We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Gibbons, MBA. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My personal mission in life is as follows:

“To bring laughter, inspiration and positive impact to all people, businesses and communities that I interact with.
Through joy and action – inspire business, communities and people to be more than they thought they could be.
To use my God-given gifts to transform people in to a better version of themselves.”

My gift is my unconditional love for people. It’s through this love is my leadership style – which shapes how I lead those that I am fortunate enough to lead.

Through my podcast ‘Black Office Unlocked’ – it is my intent to provide positive impact amongst fellow black and minority federal government employees to inspire them to be better versions of themselves.

I have nearly 15 years as a federal government civilian, and I understand firsthand myself and from the dozens of people I’ve mentored – how difficult it can be for black and minorities to navigate their career and promote in to leadership roles.

Through the Black Office Unlocked podcast and through other social media communications – its my goal to share my knowledge and to share keys that I learn from others in order to open upon the doors of opportunity.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am currently a GS-15 Logistics Director with the Dept of Defense, located in Washington DC. I am originally from Oxnard, California – home of actor Miles Brown and Grammy Award-Winning Musician, Anderson Paak.

Growing up, we didn’t have much – and our cable TV was restricted to only but a couple channels. Luckily for one – of those those channels happened to be KCAL9 – and all of the LA Laker games came in HD-like quality in the 1980s. I was inspired and knew that I had small chance to make it in the NBA, let along the Los Angeles Lakers – but I knew that if i applied myself, I could work for the team, or at least the NBA.

After high school, I applied to and was accepted in to the Sports Entertainment & Event Management program at Johnson & Wales University, located in Providence, RI. During my time at Johnson & Wales, I was the Editor-In-Chief of the College Newspaper ‘The Campus Herald’. This journalism opportunity combined with my degree, led to sports media relations jobs with Providence College and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

My sports career didn’t pan out after graduating from Providence College with an MBA in 2006 – I did however find a career in Business Operations with Bank of America. I yearned for more leadership opportunities with the Bank – and found that an opportunity with the Dept of Defense in 2009 as an Logistics Intern. This opportunity moved me back home to sunny California, and I’ve been with the Federal Government ever since.

As a Logistic Director, I work with dozens of Different US Navy programs, including Foreign Allied partners – to ensure their programs are adequately supported through acquisition and logistics life cycle phases.

I hold this job in addition to being the Host of the ‘Black Office Unlocked’ podcast. The podcast is meant to provide ‘keys’ of knowledge and tips for black and minority employees so that they can unlock doors of opportunity for themselves. The podcast can be found on all major streaming platforms and comes out every two weeks. The Black Office Unlocked started off as a weekly LinkedIn newsletter that started in May 2023, as still continues. The podcast launched officially on 28 AUG 2023, the week before I provided two training seminars at the 2024 Blacks In Government (BIG) National Training Institute.

As a servant leader, I look forward to connecting with all Federal Government agencies to create a networked community of like-minded melanated leaders become their best versions of themselves as civil servants in the Federal Government.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As a minority federal government employee, I understand the unique challenges of navigating the federal workplace. It can be difficult to find a place where you can learn tips and tools required to climb the career ladder fast and strategically. That’s why I was so excited to start the journey entitled ‘the Black Office Unlocked’.
Step-by-step, I will build an ecosystem that will provide an overwhelming amount value for minority federal government employees. It is my charge to also build a community so that we can all learn and grow together.

The Black Office Unlocked is a community of minority federal government employees who are dedicated to helping each other succeed. As a federal government employee, I see the need for a place where minority employees could come together where I can share my knowledge, experience and perspective. The community is centered around the vision I had over three years ago, where I wanted to create a space for melanated like-minded federal government professionals. A place where like-minded professionals of color who wanted to grow faster, go further and have career direction.
But of course, in 2020, life happens – and COVID-19 doesn’t care about your plans or visions.

During the Summer of 2021, I within a 6-week span enough emotional ups-and-down to mimic any amusement park ride. Imagine applying for two job a few months earlier and you find out that you received. This job comes with a promotion – the only problem is that they would end up officially announcing it for about 5 weeks. Then imagine, learning your wife just received the job of her dreams – but the only problem is, its 2,000 miles away. On, and you wouldn’t have the option to move Then you find out that the other job you applied, if you received it – would help with a move that is aligned with your wife’s new job offer – that you didn’t get it, and it was announced 4 weeks later than promised.

I felt like i was a situation where the promotion I received, i would have to potentially sacrifice to support my wife’s job goals. There was a 6-week span during Summer of 2021 where stress was at an all-time high having the navigate the terms of essentially turning down a job, while putting my soft skills in to overdrive to maintain critical relationships during a west-coast/east-coast transition. All of this, while managing two kids, new schools the sale and purchase of two houses respectively during a shaky housing market.

During this time, I learned the lesson of pride and egotism, and how they almost forced me towards a career direction that I did not want. In short, my pride was not allowing me to do the simple task of ‘asking for help’. After having a critical heart-to-heart with a mentor, a I realized how my ego was nearly getting i the way of opportunity that would not only affect my career – but my family. What took me by myself – nearly two months, took only 2 minutes when asking for help with the right person.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A book club that I joined at my job’s African American employee resource group, forced me to read ‘Black Faces in High Places’ by Randall Pinkett and Dr. Jeffrey Robinson. This book talks about how African Americans can level-up by considering 10 strategic tips that will help their career trajectory while in corporate America. Reading this book inspired me and reminded me of my vision to better help fellow African Americans in a more meaningful way.

This book inspired me to create two successful leadership development seminars at the 2024 Blacks In Government (BIG) National Training Institue. First entitled, ‘The Strength of Career Road mapping through 10 Strategic Tips, and second entitled, ‘Career Advancement through Mentorship’.

As a servant leader – I put ‘people’ first. Career Development, Mentorship, Career Advancement, Emotional Intelligence, Soft Skills, and Strategic Communication are all attributes and leadership traits that are very important to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blackofficeunlocked.buzzsprout.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammichaelgibbons/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-landon-gibbons
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackOfficeUnlocked
• Other: [email protected] – Email

Image Credits
Headshot: NAVSEA Workforce Development