Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassandra Houston. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cassandra, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

The defining moment in my career was basically a forced moment. What I mean by that is, my career in Human Resources came about when I took the role over suddenly as a temporary assignment. Because I did such a great job in the role, I was asked to stay in the role permanently. I was forced to learn a great deal in a short period of time, in addition to performing my duties in finance and accounting. Coming from a financial background, this role was very different. After being in the role for a period of time, I knew this was my passion and my destiny. I learned not only the role of Human Resources, but I learned about leadership, effective communication, how to invoke positive change, how to engage others, strategic and critical thinking, strategic planning, and how to mentor others. The enjoyment from the many accomplishments that were made in this new role gave me the confidence to continue to a more expanded role in Human Resources.

Cassandra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I initially began my career, I wanted to become an Accountant. However, fate afforded me a new road of opportunity, one that I never would imagine. Human Resources is a very dynamic field. It is a field that is not black and white but very diverse and constantly changing. Starting in the Human Resources field, I saw great opportunities to make changes for the better, to assist others and to help bridge the gap between employer and employee. I am most proud of becoming a respected leader within the organizations I’ve worked both past and present and being asked to serve on boards and committees due to my expertise in the field. My greatest achievement is becoming an International Best-Selling Author in 10 categories in Business and Leadership. I’ve conducted 2 podcasts, a radio talk show, interviewed by 3 magazines, and was asked to speak at the Turlock Rotary. All of these accomplishments are proud moments for me and is what keeps me striving for success. I am passionate about leadership and what it takes to be a leader which others will follow. My passion for leadership and using my experiences as a leader and as a follower as teachable moments is why I wrote the book, “Leading From Within, Leading With A Purpose”. A book about how to assess yourself as a leader by focusing on internal skills and how they affect your ability to lead.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

 For some managing a team can be often times difficult. However, its only difficult if you do not have the right tools in your internal skillbox to lead. Managing a team comes from your internal skill set. You can have all of the hard skills and lack the internal skills that keep you genuine, holding yourself accountable, being an effective communicator and most of all having integrity. Most leaders have a “do as I say” mentality, which is wrong in every aspect. First, you must come to the realization of would I allow myself to lead myself. This is part of analyzing your internal skills as a leader. If you think that being a leader is leading others, you have the wrong perception of a leader. A leader recognizes that they must change in order to provide feedback to others. Managing a team takes courage to give feedback and to accept feedback. Effective listening, and building relationships is key to gaining trust and insight about your team. Lack of integrity, consistency and fairness will always destroy not only a team but your respect as a leader and the morale of a team.

Maintaining morale is difficult enough, but maintaining high morale takes a high degree of effort. Consistency, fairness and knowing how the love language of employee engagement affects morale will effectively raise the bar on team morale. I discuss in my book, Leading From Within, Leading with a Purpose in chapter four, the Five Love Languages of Employee Engagement and how it affects the dynamics of an organization. I also talk about how workforce behaviors impact the behaviors of others. When you do not address the negative impacts within your team, you sabotage your skills as a leader and your team’s morale. Being able to change the morale within your team is already a complicated task, but maintaining morale is even more challenging. Maintaining high morale takes diligence, constant process evaluation, and self-analyzation of your leadership skills. Managing morale is not just another task on a checklist, but an expectation.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson that I learned long ago was that you needed to always be your authentic self. Most recently my thought process changed. I had the privilege of sitting down with my Executive Director, MARK TONEY and we were discussing how people should conduct themselves. He said something that has resonated with me since then. He stated, “people do not need to be their authentic selves, but their best selves.” My first thought was what is the difference. I thought being your authentic self was being your best self. He explained to me that, when you are your authentic self, it may not be your best self. But, when you are your best self, you are conducting yourself in the upmost way to be respected and that people may make misconceptions about you when you are your authentic self. I finally realized the difference between your authentic self and your best self. I always give this example when I am explaining to someone the difference between the two; my authentic self maybe yelling across the room at someone to get their attention, because that is what I am used to doing. But my best self would politely walk over to the person I would like to communicate with and have a conversation.

We have been taught for so many years being our authentic selves is being our normal selves. But, when you are your best self, you exceed your normal self. 

Contact Info:

• Website: amazon.com/dp/B0BL8K5551
• Facebook: Leading From Within-Leading With A Purpose
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-houston-8536471a2