Get motivated at the Women’s Club

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Motivational speaker Carla Harris will be at the Women’s Club of Glen Ridge on Tuesday.Photo Courtesy of Carla Harris
Motivational speaker Carla Harris will speak to the Women’ Club of Glen Ridge.

In an interview with this newspaper, Harris discussed how every action in the workplace has a leadership value or currency.

One is called performance currency. By delivering what has been asked of you, Harris said three beneficial things may happen: You will get noticed and enhance your reputation; you will be promoted; you will attract a mentor.

A person’s mentor, however, is different from a sponsor, she said.
“A mentor is someone with whom you share intimate details about yourself,” she said. “A mentor gives you tailored advice.”

A sponsor, she said, will spend some of their capital on you; intimate details of your life are of no concern to them. Also, a mentor does not have to be in your organization while a sponsor should be.

“A person can have any number of sponsors in their career,” she said. “There can be a single mentor, but more are helpful.”
Ringing your own bell is also important.

“But lots of people are uncomfortable doing this,” Harris said. “But you have to develop skills to ask for yourself or you’re at a disadvantage. Think about things differently. Being proud is not the opposite of being humble. It’s not what you say but how you say it.”

Harris is an author and her newest book is “Lead to Win.” It came about because of the pandemic.

‘I had already started on the book before the pandemic, but because of the pandemic, I thought it would be useful,” she said. “Organizations must be fluent to answer why you should work there.”

Harris said anyone can lead from the seat they occupy.
“Be yourself,” she said. “Build trust with others and create clarity when working with them.”
She said seniors in the workplace underestimate their value because they think they are too old for advancement.

“Give yourself the freedom to tell an organization your worth,” she said.
Harris’ talk will be at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 14. The event is in recognition of Women’s History Month and the cost is $10 for members and $15 for non members.