We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Latoya Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Latoya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
I was the newly hired Laboratory Supervisor working for a very large Veterinary laboratory back when Covid first hit. I must say, I absolutely despised how upper management treated the employees. Everyone was expendable to protect one person’s ego. Employees would go above and beyond to meet deadlines and turnaround times to make the lab function properly only to be scolded and belittled from the smallest human errors. My ideas to turn this lab around and make the Atlanta market #1 fell on deaf ears and my colleagues knew I was drained. My last straw was the parking lot was targeted by an individual and several employees cars were broken into. The Manager and company blamed the employees for their cars being broken into saying they left things in sight to be stolen. I was just flabbergasted. I couldn’t believe a company that was supposed to be so reputable would do that. I love what I do and that brought everything full circle for me in the aspect of understanding that all money isn’t good money and a traditional lab setting may not be where I’m heard.
Latoya, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been employed in several laboratory settings over the past 21 years. I started this journey in high school. A very dear family friend was the school nurse and I was her aide for some hours a day. Back then I didn’t know a lot of black Registered Nurses in my area and I looked up to her a lot. My mother is a retired school teacher and taught at the same high school I attended. I just knew traditional teaching wasn’t my calling. The school nurse Mrs. Porter took me under her wing and taught me some things about the healthcare world. Combining that passion with my love for Chemistry and Science just took over and I knew the lab is where I wanted to be. I have been on some great teams and we have researched some great things over the years but I never knew how much I could enjoy my work until Covid changed things. Now, being an independent contractor for Lab companies, I have traveled to several states providing lab services to some of the top Fortune 500 companies to keep them safe and make them comfortable in this pandemic. Building and maintaining a solid name for myself with contracts I’ve handled has been a joy. I contract with several lab companies traveling and providing Vaccinations, Biometrics, PCR Covid testing and Venipuncture for huge corporations. When I’m not traveling I am the proud owner of Harris School of Phlebotomy and Specimen Processing and I’m also a Certified Life Coach. I teach others the good, bad, and ugly of starting out in the lab field. I am a partner in education business for several area county schools providing a resource to students who may not see traditional college education as a route for them. Some of my students start out embarrassed as they come to me looking for a new career late in life thinking they don’t have it all together. I’m here to teach them that is totally ok. Things happen in life in different stages and ages. I’m 40 years young and I definitely don’t have it all together. My passion to learn and my willingness to step and think outside the box is a big part of my success. So while being behind the scenes doing my part in the lab world, I feel like I’m teaching the up and coming Lab Rats to step out and be a shining star as well. When you put out good things, good things come back to you. Im very happy to be doing my part in that.
Any advice for managing a team?
No one wants to work with an unenthusiastic team nor manager. I am what you call a working manager. No matter how far up the ladder I make it, I’m going to always work with my team. How else would I know what frustrates them, what moves them, and what changes need to be made if I’m not out in the field experiencing what they are? I’m going to put in the work with them and they will appreciate that more.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Never getting comfortable. The world and science is ever changing so to stay balanced in this field you have got to be willing to adapt to change. If you started out years ago as a phlebotomist like myself, keep those venipuncture skills up. You may go on to bigger titles but those skills will always come in handy down the line. You never know when it’s your time to shine and in this field you NEVER know who is watching to give you the break you never knew you needed
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069965118945
- Instagram: @MrsGemini30
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latoyah2005
- Linkedin: Latoya-Harris-789b399a