LEAD360 Magazine: Michele Thornton Ghee - NBMBAA Snapshot Edition

SPRING 2020

NBMBAA Snapshot Edition

THINK TANK AT

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

WYN TALKS

TM

WHAT’S GOING ON?

WITH

VICTOR BLACKWELL

MASTER CLASSES

AGILITY, LEADERSHIP, AND CHALLENGE MANAGEMENT

Level Up

with

MICHELE THORNTON GHEE

CONTENTS 1

ABOUT LEAD360 SENIOR LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION

8

EMPOWERMENT: Michele Thornton Ghee

1 12

COPING WITH CRISIS IN A VUCA WORLD

14

WORLD-CLASS FACULTY

12

LEAD360 provides access to an amazing lineup of executive talent

AVAILABLE IN FULL MAGAZINE COMING SOON

14

8

• WYN TALKS • WHAT’S GOING ON? • THINK TANK at Georgetown University

See LEAD360 at Georgetown University www.lead360wyn.org/thinktank

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition

Our pursuit of excellence begins with a passion for diversity and inclusion.

At Liberty Mutual, we foster an atmosphere of respect, where our collective differences and similarities constantly inspire and empower us.

LMI.co/Diversity

We are an equal opportunity employer.

LETTER

CEO FROM THE

EW Walton

Thank you for doing something that may seem a bit

old-fashioned. Whether you are reading this magazine to improve your leadership skill set, tap into the who’s who of diverse business leadership, or simply comb through for spelling errors, this ten minutes is your time to grow. And that’s what the team at LEAD360 wants you to do.

In a time when information is instant, we are working to create a bold new publication for business leaders that improves strategic business solutions, encourages collaboration of people and ideas across industries, and highlights those who are winning against growing odds.

Our organization focuses on business leaders from many sectors. Whether you are a middle- or senior-level Fortune 500 corporate executive, micro-corporation leader, public sector leader, or education leader, you will find value in the LEAD360 approach.

The “360” asserts that leaders have more than a set of competencies to cultivate. To create a truly meaningful executive life, we must also grow our connections, community, and consciousness at work, at home, and in the world. Total well-being benefits us all and is fundamental to the golden thread of this magazine, everything we do, and everything we offer you, including the summits and academy.

LEAD360 asks the tough business questions and addresses the unspoken truths in a professional yet fearless manner. And although analyzing and sharing

“

In this challenging time for Black corporate leaders, we need an organization that is bold and courageous in its approach to leadership development.

LEAD360 is that organization.

”

descriptions can be useful, the leaders, academicians, and writers who contribute to this publication will focus more on finding and delivering solutions.

Please enjoy this preview of the magazine we envision bringing to you for years to come. We are confident that you will find something of value in our innovative approach to enhancing strategic business leadership!

EW Walton, PhD, MBA

CONNECT WITH US!

VIEW FULL MAGAZINE AVAILABLE

LEARN MORE

(SCAN OR CLICK HERE)

(SCAN OR CLICK HERE)

OCTOBER 21, 2019

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition

LEAD360

| THE ORGANIZATION | WHO WE ARE

ABOUT US LEAD360 is a senior leadership organization delivering premium learning experiences and talent connects through a community of high-caliber leaders and inclusive companies.

Victor Blackwell, CNN New Anchor and Dr. Eric Wynstin Walton, CEO of LEAD360 discuss world leadership issues at the LEAD360 Senior Leadership COMBINE.

OUR PURPOSE

OUR CRITERIA

OUR SYSTEM

FOR ORGANIZATIONS

MIDDLE MANAGERS

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

LEAD360 exists out of the ongoing need to attract, develop, and illuminate a pipeline of value-adding senior business leaders of color.

High performing and high potential Middle Managers (Managers, Directors, VPs) who aspire to achieve E-Level and C-Level roles.

FOR LEADERS

SENIOR LEADERS

LEAD360 offers executive development that addresses both GM competence and cultural navigation.

Senior Leaders with general management experience desiring to further their influence as executive officers.

Our program is designed for two distinct yet complementary company-sponsored senior leadership levels.

Our criteria precludes field individual cotributors and other non-leadership roles.

• Senior Leadership COMBINE • WYN Academy • Executive Coaching • Thought Leader Development • Needs Assessments

PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT • Corporate Connection Forums • Executive Interviews • Industry Advisory Boards

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition | PAGE 5

Empowerment.

A MORE NOBLE MISSION IS DIFFICULT TO FIND.

MICHELE THORNTON GHEE

A MORE PASSIONATE VISIONARY IS DIFFICULT TO NAME.

LEAD360 is both honored and over the moon to welcome Michele as a keynote speaker to the 2019 Senior Leadership COMBINE. Both a perfect fit for an organization on a mission to empower black leaders and a perfect example of doing so in her own life, Michele Thornton Ghee is the personification of leveling up.

This media and marketing expert is on a meteoric rise—now author of three books (the latest, Success on Your Terms: The Essential Guide, was published earlier this year), a compelling and inspirational speaker, and the rightful recipient of numerous awards and honors, Ghee motivates everyone from young girls to grown men.

Michele marks a particular turning point in her life that set her on the road to success, when she promised the father she was about to lose to cancer that she would make him proud. After high school and ten years of working jobs with no future, Ghee went back to school and graduated from Golden Gate University at the age of thirty with a degree in business.

Ghee stepped into her power then and has been garnering more self-awareness, confidence, and critical skills since. Still, the most powerful thing about her is that she believes and teaches that you don’t have to experience such a heartbreaking and mind-shifting catalyst to claim your own power. But you do have to be willing to take on the hard work to develop it.

Fortunately, Ghee provides plenty of tools, resources, and support in serving up her potentially life-changing message to individuals, groups, and communities through speaking engagements, workshops, and digital and technology platforms.

In addition to empowerment, Michele’s breadth of expertise covers leadership, diversity and inclusion, work–life balance, relationship building, strategy, time utilization, capacity, and revenue generation.

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition | PAGE 6

“

Leadership is not created in the hallways of corporate America but [in] what you do outside of those walls.

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition | PAGE 7

Today, this transformation agent has some impressive numbers under her belt: She has over twenty years of experience in corporate America and has managed over a billion dollars in revenue for some of the largest media companies, including CNN, A&E, The History Channel, the Weather Channel, and BET Networks/ BET Her. Currently, Michele is Executive Vice President of Business Development for Endeavor Global Marketing, where she and her team help brands better leverage the cultural relevance of the world to create programs that deliver measurable brand and business value.

But the work that Ghee has used to influence the world around her goes far beyond the walls of big and influential companies. On her website, these words of wisdom are posted in white on an electric yellow background: “Leadership is not created in the hallways of corporate America but [in] what you do outside of those walls.” On that same web page are the ten steps of the Stratechic framework, an aspirational yet practical creation that guides women in how to be strategic in their life planning. The framework and how to apply it is the subject of the author’s first two books. Ghee is also founder of GirlBiz, “an organization focused on the business of making girls great through a hands-on afterschool immersion.”

It is innovative work like this that has brought recognition and praise to Ghee. In recent years, Michele has received the Woman to Watch Award from Multichannel News (2018), Working Mother of the Year Award from She Runs It (2018), Unapologetically HER Award from Tené Nícole (2017), Sister Accord Leadership Award from the Sister Accord Foundation (2017), Change Agent Award from the Black Girl Magic Awards of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Chapter at Ohio State University (2016), Champions for Youth Award from the East Oakland Youth Development Center (2016), Jesse Banks Foundation Humanitarian Award (2015), and named a ChurchGurl Foundation Champion Honoree (2017). She has also been presented with an ADCOLOR Change Agent Award (2009) and an Impact Award (2009) from CNN. The Oakland native continues to create the life she finally believed she deserved, meanwhile inspiring and motivating others to do the same. Residing in New Jersey, Ghee is the proud wife of Antony Ghee and the blessed mother of Taylor and Jordan.

We are thrilled to have Michele Thornton Ghee close out the 2019 LEAD360 Senior Leadership COMBINE as the headline keynote speaker!

HOW EFFECTIVE LEADERS

COPE WITH CRISIS IN A VUCA WORLD AND

WYN ANYWAY TM

By Karima Mariama-Arthur, Esq.

Change can happen at a moments notice. Yet, being nimble and willingly disposed to addressing it head on is what differentiates the most effective leaders from those who fall headlong in times of crisis.

One of the most important aspects of my work is helping senior leaders to navigate change—the kind of change that can make or break an organization from the inside out. There’s no question that the world around us is constantly in flux, and thus, it is particularly useful for leaders to learn to become more responsive to the evolutionary dynamics of the workplace environment. Cutting-edge research indicates that ability to pivot and adapt to change is critical to performing at high levels and to avoiding burnout from the all-too-common—and otherwise unavoidable—occupational stress.

In a piece entitled, Learning Agility: A Construct Whose Time Has Come, Kenneth P. De Meuse, Guangrong Dai and George S. Hallenbeck explain it this way, “A significant consequence of today’s dynamic, complex, and uncertain business environments is that leadership skills are subject to continual obsolescence and displacement. To be effective, leaders must demonstrate the flexibility and agility to adapt their behaviors as situations change. The willingness and capability to learn from experience and subsequently to apply that learning to perform successfully under new or first-time conditions becomes one of the most critical

success factors for managers and executives.”

This suggests that far beyond the bounds of technical expertise exists a palpable expectation for leaders to develop key soft skills in order to effectively navigate uncharted business waters: Enter agile leadership.

Agile leadership is the ability to competently and confidently steer an organization through volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA).

• Volatility – The nature, speed, volume, magnitude and dynamics of change • Uncertainty – The lack of predictability related to expectations, issues and events • Complexity – The intricacy and interrelatedness of issues in the context of organizational dynamics • Ambiguity – The lack of clarity surrounding the universe of conditions and the meaning attached to them However, even for the most agile of leaders, leading an organization can sometimes feel like navigating a ship through mine-infested waters: disaster is likely to strike at some point, no matter how sure the hand on the helm. Data breaches, customer service debacles, recall fiascos—the crises are everywhere, and countless institutions have been sunk by an unseen bombshell. But in many cases, it isn’t the crisis itself that causes an organization to founder; too often it’s a

LEAD360 Magazine | NBMBAA Snapshot Edition | PAGE 9

leader’s response to the crisis that causes the greatest damage.

A disaster is a moment of truth for an organization. It’s a time when competent leaders prove their mettle and when serial pretenders are exposed. A crisis is almost always an indication that something needs to change within an organization. Sometimes that change is structural. Policies might have to be revised, or mission statements might need to be tweaked.

Other times that change comes in the form of new leadership. If the person at the helm can’t make good decisions during these turbulent times, the organization might have to look elsewhere for a replacement.

Nonetheless, a crisis does not mean failure is necessarily afoot; effective leaders recognize that a crisis is merely an ‘opportunity riding the dangerous wind.’ Instead of capitulating, they think clearly, act decisively and choose to WYN anyway.

If you want be a more effective leader—especially in times of crisis—consider the following important steps as you work to strengthen their agility muscle: Step 1: Be honest with yourself In order to right the ship, an effective leader must start by confronting hard truths. A leader can’t justifiably be blamed for a force majeure or for some other unforeseeable, unavoidable stroke of bad luck, but many crises are caused by the organization itself. Faulty security procedures might be at fault, or poorly trained personnel could be the culprit. If a crisis is triggered by a structural failure, a good leader will analyze the organizational flaw to determine how it contributed to the crisis. If the crash happens because of the captain’s miscalculation, an ethical leader will self-evaluate and honestly own mistakes. To err is human; to take responsibility is divine.

Step 2: Act carefully but quickly After diagnosing the problem, an agile leader must work carefully with the response team to craft a strategic plan. All options must be brought to the table and weighed, no matter how implausible or undesirable they might seem. Once a decision has been made and a plan has been developed, a leader must immediately put it into action. Time is usually the enemy in such scenarios, so there can be no dillydallying or feet dragging. Many crises demand same-day responses, and any delay will be perceived as incompetence or indifference, both of which can exacerbate a crisis.

Such was the case with the delayed United Airlines response to the dragging incident involving Dr. Dao.

The brand suffered socially and economically as a result. Remember, careful and quick must go hand in glove in this stage.

Step 3: Stay focused Be aware that once the action plan is set into motion, there will likely be further challenges and setbacks.

Even if a leader’s response to a crisis is impeccable, some critics and competitors might take this opportunity to kick the organization while it’s down. Previous mistakes might be brought back to the forefront, and old controversies might have to be re-litigated. It’s natural for a leader to feel doubt and fear as the problems pile up. If you start to lose focus on the big picture, it might be necessary to take step back from the situation and seek outside advice. But it’s important not to despair. If the response plan is sound and the organization’s intentions are good, then steady yourself and push through the pain. Also, remind yourself that smooth seas don’t make good sailors.

While it’s not always possible for an organization to preempt or recover from a crisis, even when headed by a brilliant leader, it is possible to take lessons from every disaster. Failure today could mean success tomorrow. Try to hold on to that truth when the storm is raging. Then, choose to address the challenge head on and WYN anyway by leveraging these fundamental steps.

Karima Mariama-Arthur, Esq.

Founder and CEO, WordSmithRapport A leading authority on leadership development and organizational performance management, Karima brings more than 25 years of comprehensive, blue chip experience in law, business, and academia to every client engagement. A shrewd advisor to distinguished organizations from DC to Dubai, her expert insights help clients to successfully navigate today’s ever-changing and competitive global business environment. Karima is the author of the internationally acclaimed leadership guidebook, ‘Poised For Excellence: Fundamental Principles of Effective Leadership in the Boardroom and Beyond‘ (Palgrave Macmillan). As an extension of her work, she speaks regularly both national ly and internationally in her areas of expertise.

LEAD360 Senior Leadership COMBINES are headed up by dynamic leaders such as Dr. Shirley Davis and Bakari Sellers.

Davis is president and CEO of SDS Global Enterprises, Inc., a company built on the depth and breadth of her expertise: diversity and inclusion; performance management; twenty-first century leadership; career navigation; employee engagement strategies; recruitment, development, and retention strategies; personaL reinvention; and more. In short, Davis’s trove of knowledge holds solutions for how to lead in a diverse, global, virtual, and connected world and would be invaluable to any leader, from any industry, at any level.

Shirley Davis President and CEO SDS Global Enterprises, Inc.

THE

This global workforce expert is also a masterful speaker. Davis currently serves on the board of the National Speakers Association and is a Certified Speaking Professional, a credential granted by the same organization to only the top 12% of speakers worldwide. An exceptional communicator, Davis is an experienced facilitator of gatherings of all kinds—workshops, retreats, and seminars—and has been featured or quoted in many major media productions and publications, from NBC’s The Today Show to the Wall Street Journal. Davis was recently covered in Inclusion Magazine and is the author of The Seat: How to Get Invited to the Table When You’re Over-Performing but Undervalued.

WORLD-CLASS F A C U L T Y

Bakari Sellers, attorney, politician, and hisry-maker, will be the subject of a LEAD360 one-on-one about today’s climate. An authority on the political and cultural state of our country, we anticipate a sure-to-be compelling interview that will set the tone for and lead us into a town hall-style discussion. Sellers truly has his finger on the pulse of American politics, becoming the youngest African American elected official in the nation to represent South Carolina’s 90th district in the lower house of the state legislature from 2006 to 2014.

Bakari Sellers Political Commentator CNN

LEAD360 provides access to an amazing lineup of executive talent—all willing and eager to share stories of their own experiences of walking through the world as Black leaders. Our faculty casts light on the shadows and bring messages of aspiration, inspiration, and celebration for two days of connection and community.

Beverly Smith

National President Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Deborah Elam

CEO Corporate Playbook

Avis Jones-DeWeever

Stan Blackwell

Executive Dir. Global Talent Gilead Sciences

Dr. David A. Thomas President Morehouse College

Natasha Bowman

Marcus Johnson

President and Founder Performance ReNEW

CEO and Founder FLO Wine, LLC

Cindy Kent

Maurice A. Stinnett

Board of Directors Best Buy

VP of Diversity, Inclusion and Culture

Kelci Trent

Regional Business Director Johnson & Johnson

Charmaine Ward-Millner Corporate Relations Director

Brooklyn Nets

Georgia Power

Founder Exceptional Leadership Institute for Women

Tim Goodly

Tanya Spencer

Keith Wyche

L. Michelle Smith

Dorinda Walker

Jesse Tyson

Michele Thornton Ghee

Victor Blackwell

Cher Jones

CEO Cultural Solutions Group

Nicole Pitts

President Goodly Consulting Group

President and CEO National Black MBA Association

EVP, Business Development Endeavor Global Marketing

Dr. Tiffany Dotson

VP and Regional GM Wal-Mart

News Anchor CNN

Senior Pastor Zion Church, DC

VP, Global Leadership, Learning and Talent Liberty Mutual Insurance

Monique Stoner

La’Wana Harris, CDE, ACC

Bob Oliver

Yolanda Hawkes

Thomas Dortch

Talent Solutions Leader Koch Industries

President and CEO TWD, Inc.

Derick Gant

Darryl Smith

Andrá R. Ward, MSPOD

Nick F. Nelson

Founder and CEO Ethintegrity

Global Board of Directors HBA

Performance Coach 24klifecon.com

Pastor Keith Battle

Global Sales Operations Leader GE power

Executive Advisor CELLIX BIO Sciences, Inc.

Senior Client Partner Korn Ferry

President and CEO The KhafreWard Corporation

CEO GemStone Consulting Group

CEO BRANDPRENUER

CEO No Silos Comm, LLC.

Digital Marketing Expert #JustAskCher

Renee Sterling-Daniel VP, Regulatory Controls Goldman Sachs

Rob Gore, MD

Executive Director Kings Against Violence Initiative

Rodney Gillespie

Global Head Renal, Anemia AstraZeneca

FOR LEADERS ONLY JUNE 4, 2020 | ATLANTA, GA

WWW.LEAD360WYN.ORG