YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – During the early days of the pandemic, when the shutdown was looming and nobody knew what to expect, Shari Harrell, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, began doling out assignments in an effort to prepare for the worst.
“I fell back in and went into reactive mode,” she says.
While she was acting in the best interest of her staff and the organization, she admits that in her haste, she had forgot to communicate.
“I didn’t pay attention to how it was impacting the team,” Harrell says.
“It caused a real rift between me and my team. That took time to repair,” she says.
Harrell shared that story during a recent episode of the Brain Gain Youngstown Leadership Podcast.
In the podcast, Harrell and Youngstown Publishing Co. CEO Jeff Leo Herrmann discuss the mission of the Community Foundation, why equity is important to building a better Mahoning Valley, and what it takes to be an effective leader.
Here are key takeaways:
• Practice communication, cooperation and collaboration.
• Find your passion.
• Be all in.
“If you really want to commit to something where you’re going to make a change, I think you have to stay present,” Harrell says.
“We need to get out of the scarcity mindset. It’s not about fighting for a bigger piece of the pie. It’s about increasing the size of the pie.”
The Brain Gain Youngstown Leadership Podcast is published Wednesdays at BusinessJournalDaily.com and on Spotify.