Name: Henry Arron Golatt

Title: Inclusive Small Business Ecosystem Architect/Chief of Strategy and Partnerships

Organisation: HG Consulting/HBCU Community Development Action Coalition

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Henry's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

One of the things that I have found most challenging is accepting that, as a leader, I am not called to lead everyone or in every situation I encounter. As one with leadership experiences and capabilities, we, as leaders, feel compelled to insert and overlay our expertise and experiences into every problem we face. That can leave one frustrated and feeling undervalued.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

For most people, leadership is an acquired skill. However, it is formulated out of deep compassion and deep commitment to a cause, community, group, or organization. The best leaders relate on one or more of these levels.

Growing up in the Lower Mississippi Delta of Arkansas and coming from a rather large family, I was the first of my siblings to go to college, although I was the second youngest. As I matriculated through my years as an undergraduate at one of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), I developed a passion for community economic development.

That passion was nurtured, and, over time, resulted in my work impacting not only individuals but entire communities. In this regard, I have helped to influence federal, state, and local economic policies that have mostly affected women and minority small business owners. Likewise, I have developed and implemented empowering programs and routinely convened and aggregated interest across various sub-divisions of governments and communities to create and stimulate deal flow in high-growth business sectors such as clean energy.

However, my most significant achievements involve working with individuals from within my community and sphere of influence to discover and build upon their interests and capacities to become agents of change - not waiting for the solution but themselves becoming the solution.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I confess that I am a recovering workaholic. In this regard, I usually start my day by responding to emails that have hit my box overnight, jotting down ideas that have been spinning in my head since I left the office, or shutting off my electronics for the night. However, I am trying to gravitate to a more balanced approach to my days. Ideally, I want to start my days with a spiritual workout (i.e., reading, meditation, etc.) and physical exercise, followed by a healthy breakfast.

As I approach my work day at or around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m., I want to start by pursuing an agenda that was developed by or for me the day before. I would like to conclude by drafting a list of things I want to accomplish the next day. Finally, I would like to end my day between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. in preparation for my personal, family, and social time with my wife and friends.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Give out in measured levels and allow yourself time to evaluate how your giving is being received while allowing your audience time to act and respond. So often, we pour it all out in one or two settings. At the same time, our audience or people with whom we are working need time to digest and demonstrate fluency.

I am also constantly reminded to appreciate, evaluate, and appropriately use the energy others bring to an organization, project, or situation. That energy will be a bellwether to what's possible.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

"The Art of Winning Commitment" is a go-to book that I reference from time to time. It speaks to the circumstances by which people engage organizationally. As such, it provides recommendations to leaders and details the most productive types of engagement. For example, I am working with a federal agency to develop an equitable economic development project deal flow, particularly in establishing effective local partnerships. This resource is a central tool in my work in helping to bring together economic development agencies with community-based organizations.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Identify your passion early, pay attention to pain points and matters that make you ask why, and surround yourself with those from whom you can not only gain but give.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I recall one of my many run-of-the-mill public presentations. After my presentation, I fielded questions from attending individuals before leaving the stage. One particular attendee, a young man enrolled at a local university, approached me to share information about his idea for a technology-based app.

We conversed about his project, with me mainly seeking to understand his business model and the pain point it was created to solve. Upon concluding our conversation, we exchanged contact information and committed to staying in touch. Fast forward a few months over a summer break, I found this young man having withdrawn from his former college moving out of state, and being admitted to the university where I was a director of a small business development center.

He made that move primarily to be in my proximity so as to benefit from my input and leadership. I went on to work with him and assist him in refining this business case and his pitch. He went on to graduate and landed a great job as an engineer for a defense contractor.