Leadership Tea
The Leadership Tea podcast is where powerful leaders share their journeys, insights, and triumphs through informal conversations about what it takes to reach the executive level. Join us every other Wednesday to be inspired by the unvarnished stories of amazing executives who know what it's like to be "the only" at the table and who have succeeded regardless. They have proven leadership experience in their respective fields, from international affairs to the private sector to academia, and want to help others create their own success stories.
Leadership Tea
Brewing Success: Trust, Teamwork, and Transformation
What if the key to successful leadership is knowing when to say no? Join us as we uncover strategic problem-solving and leadership secrets with the insightful Kendra Gaither. This episode promises to equip you with strategies for balancing team success with well-being, focusing on essential tasks, and staying aligned with your team's North Star, even when unexpected opportunities knock on your door.
Courage and collaboration take center stage as we explore a recent engagement with investors in Southern Africa, highlighting the transformative impact of stepping into uncertainty and aiming for audacious goals. Kendra shares her experiences in rallying teams towards shared objectives, fostering a culture of respect, and striving for excellence. Learn how the collective efforts and trust-building within a team can culminate in achieving ambitious outcomes, making each attempt a learning milestone rather than a failure.
Our conversation takes a heartfelt turn as we reflect on the balance between individual excellence and teamwork, inspired by Carla Harris's experiences. We delve into the pitfalls of perfectionism, the joy of embracing one's unique qualities at work, and the power of expecting to win. As we prepare for the upcoming transition from 2024 to 2025, we tackle the challenges of mission creep and the importance of gratitude and friendship in leadership. Celebrate the enduring connection with Kendra, whose warmth and earnest commitment have resonated deeply with our audience, and join us in anticipating what's to come.
Kendra's Recommended Resources:
- Expect to Win by Carla Harris (She also authored Strategize to win and Lead to win) https://www.carlaspearls.com/author
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Born in Blackness: Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard French
Podcasts:
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown https://open.spotify.com/show/3oEPsPKDhPVoNNL7pH5db6?si=F1VhySCpTQWaea_nVAdZrg
- WorkLife podcast by Adam Grant https://open.spotify.com/show/4eylg9GZJOVvUhTynt4jjA?si=dJRDaX0bRgO-k1K9MKn7FA
Find us on YouTube!
We publish new episodes every other Wednesday.
Follow us on Instagram @Leadership_Tea for more inspiration and insights.
Learn more about us and the podcast at www.stirringsuccess.com
The worst thing that I could do as a leader is allow the team to continue to sacrifice and make big bets and result in burnout. And so how do we really zero in on that which is most essential for us to say yes to, to learn how to be more strategic with our no's so that, when there is something that requires a yes that's outside of the scope of what we originally planned, that we have the capacity to lean in and do it in a way that honors that past sacrifice, that honors the humanity of the team and allows everyone to show up in the way that they most would like to, without having some personal harm or burnout, be the hallmark of how they've contributed to this team.
Speaker 2:Hey, what's up everyone. I am thrilled to welcome today's guest, kendra Gaither, who is a dear friend of mine and Belinda's. As with everyone we host on the Leadership Tea, there's a deep connection with Kendra. We met over 25 years ago as new Foreign Service officers ready to take on the world. Kendra did just that and her career path led her on a different journey. She is currently the president of the US-Africa Business Center for the US Chamber of Commerce and, yes, she is a big deal.
Speaker 2:She is also a sage when it comes to leading dynamic teams, shifting gears when the outcome isn't what you were anticipating and knowing the problem you're solving for, which is the theme for today's chat. There are so many salient points that Kendra makes, but a few that stuck out to me are many salient points that Kendra makes, but a few that stuck out to me are remembering the privilege of working on something important as you problem solve, making sure you rally around your team, and I loved the high risk, high reward mantra that Kendra promotes with those as she supervises. You can find out about Kendra's amazing background in the show notes, but let's get into it and hear directly from her. Grab your journal and get ready to take some notes while you sip on this wisdom.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for joining us. We're really excited to have you on the show. I wanted to start with a question about problem solving. What are Kendra's keys to problem solving, while motivating your teams so that they don't get stuck?
Speaker 1:Thank you for the question, belinda, and thank you to you and Shelby for inviting me to be with you today. It's a great question because I think this is an area that we all have to really dive into. I pride myself in being a problem solver and I think creativity is one of the most effective ways to solve a problem, and part of that involves being able to look at it from every angle, every perspective, every person who may be a stakeholder in the outcome. And, truthfully, when working with teams, I try to make sure that we have a North Star that we are focused in on, and often it's about feeling accomplishment or satisfaction when you look back at what you achieved.
Speaker 1:There was a major project that my team and I worked on that had many moving parts. It involved a very high profile engagement with a number of presidents and leaders, and I kept saying that on the 15th, when this program was behind us, what did we want? To be able to look back and see and really use that as a call to action. Second, because we were working on really solving a problem, that a pain point that we felt like we had defined in this context, really rallying the team around the fact that this is what we asked for. We had set out that there was a need for a certain type of engagement to happen In this context. It was African leaders bringing them together, and it was something that we had called for as a consistent need to help usher in more business leaders to be involved in the trade and investment relationship between Africa and the United States.
Speaker 1:And here we were given the opportunity to be part of the team that helped welcome the African leaders to the United States for that program and really convene the business community around that which was our own rallying cry as a team. And so, just keeping in mind that we had the privilege of working on something that we had seen to be really essential for our members and the business community at large, but also that whatever sacrifice was going to be needed, whatever was going to be required of us in being creative and and solving the issues that might arise along the way and meeting those milestones, it was to be able to look back and see that at the moment that we had the opportunity to achieve something really special, that we had risen to meet the moment. So really just keeping in mind the beginning and keeping in mind the end, I think, really allows for you to keep those as guideposts and to be able to be creative about what success looks like, as long as it keeps at the forefront what your original goal is.
Speaker 2:I like what you said about keeping the beginning and the end in mind and having creativity as you're going about problem solving. I think creativity is something that we've heard from other guests. It seems to be a theme for this season, as we think about leading strategically with a startup mindset, and something you said about the fact that you needed to keep the team on track despite some of the high-level engagements that you had, and making sure that everyone was focused on their North Star, and I think sometimes, when we're dealing with high-level individuals or the stakes are high, it can be easy to get distracted on what that North Star is and the goal that you're trying to achieve, and so we're wondering how do you keep yourself and keep your team focused on the problem at hand that you're trying to solve without getting distracted by the high-level personalities that you're dealing with or other things that might be involved?
Speaker 1:Quite frankly, I would say that I too fall victim to being distracted I think we all can be but for me, knowing that there was an outcome that we wanted to achieve, there was something that was bigger than us, that we got to contribute to, was really the centering sort of moment.
Speaker 1:So anytime you're putting something together, be it a project, be it, in this case, a major forum, be it launching a new initiative, you've set some goals or objectives for what it is that you want to achieve, and sometimes that's not gonna look when you leave the starting block.
Speaker 1:As soon as you get on that course, there are bubbles on the road, or maybe there's rain, or there are other circumstances that are outside of that pathway that you've created yourself to get from A to B, and so it's easy to go. Wow, there's rain. This isn't the way that we pictured it, but I'd say my biggest life lesson and it's taken me a long time is to realize that things don't have to look only one way to achieve an outcome, and so in this case, bringing my own personal experience into that being able to stay focused on those key ingredients for the outcome, have really been part of what opens up the creativity as well, because if you know that there are certain pieces that you have to have, then you can be creative about the ways in which those pieces are aligned to make sure that your outcome still meets those original objectives.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you for that. Creativity staying focused on the key ingredients I really like that. That creativity staying focused on the key ingredients I really like that and knowing that you have to stay centered and things don't have to look a certain way, all really resonate with me. I would also add there's probably another ingredient there, which is courage, and so problem solving often requires courage. When you've been courageous in your work and your ability to lead teams, what has been the result?
Speaker 1:This past week, my team and I worked on a multifaceted engagement. We were bringing together a number of investors on a project that we think is really meaningful and transformational for a group of nations in Southern Africa. And I kept saying to the team high risk, high reward. And the truth is, courage is really about being able to take a step, to do something. That might be bigger than you envision or bigger than you can see the full board, the chess board, as it were to understand how you're going to get to that other side. But courage is the willingness to take a big risk and to step out to try and achieve that big goal, that audacious goal, whatever it is that you've set for your team, and so that was our mantra it's high risk, high reward. In the end, what we put together was a really impactful, insightful conversation, gave the investors and the business community an opportunity to hear directly from leaders about what this opportunity was, where they were seeking additional partners, about what this opportunity was where they were seeking additional partners, and it was powerful. It was a really powerful conversation.
Speaker 1:Was it what we set out to curate in the beginning? It was not, and so we made a big bet on getting together a series of presidents to lead this conversation, to give this vision of what this investment opportunity was like. What we had were ministers who were at the forefront of building the consortiums to bring these countries together on this project, and because we had the leaders who were really skilled and versed in every day focused in on how to achieve this new consortium, this new investment partnership, it was really meaningful to hear directly from the leaders who were in the weeds in the trenches, if you will to share that story. And so our outcome wasn't what we put on paper as the goal, but, because we took the big risk to ask for presidents to sit together and share this with the business community, what we got was their most powerful representatives to curate that story, and so, while it wasn't the reward that we thought we were going for, that risk allowed us to win in the end, and so I would say that, keeping that in mind, stepping out in courage and also really making clear to your team that there's no such thing as a failure.
Speaker 1:It's a try, and you have to really put the effort out there to achieve that, and then you have to live by that, and you have to make sure that you remember that with yourself and have grace when it doesn't show up in the way that you think it will, but also really honor the sacrifice and the effort that your teams are making. There's no big project that you're working on that doesn't involve taking a decision that's going to cost you family time or downtime or extra hours. There's some sacrifice that's been put on the line to make that big risk, take that big project to fruition, and so really honoring that and making sure the team feels appreciated for taking that big risk with you, which then also encourages them to also be bold and risk takers in their own work.
Speaker 2:You've hit on another theme that we've talked about in other episodes when it comes to risk-taking, and it's clear that you have been articulate in the sense of ensuring that your teams know what it is that you want from them and that they should not be afraid to be courageous. It's clear that you have created an environment where your team rallied around you, even though the outcome, as you said, wasn't what you had anticipated and not what you planned for, but it sounds like it was even greater than the outcome that you were hoping to get, and so, with that in mind, I'm wondering being courageous and taking risks are clear priorities for you, but what are some of the other things that you expect from the teams that you lead, especially when it comes to the sort of high stakes outcomes that you've been working on?
Speaker 1:I might edit your question or put an asterisk by it, shelby, to say not so much that the team rallied behind me, but that and this is a first expectation is that I expect the team to rally behind the team and it's not about any one individual. When you're working on a project or an effort, everyone has a piece that they're playing, that they're contributing to the outcome piece that they're playing, that they're contributing to the outcome. I really like the anecdote that is often shared about the janitor working at the Space Center where President Kennedy comes and asks the gentleman what's his job and he says I'm helping to put a man on the moon. And the reality is that it's not about achieving one person's goal. It's really about achieving that team goal and whatever piece of the puzzle that you're bringing to. That is really essential. And so for me it's about a team really rallying around the team effort, the team accomplishment. It's about respect and that has to be a very first ingredient that you respect one another, respect ideas and perspectives and respect the contributions that are being made to the overall team. Obviously that team ethos, but I'd also say a spirit of excellence. One of my mantras is how you set the table determines what you can set on the table can set on the table, and so it's really about building from the beginning.
Speaker 1:Focus in on the details of the different pieces that are going to come together in an initiative the personalities that are involved, the topics.
Speaker 1:My work in working on policy is really a trust exercise and it's been that way when I served as a diplomat, when I was in an academic environment working on international initiatives, and now working in the private sector with a business association.
Speaker 1:Policy starts from trust. Ceo, for a dialogue or for a staffer to entrust you with their ambassador or a head of state or a minister, they have to feel like you will pay attention to the details, you will take care of the protocols, you will take care of all of those details that signal a respect and appreciation for the people that you're working with, for the substance and the topics that you're addressing. Some of them are quite sensitive to a country or to a company's bottom line, and so how you handle those details, how you create that environment for whatever it is you're working on, makes the difference in the nuance and the caliber and the level of substance and complexity that you are entrusted with to work with others on to address. So really focusing on that spirit of excellence from the details to the substance, that's a really key mantra that I would say is often repeated on our team as well.
Speaker 2:If I could ask a follow-up. I love what you said about this, the spirit of excellence. It's something that Belinda and I were talking about earlier today in terms of our expectations of ourselves not just of our teams, but how we carry ourselves and the aura that we want to create in the environments that we're cultivating, and how excellence is sometimes underrated. Sometimes there are people who question your level of performance and the standards that you set for yourself, and I just love what you said about maintaining a spirit of excellence, as well as having this mindset that the team should rally the team. That it's not about you, it's not about the leader, and that, in my opinion, is what true leadership is all about.
Speaker 2:And I'm wondering, given the different types of environments in which you've worked, starting as a diplomat and then making the shift to the private sector eventually, we have worked in some pretty cutthroat situations where individualism is prioritized over team building or being a good teammate, especially when you're starting out in your career. There's a sense that I have to show that I'm the smartest person in the room, or that I'm qualified to do this job, or that I'm overqualified, and so I'm wondering if you're looking back at your 35-year-old self and knowing I like to think that wasn't that long ago. Okay, I wasn't think that wasn't that long ago.
Speaker 2:I wasn't trying to suggest anything. You didn't say 25 year old self. I'm just saying it could be 10 years ago. I'm just thinking about our audience and where people are in their careers, especially if they're aspiring to be executives. What would you tell, fill in the blank, your younger self about things that you should have, things that you wish that you had thought about when you were starting out your career? In balancing this drive to be an individual and to shine as an individual versus thinking about a more collaborative team mindset versus thinking about a more collaborative team mindset.
Speaker 1:That's a great question, because I think, yes, I have very high standards for myself and believe in that for others, and I do believe that in order to have success, you have to be focused on excellence. But the challenge is that very early in your career, that striving for excellence and striving for perfection can become intertwined. And I wouldn't even call myself a recovering perfectionist. I'm still a perfectionist at heart. I'm still a perfectionist at heart, and perfectionism will drive you to put in extra hours to dot every I cross every T, to put in extra hours to do the work. So you feel like that you are contributing in the best possible way to the team and in some ways it's shortchanging your own humanity, and so I would certainly tell my younger self to focus in on the excellence while not feeling that is equated with perfection. Excellence is really doing your best, giving all that you have supporting the team, living up to whatever your mantra North Star is for showing up for each other. Your mantra North Star is for showing up for each other. It's the perfectionism of no errors that I think allows some of us to over index on work and making sure that everything is in order in that space, and I certainly have been guilty of that. I would counsel my younger self to really focus in on ensuring that I was being a well-rounded individual. Nobody success is really about not just the I's dotted and the T's crossed. It's about who you are as a human being and relationships that you form with one another, and if you are only focused on what's on paper, you have missed the richness and the beauty of what we're called to do in our jobs, which is to connect with one another. It's to build bridges, it's to find common ground, it's to have joy. It's to really get to know each other on a human level. People want to work with other people who are fun, who are interesting, who respect them, who have interest in what they're doing, who can have a dialogue with them and can find common interests and common ground, and so I would definitely focus more in on joy and tapping into that joy and leaning into that joy.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite stories that I try to keep in mind is that from a book Expect to Win from Carla Harris, who is a very senior executive with Morgan Stanley. She spent her whole career there, she's written a number of books and is focused in on leadership techniques. But she talks about being, very early in her career, being afraid to stand out or to be different, and I think often perfectionism is about how to fit in and do exactly what everyone else is doing. But Carla Harris is an African-American woman who's one of the few who's risen to the pinnacle in what she had done. In trying to meet the standard of what the industry required of her was to lose her individuality, and so she told this great story of starting to bring more of herself into those spaces.
Speaker 1:And she was. She's a woman who sings and sings gospel, and if you are the only woman in a room, you're going to stand out anyway. If you're, in this case, the only African-American woman in a room, you're going to stand out anyway. And so she think, leaning into those things that bring you joy and being able, you're doing as well, and it enriches your life. It's not all about work. It is enriching to the fabric of the life that you live in its totality.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you for that, and I this idea of expecting to win. Even just taking that title and sitting with that for a moment. What can you achieve when you walk into spaces, assuming the best not only of everyone, but of yourself, and that the best outcomes are more than just possible they are going to happen. And combining that with your thoughts on leading your teams to think about things in a transformational manner, taking these big bets and high risks and helping them see that they should expect that they can do this while also demonstrating excellence, while also honoring their sacrifices. It's a difficult balance, but it's one that I think is really important in order to help your team really achieve their best. So it sounds like you've grown a lot in the things that your team has sought to achieve this year and that you have really hit your goals and continue to push yourself to do the best. I'm wondering, as we prepare to transition from 2024 to 2025, what do you plan to leave behind in 2024 in order to be prepared for 2025?
Speaker 1:It's an internal conversation that I'm having with myself and a conversation my team and I are having right now.
Speaker 1:It's really easy I think you asked about mission creep earlier in the conversation it's really easy, when you are mission-driven or passionate about the work that you do or the impact that you can have and achieve, to say yes more than you should, because you can see the impact, the capacity to make a difference in whatever project that you have.
Speaker 1:And so this year 2024, we were ostensibly trying to both balance a number of transitions within our team and to really lean into the possibility of more strategic no's and in leaning into transitioning the team through changes in personnel, including myself stepping into a new role.
Speaker 1:In many ways, we may have said yes a few more times than we probably should have, and my goal for 2025 is that we are really strategic about when we say yes a lot more, because, ultimately, what we've been able to do and the anecdotes that I've shared they have come with sacrifice, and the worst thing that I could do as a leader is allow the team to continue to sacrifice and make big bets and result in burnout. And so how do we really zero in on that which is most essential for us to say yes to, to learn how to be more strategic with our no's so that, when there is something that requires a yes that's outside of the scope of what we originally planned, that we have the capacity to lean in and do it in a way that honors that past sacrifice, that honors the humanity of the team and allows everyone to show up in the way that they most would like to, without having some personal harm or burnout be the hallmark of how they've contributed to this team.
Speaker 2:What's so awesome about these episodes is that I always learn something, and I love what you just said about the strategic no's. It's one thing to say we need to be focused on this, that or the other, but it's another thing to think strategically about what doesn't make sense, so that you can make sure that your team is not overstretched, and to avoid mission creep and to not take advantage of people's talents, because I do think our natural inclination is to do more, because we know that our teams have the capacity to do more or they're willing to do more, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the right thing to do. So this aspect of strategic no, something I'm going to take with me this week. But we are going to shift into the lightning round, which is a more lighthearted part of the conversation, and I will start by asking. You just mentioned one of the books that you recommend, called Expect to Win.
Speaker 1:I think is what I recommend yes, I recommend anything that Carla Harris has written, but that first one was really essential for me in my younger days, particularly as it can be hard to transition from how you transfer your experience from one place to the next and how those essential skills show up and how to define who you are in the workplace for others. There's so many pearls in it, as she describes. I highly recommend that. Okay.
Speaker 2:Is there someone else that you follow? To stay current.
Speaker 1:I must admit I spend more time reading my Africa regional and policy work than I do zeroing in on the leadership experts that I should be following.
Speaker 1:I've been reading a lot more Adam Grant.
Speaker 1:I also have Atomic Habits on my shelf and I find that one is a great one, just to remember to reset around how you reframe, approaching not a problem or a project but really a life shift, and so those are two really great ones. I have a third one, and I've been reading this one for a long time, so maybe this is an indulgence, but Howard French's Born into Blackness, which is, is a very heavy, weighty tome and it's a deep dive into unpacking the history of Africa in the global context. And what I find both challenging about this book and very important is that it is unpacking what I thought I knew to be true from my own education, and it's a reminder that history is evolving, that there is continual research and effort to uncover a fuller truth, and I'd like to think that at some point in time in the arc of history, the work that I'm doing today, my colleagues and I that we are also setting a new framework for a fuller truth to be told about Africa's context in the world.
Speaker 3:That's powerful, but switching gears to a much lighter topic, I can be light, I promise. Pumpkin or sweet potato.
Speaker 1:Neither I'm not a pie person, so this is only about pie. No, thank you, but I will eat sweet potatoes. I am very happy when pumpkin spice. Everything moves off the agenda.
Speaker 2:Me too, Honestly person as well. All right, Our last question fill in the blank. Leadership is Bravery.
Speaker 1:It's brave to show up and think that you are entrusted with this mantle to take care of others and to take care of a larger priority, and so being a leader is it's a brave step.
Speaker 3:Well, kendra, we want to thank you for joining us today. This was a really powerful conversation. You left us with a lot to think about and some new North Stars of our own to follow. Thank you for helping us on this journey to better understand how we can lead with this brave, transformational kind of strategic mindset.
Speaker 1:Thank you for inviting me, thank you for the podcast. I'm learning. I learned from preparing for today, but also I've learned from the episodes that you have, and I think that leadership is also conversation. So it's great to be in conversation with the two of you as dynamic leaders and the leaders that you're bringing on to the show.
Speaker 2:I just wanted to say I'm just so proud of you, having watched your evolution from many years ago, when we started the Foreign Service together, and to see you now in charge of the chamber in the way that you are. It's just. It's really amazing to to know you and to continue learning from you. It's wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us hey everybody.
Speaker 3:It's Belinda. I hope that you got from today's episode that we can lead dynamic teams through challenges, through changing circumstances. But as long as we stay rooted in what our core mission is and remember the sacrifice of everyone on our team and all that they're giving up to make that mission happen, we can lead through it. We can still achieve what we need to achieve and hopefully, with our teams intact and everyone feeling really proud of their accomplishment.
Speaker 3:I know I learned a lot from Kendra today and you know, just as Shelby has a long relationship with her, kendra and I have known each other for it feels like decades and we have a great deal in common and she's been just a dear friend who's been there for me and my family through the years. I hope that you felt her warmth and her earnestness and her commitment to and passion for her work through her words today. It just really meant a lot to us to have her on the show, as always. I want to thank you for joining us on the Leadership Tea Podcast. You can always follow us on Instagram at leadership underscore tea. You can also check out our website, wwwstirringsuccesscom, where we have a blog, we have information about our coaching programs, and we also have merchandise available. We look forward to you joining our next episode and we can't wait to see you back here at the Leadership Tea. Thank you.
