Carla Harris on Authenticity, trust, and clarity – Part 1

UNLEASH is extremely proud to present an exclusive four-part video series featuring Carla Harris, senior vice chairman, managing director, and senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley.

Part of our UNLEASH Giants series, this first episode sees Harris discuss the impact that Millennials and Generation Z are having on the labor market from a leadership perspective.

Reflecting on her own successful career in Wall Street, Harris acknowledges that she’s grown up in what she calls a “producer culture.”

“If you’re a producer, you are rewarded with great compensation, titles, promotions, and often with positions and seats of leadership and authority that will see you manage other people,” Harris says.

“If you’re a boomer like me or an older X’er, you certainly did not get a lot of feedback along your career journey. You pretty much were told to work really hard, keep your head down, and if you don’t get fired, then you know you’re doing OK,” the Wall Street veteran adds.

Leaders must inspire and motivate

Most leaders ascend through the ranks and not much thought is given to whether they are able to motivate and inspire other people beyond that which they think they can do.

There’s also little, or no focus, on whether those particular individuals are able to see opportunities amongst all the chaos, or whether they have the ability to transform a culture during a time of upheaval.

Yet, Harris insists this is exactly the kind of leadership that’s required in this day and age:

COVID-19 and social unrest aren’t the only drivers for change in leadership. Millennials and Z’ers are quickly becoming the dominant population in the workplace and they demand transparency, inclusivity, and feedback.”

The question that arises is what kind of leader do you need to be to be seen as powerful, impactful, and influential authority?

Watch part one of our exclusive video series with Carla Harris to get her eight pearls of intentional leadership.