present six leadership lessons (one for each championship) gleaned from this deeply compelling documentary.

Success is a process:
The Chicago Bulls organization that drafted Michael Jordan in 1984 was highly dysfunctional and disappointingly terrible. They had the extreme good fortune that the Portland Trailblazers already had an explosive shooting guard on their roster in the form of Clyde "The Glide" Drexler which led them to draft Sam Bowie instead of Jordan with the number two pick in the draft. But with the infusion of one key piece the Bulls went from also-rans to perennial playoff contenders for the following fourteen years. But as clearly documented during the series, Jordan's talents alone were not enough to elevate his team to level of NBA champion. It took a combination of individual talent, a dynamic system (Tex Winter's triangle offense), great role players (Pippen, Kerr, Rodman, Kukoc, Paxon, Hodges, Armstrong, Cartwright, Pippen, Burrell, Wennington, Longley, King, etc), an expert coach, the right mindset and reinforcing habits, extreme challenge (in the form of first the Boston Celtics and later the Detroit Pistons), and savvy management; all working in concert to deliver the wave of success Chicago enjoyed during their championship seasons.
Leadership Lesson: A team leader needs focus, optimism, and patience to lead a team to success. Acknowledging that success takes time and not skipping steps is essential. Even though corporations are driven by short term returns, in reality it doesn't happen that easily. You have to have the internal fortitude to commit to the process of making improvement daily versus making knee-jerk decisions based on the current state that may derail all the investments previously made.

Culture supercedes talent:
We see it time and time again in sports that a generational talent is identified like Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Lebron, Giannis; and then that talent is tested by adversity. This documentary really cements that fact by demonstrating the pain of the Bulls climb up the ladder from 1984 to 1991. Along the way, Jordan faced a season-ending injury, a host of difficult playoff exits, and coaches who simply rode his talents to the promise land without providing him with a system that would leverage the talents of the entire team. Tex Winter and Phil Jackson's triangle offense together with Jordan's tough love became the culture that built a perennial champion. 
Leadership Lesson: To build a high performance culture is to combine the right talent, the right mission, and the right discipline creating norms. This is the minimum necessary to align a group of people toward a big hairy audacious goal. The right culture is also necessary to get new joiners to quickly align to the norms and the mission. Servant leaders create cultures that drive high performance norms.

Reject credit:
 Jerry Krause unfortunately comes off as the bad guy throughout the documentary despite the fact that he drafted Scottie Pippen and Tony Kukoc, orchestrated the coaching change to Phil Jackson, hired Tex Winter, and traded for Dennis Rodman. The reason why he is largely villainized is because of his actions to dismantle a championship team prematurely due to financial concerns. He also complained that Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan got too much credit for the Bulls success leaving he and Jerry Reinsdorf as footnotes.
Leadership Lesson: Leaders should not be in their position to boost their ego. They are paid to support the organization and do the work that no one else can do. Credit should be issued by leaders and blame should be shouldered by leaders and this is because leaders should be humble and secure enough to take it.

Support those who support you:
One of the things I liked the most about the documentary was the glimpse into Michael Jordan's relationship with his security guard Gus Lett. It was clear that there was tremendous love and respect between them and learning how Jordan was there for his family when he was diagnosed with cancer showed a much softer and human side of the icon.
Leadership Lesson: Support is definitely a two-way street. Servant leaders receive a lot from operating in a position of support to their teams. The dipper and bucket analogy is true - the more positivity you give the more you receive and the more full your reservoir of energy, resilience, and positivity becomes.

Connect with each team member individually: 
Phil Jackson was the perfect coach for Dennis Rodman once he became a celebrity. Jackson worked to deeply understand what drove and motivated his mercurial defensive specialist. Jackson never judged Rodman despite his erratic and attention seeking behavior. And this understanding was the key to Rodman giving his best despite a few notable exits from the team.
Leadership Lesson: The theory that "managing" people is punitive is 100% flawed. As Patrick Lencioni says in The Motive - if the world's best athletes and performers need coaches why would executives not need this relationship. To manage someone means to deeply understand their unique talents, weaknesses, derailers, motivators, and praise preferences. Spending time to get to know your people on a deeply personal level is as or more important than designing strategy or doing business development deals.

Everything ends:
Due to Jerry Krause's pronouncement at the outset of the 1998 season that Phil Jackson could go 82-0 and still not be welcomed back as a head coach, Phil Jackson pronounced the season as the Last Dance for the team. He did this because he understood the need for teams to have closure once the mission is completed. It lead to greater acceptance and greater cohesion around the ultimate objective of completing another three-peat. Still, Michael Jordan has a lot of bitterness that the team didn't get to leave on their own terms. And this is a natural feeling in the adjourning phase. Had Jerry Krause purposefully designed a more effective exit strategy built on the talents of Tony Kukoc and Scottie Pippen while trading for emerging talent the rebuild might have been more successful. As it is, the Bulls peaked in 1998 and haven't sniffed the NBA Finals in twenty-two years.
Leadership Lesson:

The team will always look to the leader to signpost where they are on the journey. A servant leader serves team continuity and longevity by developing emerging talent and creating succession throughout the organization. The ensures that the chase for the mission never ends whether the leader remains there or not. The mission is always bigger than one single individual.

The Last Dance was a fantastic documentary and I really enjoyed this blast from the past. (5 out of 5 stars).

What other leadership lessons did you glean from the documentary? Let us know in the comments below. And please give the article a thumbs up and share with your network if you enjoyed and got anything out of it.

Omar L. Harris is the author of 

Leadership Lessons From My Mother

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Everything happens for a reason.

Of all of your expressions, Mom, I think this one was definitely your favorite. You used it nearly every day. Sometimes you meant it as a balm when things didn't go my way. Other times you meant it to explain the good things that were happening in my life. And there were the times where you meant it to explain some strange impactful occurences in the world like election results and such.

You collected empowering words and images the way a taxidermist collects animals. You wanted to create a visual environment that forced everyone in the space into a certain frame of mind. It's hard to stay upset with refrigerator magnets like these in your face everytime you go get something to eat:

Your life taught you that you had to bring the positivity to the table. And you passed this message on to us. Attitude wasn't the only thing, it was everything. You taught us that it was the only thing we truly controlled. And you walked the talk after your fall from that bus reduced your mobility, and your heart attack sucked your energy, and your chronic pain issues sapped your vitality, and your liver cancer tumor removal procedure kept you bed-ridden; and even in this last stage of your life where your metasticized cancer put you on your back. Throughout it all you managed to stay mostly positive and faithful that even this had a positive purpose for occurring.

The truth is, you had a rough life, Mom.

I don't know if I have the strength to get through 1/10th of what you survived. Being born a child of rape. Losing your little baby brother in that fire when he was 3 years old. Getting molested as a young girl. Becoming pregnant and having a child as a prebubescent teenager. Being forced to live on your own and survive from age 14. Losing your own mother to cancer when you were only 16. Not finishing high school. Having another child by the age of 21. Working as a maid at a motel and not eating for days at a time so your young boys didn't go hungry. Being a single mother for neary 12 years before meeting Dad. Not being fully accepted in the black community because of your mixed ethnicity.

One or two of these in a lifetime would be enough to stop most people from thinking positively about their life let alone provide them with the maturity to see all of it as a learning and growing process. You taught me that negative circumstances were meant to be overcome not dwelled upon. And that's what you did day after day while you were alive. You turned adversity into fuel for your dreams.

And oh did you have dreams! You first visualized and then manifested the future for which you'd always longed. First by finding stability in your marriage to Dad, and then methodically boosting yourself to get your GED, then bachelors degree, and finally becoming the first person in our family to achieve a masters degree - all while homemaking and working as first a social worker and then a special needs educator. In your last job as head of Headstart in Houston, TX, you became a transformative leader for an organization that desperately needed it. You were never afraid to work hard in pursuit of your dreams - something you definitely embedded in your children.

You had so much passion and zest for life. You lived to help others. I remember the marathon conversations you would have with your friends many of whom counted on you for counsel and advice. You were never selfish with your time when it came to lending a hand to someone in need. And that included the time you invested in your children.

You set clear standards for me. From my earliest memory I can recall you telling me and anyone who would listen that I would do "something great" with my life. But you didn't leave this as an empty aspiration. You made sure it happened by first feeding my love of reading and then getting me enrolled into the gifted program and then ensuring that I went to the best possible public schools and forcing me to be well-rounded by being in orchestra, athletics, and student government all the while constantly reinforcing to me that greatness did not happen by osmosis. It took hard work, passion, optimism, and resilience.

Of course, you led by example. I vividly remember you and Dad working on your college homework while we worked on ours. The whole family was on a mission to uplift ourselves through the power of education and hard work. And you somehow still had energy to spend quality time with your needy children. We could never get enough of you!

I always told you that you were the best mother in the world. I can't imagine having been born to anyone else. I am only what I am because of your diligence, leadership, and guidance especially in my formative years. But even as I started traveling the world and becoming a global citizen I always had a home with you. You reminded me that no matter how sophisticated and serious my life became, I needed to remain humble and practice service to my family, organization, and community.

So these and many more lessons are what I will carry forward with me now that you are no longer physically with me to guide and advise me. It will be so hard without you but because I too have internalized your favorite mantra of everything happening for a reason - I need to apply the lessson of your loss and not dwell on your absence. The best way to honor your legacy is to make further progress and stay on my path to transform the status quo of leadership.

Even in your last few months you were inspiring me. I wrote, edited, and published my latest mission focused book

"Lovely," you said. Yes Mom - it is. Just as you are and will forever be. I know that you are finally at rest just as I know that you will keep inspiring and motivating me from the great beyond. Thank you for being my Mom. I am the luckiest son in the world to have had you for a mother. I will always love you and you will always be in my heart!

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Sameerah T. Harris - July 11, 1949 to April 17, 2020

Leadership Lessons From My Mother

Everything happens for a reason. Of all of your expressions, Mom, I think this one was definitely your favorite. You used it nearly every day. Sometimes you meant it as a balm when things didn't go my way. Other times you meant it to explain the good things that were happening in my life. And there were the times where you meant it to explain some strange impactful occurences in the world like election results and such. You collected empowering words and images the way a taxidermist collects animals. You wanted to create a visual environment that forced everyone in the space into a certain frame of mind. It's hard to stay upset with refrigerator magnets like these in your face everytime you go get something to eat: Your life taught you that you had to bring the positivity to the table. And you passed this message on to us. Attitude wasn't the only thing, it was everything. You taught us that it was the only thing we truly controlled. And you walked the talk after your fall from that bus reduced your mobility, and your heart attack sucked your energy, and your chronic pain issues sapped your vitality, and your liver cancer tumor removal procedure kept you bed-ridden; and even in this last stage of your life where your metasticized cancer put you on your back. Throughout it all you managed to stay mostly positive and faithful that even this had a positive purpose for occurring. The truth is, you had a rough life, Mom. I don't know if I have the strength to get through 1/10th of what you survived. Being born a child of rape. Losing your little baby brother in that fire when he was 3 years old. Getting molested as a young girl. Becoming pregnant and having a child as a prebubescent teenager. Being forced to live on your own and survive from age 14. Losing your own mother to cancer when you were only 16. Not finishing high school. Having another child by the age of 21. Working as a maid at a motel and not eating for days at a time so your young boys didn't go hungry. Being a single mother for neary 12 years before meeting Dad. Not being fully accepted in the black community because of your mixed ethnicity. One or two of these in a lifetime would be enough to stop most people from thinking positively about their life let alone provide them with the maturity to see all of it as a learning and growing process. You taught me that negative circumstances were meant to be overcome not dwelled upon. And that's what you did day after day while you were alive. You turned adversity into fuel for your dreams. And oh did you have dreams! You first visualized and then manifested the future for which you'd always longed. First by finding stability in your marriage to Dad, and then methodically boosting yourself to get your GED, then bachelors degree, and finally becoming the first person in our family to achieve a masters degree - all while homemaking and working as first a social worker and then a special needs educator. In your last job as head of Headstart in Houston, TX, you became a transformative leader for an organization that desperately needed it. You were never afriad to work hard in pursuit of your dreams - something you definitely embedded in your children. You had so much passion and zest for life. You lived to help others. I remember the marathon conversations you would have with your friends many of whom counted on you for counsel and advice. You were never selfish with your time when it came to lending a hand to someone in need. And that included the time you invested in your children. You set clear standards for me. From my earliest memory I can recall you telling me and anyone who would listen that I would do "something great" with my life. But you didn't leave this as an empty aspiration. You made sure it happened by first feeding my love of reading and then getting me enrolled into the gifted program and then ensuring that I went to the best possible public schools and forcing me to be well-rounded by being in orchestra, athletics, and student government all the while constantly reinforcing to me that greatness did not happen by osmosis. It took hard work, passion, optimism, and resilience. Of course, you led by example. I vividly remember you and Dad working on your college homework while we worked on ours. The whole family was on a mission to uplift ourselves through the power of education and hard work. And you somehow still had energy to spend quality time with your needy children. We could never get enough of you! I always told you that you were the best mother in the world. I can't imagine having been born to anyone else. I am only what I am because of your diligence, leadership, and guidance especially in my formative years. But even as I started traveling the world and becoming a global citizen I always had a home with you. You reminded me that no matter how sophisticated and serious my life became, I needed to remain humble and practice service to my family, organization, and community. So these and many more lessons are what I will carry forward with me now that you are no longer physically with me to guide and advise me. It will be so hard without you but because I too have internalized your favorite mantra of everything happening for a reason - I need to apply the lessson of your loss and not dwell on your absence. The best way to honor your legacy is to make further progress and stay on my path to transform the status quo of leadership. Even in your last few months you were inspiring me. I wrote, edited, and published my latest mission focused book The Servant Leader's Manifesto in 4 months. I showed the book cover and dedication to you this week and that's when you spoke your last words to me. "Lovely," you said. Yes Mom - it is. Just as you are and will forever be. I know that you are finally at rest just as I know that you will keep inspiring and motivating me from the great beyond. Thank you for being my Mom. I am the luckiest son in the world to have had you for a mother. I will always love you and you will always be in my heart! Sameerah T. Harris - July 11, 1949 to April 18, 2020

Why Improving Employee Engagement is Personal

I was a twenty-five year old professional with an MBA in a fast-track management development program with an exciting pharmaceutical company. I had secured an initial position in Philadelphia as a hospital sales rep in the Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) division. During the interview process, I was introduced to CliftonStrengths as my assessor had provided me the book and assessment as part of my onboarding. I was ready to explore every aspect of my talents and transform them into strengths under the guidance of a manager who would tap into my abilities and bring out my best. Everything was positive until I learned that I would be working in one of the worst territories in the nation and that I would not have a manager. Still, chin up, I dived into the opportunity and began my professional career. In one year working my territory I was able to turn around the performance scenario but was increasingly feeling disengaged due to a lack of support, supervision, and visibility internally. I had worked for a year with no management and/or coaching and after all my hard work was told that because very few people had worked with me I would be getting an internal assignment in market research so that they could better evaluate my performance. There was no recognition of my efforts in the territory, just another opportunity for me to prove myself. When I came into the home office I learned of my performance expectations. My manager at the time spent no time onboarding me and simply tasked me with reviewing reams of powerpoint presentations with the goal of finding typos prior to being sent for medical legal review. I cannot describe the depression I felt daily seeing those giant, neverending paper stacks on my desk each day. In addition, I was sending thank you letters to doctors for attending medical education programs and when the busy work was done, then I could work on my actual project which was to map patient flow for ACS patients in hospitals to better inform our sales force efforts. And because I was a horrible proofreader and average at mail merging and compiling thank you letters, my manager voiced significant frustration with my performance and worsening attitude. Everything came to a head at the end of this three month rotation where as I was interviewing for my next opportunity, my manager informed me and the prospective hiring manager that she didn't feel I was worth hiring and in her opinion, I had no value to offer to the company. Naturally, this was probably the lowest point of my young career - worried that I would be fired, wondering about my future, and praying for some ray of light that would get me out of a terrible situation. Luckily for me, the new manager decided to make his own determination of my value and gave me a final opportunity to prove myself. However, his style was far more strengths-based - trying to catch me doing things right and then giving me more to do that would further develop these areas in addition to being very clear on his expectations about my role as a marketing product manager. Needless to say, my career took off. Working on a team and for managers focused on performance and individual development simultaneously, my confidence soared and the quality of my work improved exponetially. I was also stimulated to read business books and take courses linked to my talents and implement what I learned in my roles. I received 4 promotions over the next 5 years as I leaped from associate product manager to senior marketing director in record time. I went from individual contributor to team leader and never forgot the impact an effective manager can have on the engagement and productivity of their collaborators. This is not the only moment in my career that my abilities have been underestimated by a manager, either. But I now take far greater personal responsibility for my own development than any manager can support. As long as performance expectations are clear, I can operate at a very high level by focusing on augmenting the people power of my organizations - making each collaborator become and bring their best self to work each day. I have learned and seen over and over again that the most sustainable way to lead is to act as servant to my organization. Because of my personal experience, I have dedicated my career as a manager and now enterprise leader to creating environments where everyone is valued, developed, coached, and given opportunities to succeed. It hasn't mattered what culture in which I was working nor whether I had direct line authority or just influence, my intention has always been to bring out the best in everyone around me. But unfortunately, at the same time, I've seen employee engagement rates around the world nose dive. I know how bad it feels to be misunderstood by your manager and how disengaging it can be to have someone only focus on what is wrong with you. So applying another of my talents, I have in recent years dedicated myself to offering tools and tactics to managers looking to uplift their people and their performance as servant leaders. You see, employee engagement is highly personal to me and it should be to you managers out there too. I never want anyone in an organization of mine to feel the way I did at the beginning of my career. We have a huge responsibility as leaders to uplift and bring out the best in those around us. When you adjust your approach you will know the joys of reveling in others success due to your personal influence. And trust me, few things feel better! This is why, all of you reading this out there, I truly hope you will investigate my latest work - The Servant Leader's Manifesto. It is the culmination of my 10,000 hours of leading teams all around the world and seeing that these principles not only work but are desperately needed in all corners of the globe. But it starts with each manager. I hope you will take part in our movement to transform the leadership status quo by reading the book, starting your own journey to servant leadership, and cascading this to everyone you deem relevant!

The Servant Leader's Manifesto

Pre-orders available on Amazon!

3 Leadership Lessons from #StayHome and #SocialDistancing

My business, like many of yours, is coming up on the first full month since we implemented #socialdistancing, #stayhome, and #quarantine policies. It's been a frustrating time for many and a period of difficult adjustments, but as always difficulty and discomfort create opportunities for learning. As Col. Chris Hadfield says, “Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts.” In this article please find 3 key learnings I've absorbed during this crisis. Would love to hear your learnings as well. Trust Over Micromanagement: Working (and managing) from home is a nightmare for micromanagers. They can't easily look over the shoulder of their employees. And the same employees can ignore their incessant requests for engagement and details. Many of them have responded by inundating their reports with meeting requests and pinging them on every available communications channel - which continues to drive their staff mad. This is a fundamental issue of trust. The micromanager usually does so either because they are responding to a micromanager or because they have difficulty believing in people's desire to do what's right and do it right the first time. Instead of micromanaging, working from home is an important opportunity to establish greater trust, to increase the boundaries, and align on virtual ways of working. To the degree that managers can do this, they will ignite greater productivity in their people and this increased engagement will carry over positively once we exit the acute phase of this crisis. Focus on the Truly Essential: There's nothing like a crisis to snap people into focus and alignment on what truly matters. And for most of us, increasing our closeness with our customers and supporting our customer facing teams has never been more important - to the exclusion of all the whirlwind tasks that usually deliver far less impact for the team and the customer. It's been amazing to see all the nonessential work that we've managed to drop in order to sharpen our execution in the areas that are most crucial. The lesson here being, when things get back to normal, how to maintain this level of commitment to execute against the truly important issues and deprioritize the rest of the busy work for myself and my people. This also translates into key habits that are value adding versus behaviors that diminish focus and productivity. Prepare for the Next Crisis: The tidal waves of this crisis continue to crash and thrash against the shores of our collective businesses and communities and it's quite challenging to keep our heads above water as each day brings another deluge of difficulty. As important as it is to keep everyone engaged, empowered, and focused on dealing with what comes each day. it is equally important to imagine the phase of getting back to the "new normal", and even more important to take stock of the lessons this crisis has taught about the degree of dispreparedness we all had for an unprescendented event like this. Creating stability and hope are two fundamental components of successful leadership and getting the enterprise ready to weather crises of all magnitudes is a foundational role of leaders in today's VUCA environment. We all should set aside some time to document the key learnings from this crisis, and put in place contingency plans so that we can respond more quickly and assertively the next time we find ourselves confronted by such a situation. What other lessons have you gleaned in the early days of this crisis? How are you coping with the #stayathome and #socialdistancing norms? Let's discuss in the comments below. And please share with your networks if you found value in this article! My new book, The Servant Leader's Manifesto is being released this month! Above please find a free preview of the book. Look forward to having your support once the book comes out.

Don't Let Team Storming Derail Your Crisis Management Plans

Fact: Every team confronts four stages of development that are non-linear: forming, storming, norming, and performing. The key factor in whether the team makes it from forming to performing and remains there is the capability of the team leader. Unfortunately, most leaders are neither aware of the science of group development nor equipped with the tools to effectively navigate these inevitable stages. One of the reasons it is so important to focus as a leader on shepherding your team to the performing stage of group development is so that when inevitable crisis hits, you are able to focus on what matters most, and not tear each other apart due to interpersonal strife. But what do you do if you are in the midst of a crisis AND the dreaded storming phase? How do you regain control of both situations quickly enough to right the ship and insulate it from irreperable damage? Well first, you need to be able to recognize the signs of team storming. When teams storm, fundamentally they disagree on the way to perform a given task or activity and they don't readily accept the authority of the leader. So you can see, that inherent in the definition is a correlation with what usually happens during the opening moments of a crisis. Which is why it is doubly difficult to manage a storming team DURING a crisis. Now, back to the symptoms of team storming. Other issues you will sense in the group as a leader are as follows: Decisions don’t come easily within group Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who is challenged by other members Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues Compromises may be required to enable progress Once again, this list is very similar to what you encounter during a crisis. Unsurprisingly, even a high performing team can devolve back into storming depending on the nature of the crisis specifically due to the inability to agree on decisions. The leadership key, therefore, is to recognize your current situation and take the necessary steps to demonstrate that not only do you understand what's happening, you also have the skill to bring the team out of it together. The value of a ship's captain is not proven during days of calm, but in the midst of the tumult of stormy seas. Here are three keys to successfully moving through the storming phase as well as a crisis: Purpose You start by unifying the group behind a sense of purpose. Whether you call that purpose business continuity, customer excellence, or social responsibility; you need to rally the team to focus only on the mission at hand - surviving the crisis. Focus creates order and order leads to progress. By holding each key decision up against the core purpose of the organization, you can simplify complexity. For example, if the crisis is related to the ability of key suppliers to afford to manufacture product due to increasing financial constraints, your purpose of business continuity should dictate that the right decision is to provide them the financial flexibility to continue to operate and serve you so you can serve the customer. If your purpose is not clear, you might spend weeks debating the financial risks of such a decision instead of the objective you need to achieve. Roles In the chaos of crisis and storming, roles become blurry and influence becomes more apparent. Negativity and worry mongering can supercede rational thought and action and must be nipped in the bud. This is best achieved by making sure each person on the team knows and owns their role. That includes you as the leader. You need to step up and understand that you are the ultimate tie breaker and the ultimate voice of reason during inevitable debates. Others on the team need to settle into their roles and execute with as much urgency is required. Usually, it's when certain functions overstep their weight that chaos reigns. Such as when legal colleagues begin inhibiting commercial decisions due to the risk profile of the moment or when health and safety concerns supercede business needs and common sense. Functional leaders are fundamentally there to advise and advocate and complement the plans while the business leaders make the decisions that will best permit the alignment with the purpose. Of course, roles are easier to play when everyone is aligned to the purpose. Norms During tough circumstances is when your culture will be most challenged. This is because crisis puts significant stress on trust, ways of working, accountability, and shared commitment. Storming teams have not yet established the requisite trust or processes which is why focusing the group on purpose and roles is way to temporarily create a path toward progress and alignment. At the outset of the crisis, defining how the team will make decisions, resolve conflicts, and communicate is the next most important step after reminding the group of the core why behind all actions and their crucial role. Then your job as the leader is to continuously reiforce team norms along the journey. The good news is that you can usually leverage a crisis to create greater group cohesiveness than you had going into it in the first place if you are able to execute these key steps. However, a team that doesn't have high trust going into the crisis and that remains unaligned to any purpose with unclear roles is unlikely to suddenly cohere unless forced to do so. Shared purpose, clear roles, and aligned norms are three key methods of hacking the storming phase while in the midst of a crisis. For a more comprehensive method of moving a team through the storming stage PRIOR to a crisis, please give my book Leader Board: The DNA of High Performance Teams a read through - you are guaranteed to receive a bevvy of information and resources that will allow you to not have to deal with managing a crisis AND storming at the same time! What did you think of this article? Do you agree with the three steps of navigating storming during a crisis? If so, please give the article a like and share with your networks. Please add any other thoughts on this topic in the comments below! Omar L. Harris is Associate Vice-President and Country Manager for Allergan PLC in Brazil. He is the author of Leader Board: The DNA of High-Performance Teams available for purchase in ebook or print on Amazon.com. Please follow him on instagram, twitter, and/or LinkedIn for more information and engagement.

COVID Crisis Leadership Lessons From I Am Legend

In the midst of all this #socialdistancing and #covid_19 hysteria, I decided to go back in the film archives and do a leadership lessons article from Will Smith's masterpiece, I Am Legend. Unsurprisingly, there is a tremendous amount to be gleaned from this film in times like these. Based on the novella of the same name by Richard Matheson, I Am Legend, released in 2007, immediately built a huge following ultimately making over $585 million at the box office and further solidifying Will Smith's status as a global film icon. The synopsis of the film goes:  Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure in this post-apocalyptic action thriller. This post-apocalyptic thriller is the film doppelganger and bizarro world version of Tom Hank's Castaway - in that both films deal with maintaining hope despite extreme conditions of isolation. Will Smith delves into depths previously unmined to explore a scientist obsessed with saving what's left of humanity after a calamity of epic proportions. I Am Legend deals with the recovery of society after the worst of crises. In terms of leadership, however, this movie is all about how to focus on what you can control and influence regardless of the crisis at hand. As Stephen R. Covey so eloquently once said: I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. With this thought in mind, allow me to present ten leadership lessons gleaned from this illuminating and highly entertaining flick. Train the body: Early in the movie, we get a sense of Robert Neville's reality and routines. Despite being the only human left alive in what is left of New York City, he still starts every day with physical activity and exercise. In addition to burning time off the interminable clock of a neverending litany of days without hope, it keeps him grounded and in the moment. Leadership Lesson: Leadership of a team starts with leading one's self. Especially during a crisis like this one. Keeping yourself fit and focused is the key to ensuring continuous positive mentality and progress is made each day. Stimulate the mind: Neville has remained in New York with the mission to capture dark seekers and try different versions of a serum derived from his own disease immune antibodies. He remains aligned to the scientific method and has developed an elaborate sytem of testing and trials to see the effects on his animal and monster subjects. As his true purpose for living, this stimulation keeps him sharp in the face of total isolation. Leadership Lesson: COVID has massively disrupted our daily routines. That's why it is essential to reconnect to your core purpose and continue your personal development journey. Reading daily, meditating, listening to informative podcasts, watching Ted Talks, and journaling are ways to keep the mind sharp regardless of what is happening in the outside world. Maintain communications: Neville has been broadcasting a single message for years. Holding out hope that there might still be someone out there, he has crafted a message of support and solidarity for whomever might be listening. He also has a litany of video tapes recorded prior to the end of society that keep him tethered to some sort of normalcy and reality. Leadership Lesson: It is tempting due to the isolation of the current pandemic to disconnect from the world at large. However, it's of paramount importance to stay connected to the news, positive social media, your teams, and whatever inspires hope in you. Schedule downtime: Another crucial routine that Neville maintains early in the film is hitting golfballs of an airline carrier into the abandoned city. This allows him an important moment of relaxation despite the stresses of isolation and uncertainty that hound him. It also provides a non-task related opportunity for bonding with his companion and pet german shepherd, Samantha. Leadership Lesson: Dealing with crisis can be quite intense and for those of us work-a-holics may make it very difficult to disconnect. But a stressed out and stretched thin leader is little good to themselves or their people. Take out time to do something for personal enjoyment, whether that is watching a movie, listening to music, taking a walk to get some fresh air, cooking with family, or playing family games is as important as the hours you dedicate to the escalating work tasks. Plan ahead for future needs: One of Neville's key routines is to scavenge through the apartments of the deceased and vacated. This ensures that he always has enough of what he needs in terms of sustenance and entertainment. He also hunts before he needs the meet and plants a garden for his vegetable requirements. Leadership Lesson: This is not the first and certainly will not be the last crisis we face of this magnitude. Intelligent leaders will use the experience of COVID to get ahead of and prepare for the next crises. Catalogue what went wrong in this circumstance and leverage this knowledge to continuously improve before the next major disruption hits. Keep your wits about you: One of the ways that Neville remains tethered to reality is a routine where he goes to a video store (remember those?) where he has set up a series of mannequins each with an important social role for him. When one of the mannequins finds its way impossibly to another location, it leads to a near fatal break in his sanity. Leadership Lesson: There's more false and conflicting information out there about COVID than ever before. Ignore the noise and only use trusted sources like the CDC for updates. Avoid sites known for fear mongering and falsities. Pass on the same to everyone in your circle of influence. The more we make fact based decisions the better we will move through this crisis. Take care of those most important to you: Throughout the first two acts of the movie we are introduced to a crucial relationship between Neville and his dog, Samantha. Samantha is Neville's only companion but she is more than that. She represents a commitment to his tragically deceased daughter who gave him the dog prior to her demise. We see the closeness of their relationship and its obvious he has expertly trained her in addition to making sure she eats well and is properly groomed. In one harrowing scene, Neville must go into extreme danger to find Samantha in an early scene where she chases a deer into a dark seeker den. Later, he must make a difficult decision once her health is compromised. Leadership Lesson: COVID has created a whirlwind of chaos and worries in the lives of most of us. Rather than try to solve the problems of the world, start with the most important and vulnerable. If you have children or elderly family members in close proximity - these people should be your focus. Next, take care of those who truly depend on their jobs for their livelihoods - customers and customer facing teams. Carrying and supporting those who need it the most is the greatest leadership contribution you can make during this and any crisis. Accept help: After Samantha passes away, Neville, bent on revenge sets a trap for the dark seekers nearly perishes instead. Fortunately for him, he's not the only person left in New York. A woman and a child find and save him. Ultimately, they take the cure he synthesizes to the colony of the immune and use it to rebuild society. Leadership Lesson: For those not used to distance and virtual working, it may seem like you have to do everything on your own. In actuality, it is more essential than ever to leverage the talents of the total team to divide the workload, decision-making responsibility, and relevant actions that need to be taken. The truly heroic way to move through this crisis is each one helping each other get through together! Maintain a sense of humor: Due to a lack of human interaction, Neville snaps at his saviors early in their first official meeting over eggs and bacon. He redeems himself by quoting scenes from Shrek to break the ice and start over with his new friends, Leadership Lesson: Remember, it only feels like its the end of the world. In reality, we will get through this crisis, and things will get back to normal. So it's important to keep a balanced perspective about this whole thing. Finding humor even in crisis is a crucial coping mechanism that can also bond you and your teams together in solidarity. Never lose hope: Despite the desperation of his situation, Neville's routines, passion, and ability to stay focused and make progress ultimately result in his finding of the cure to the disease which nearly made humanity extinct. While not relying solely on hope to drive him, he never gives up which means he never stops believing that there is a solution to the problem at hand and he is uniquely capable to find it. He manifests the cure because of his daily routine, not despite it - luck is not involved. Leadership Lesson: One of a leader's most crucial responsibilities for his or her team is to create hope in others. This is done by making the strong link between the daily focus areas, early results, relevant facts, and evidence that the crisis is subsiding. Focus as much on the progress as the problems and you will keep your teams engaged and productive until the end of this situation. I Am Legend has long been one of my favorite movies and in my top 3 Will Smith movies of all time. (5 out of 5 stars). What other leadership lessons did you glean from the film? Let us know in the comments below. And please give the article a thumbs up and share with your network if you enjoyed and got anything out of it. Omar L. Harris is Associate Vice-President and Country Manager for Allergan PLC in Brazil. He is the author of Leader Board: The DNA of High-Performance Teams available for purchase in ebook or print on Amazon.com. Please follow him on instagram, twitter, and/orLinkedIn for more information and engagement.

3 Useful Practices to Maintain Control During a Crisis

I've been reading a ton of theoretical articles on crisis management these days as we get deeper into this unprescedented COVID-19 situation. Theory is fantastic in peaceful moments, but in chaotic moments like these, practical solutions tend to work better. In this article I will endeavor to provide some pragmatic things you can start doing now to begin to regain a semblance of control over your business in this critical time. This article is specifically addressed to team leaders but I will also provide some tips for individuals as well. Under normal circumstances we confront far more worries than areas of true control. If you've read my previous articles you know that I am a huge proponent of Stephen R. Covey's timeless guidance in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that proactivity is the cure to paralyzation in the face of innumerable worries and concerns. But how to remain truly proactive and focused in the eye of the storm is another skill set altogether. So the first thing to do is to acknowledge all the issues pulling focus. I do this by making a list of all current concerns. Usually, this list is compiled by my business leaders and then we review it from top to bottom. Make a list The goal of this activity is to understand the pressures your organization is facing and to help prioritize action plans. Try to be as comprehensive as possible. Include worries, fears, and concerns - anything that can pull focus away from taking action for you and your team. Once the list is done, group like themes together to see the trends in the issues. Lastly, go through each theme and identify the degree of actionability as in - areas where taking action on your part can influence or potentially affect the outcome. Now you have a list of actionable areas you can work to prioritize action and level of effort against. You also have what I call an "empathy list" of all the issues people are worried about. The key as an effective communicator is to acknowledge the concerns but then return everyone's focus to what is ultimately actionable which are the aligned priority themes you've identified. This measure goes a long way to keeping your team moving in the right direction and helps you avoid valuable time loss debating issues that you can't ultimately control. Stay Balanced This is much harder than it seems. Even though you have now aligned a hit list of actions, the situation will remain volatile and unpredictable with each day bringing a new list of concerns and worries. In addition to constantly repeating the list activity you also need to make sure that you as the leader stay on balance. Most of us have another gear we kick into when confronting a crisis. We forego sleep, food, exercise, and most healthy habits in order to dedicate every waking moment to trying to solve the myriad issues we are facing. One of the areas of control is what you put into your body, the amount of physical activity you are getting, and how much rest you are achieving. A crucial aspect of proactivity is also understanding and reinforcing the importance of providing your body, mind, and spirit, what is necessary to maintain clarity and calm no matter what you confront with each day of the crisis. Make sure you prioritize balance. Get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep each night. Eat at regular intervals and ensure you are getting the necessary nutrients in. Drink the right amount of water. Take a few minutes at the top of the day to move and get some exercise in. You may not be able to get to the gym because of COVID-19 closures but a little calesthenics goes a long way - some jumping jacks, lunges, squats, jogging in place, pushups, crunches, and planks will get the blood pumping and help reduce your anxiety levels. Practice Intentional Positivity It's natural to drift toward pessimism during a crisis. Things don't move fast enough. Everyone is wrapped up in their own adjustments to the volatility. Sense of urgency may not be fully aligned. And news gets worse with each passing day. A leader's role is to accept and acknowledge the brutal facts of the situation but then create the feelings of compassion, stability, trust, and hope that people need to positively move forward. We've already discussed the need for empathy and acknowledgement of how your people are managing their stress and worries - this compassionate approach humanizes your leadership approach and lets people know you understand their challenges and are meeting them where they are. Stability comes with routine - setting up regular touch points and providing regular communications throughout the crisis goes a long way toward keeping people focused. It is tempting as a leader to absorb a lions share of the decision-making responsibility during hard times. But it is exactly this type of attitude that burns you out and doesn't empower others to fully perform their roles. Trusting the capability of your team during a crisis is an essential step that demonstrates your confidence in your people and divides the workload so each person can maintain their balance throughout the crisis. Hope then comes from proactively showing each silver lining that presents during the length of the situation. Using historical context is a great way to provide hope - demonstrating that this situation will in fact blow over eventually and things will return to some state of normalcy. The fact is that most crisis are never as bad as they seemed during the heat of the moment. Maintaining calm and perspective about the situation helps people manage their worst fears. By categorizing worries versus controllables, maintaining balance for yourself and your colleagues, and practicing intentional positivity throughout the crisis, you will find that your attitude towards the crisis is assuredly impacted, you have consistent stamina to keep moving forward, and your people remain optimistic and proative despite the external noise. What other practices would you recommend to others for maintaining control during a crisis? Please comment below and give this article a like/share if you found it useful! Omar L. Harris is Associate Vice-President and Country Manager for Allergan PLC in Brazil. He is the author of Leader Board: The DNA of High-Performance Teams available for purchase in ebook or print on Amazon.com. Please follow him on instagram, twitter, and/or LinkedIn for more information and engagement.