We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rahfeal Gordon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rahfeal below.
Alright, Rahfeal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
We all have stories of taking risks that rarely gets told by friends and family. These specific stories that are rarely told are usually the ones that have impacted us the most. One story of mine starts with me waking up at 4:00am to take the earliest bus from Northern New Jersey into New York City.
Then, I would transfer to another bus from 34th street in Manhattan (NYC Time Square) that would take me directly into Boston, Massachusetts. Once I arrived in Boston, I would have to take a train into Cambridge so I could study and take my courses at Harvard every single week. Yes, every single week! I never missed a class and never showed up late. I was the first one there and the last one to leave. I became the top student in my class during that semester and I framed my first transcript like it was a degree.
Because of what I was trying to accomplish while at Harvard, my professor introduced me to a woman who became my speech coach and advisor. She had me meet with her for 90 minutes after taking my evening class every week. I had more work than the rest of my fellow classmates because I was aiming for something more. To do something much more demanding and set me on a path that had me walk alone more than often. This tends to happen when you yearn for something more than what you see around you.
I was caught up in snowstorms. I was on campus during the heartbreaking Boston Marathon bombing explosion and experienced a city lock down due to the manhunt. I was there debating, sharing my experiences, and laughing with like minded humans when we would say, “ Don’t forget about me when you become president.”
It was due to my intense hunger to be great on my journey as an orator and entrepreneur that pushed me to take a risk like this. And it is risks such as this that keeps my life incredibility fulfilled.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am recognized as one of the top international orators and leadership advisors for world leaders and global entrepreneurs who seek to effectively impact the global community through business, education, and politics. For over a decade, I have been leveraging the core fundamentals that promote productivity and success.
Through my company, RahGor International, clients are able to contract me for lectures, keynote speeches, workshops, and purchase books that provide in-depth strategies in the areas of personal development, global leadership, and entrepreneurship to those aiming to achieve high-level success. My key insight into culture development for business and organizational leaders makes my impact on an individual’s personal and business performance highly effective.
For the past 15 years, I have toured the world with the clear intention to impact humanity in a positive way by being wise counsel to community, country, and business leaders. I am truly fulfilled when I am contracted to coach entrepreneurs that are trying to reach a new height in their business. I have always wanted to guide those who are considered great in what they do.
I am the author of 19 published books and founder of Madison + Park, a full-service global branding and publishing agency that assists entrepreneurs, corporations, and global influencers with becoming leaders in their industry. I am the Global Ambassador of the International Hub in Oslo, Norway, which houses and provide resources for start-up entrepreneurs from 21 different countries. I also co-founded Voices for World Peace Organization, a platform that brings together a diverse group of global leaders and youth to work in solidarity to eradicate issues such as extremism, terrorism, and inequality by sharing ideas and creating strategies to bring peace and unity to areas of conflict around the world.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was on my one of my world tours entitled, Skyscraper World Tour, when I accepted the role of being a global mentor and advisor for The Queen’s Young Leaders Program, a program in the United Kingdom that was established by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. I had the privilege to advise three entrepreneurs from various common wealth countries. Once each of my mentees completed their mentorship program, they were invited to Buckingham Palace to be honored and receive an award from Queen Elizabeth II.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Healthy partnerships and business transparency is what I believe helped build my reputation within my market. Partnerships are a vital component for business leverage. It should be a goal of all business leaders to develop, invest, and nurture partnerships on various scales. Businesses that have stood the test of time and become successful within their chosen industries have done so because of their strong partnerships for decades.
Business leaders must have a standard of transparency and healthy partnership if they want to see long-term success with high value reputation in their market . If a business leader is open to this, they are open to sharing of ideas, information, data, and strategies that they wouldn’t normally do with anyone else. This is what has helped my reputation and brand recognition in the market.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Being engaged with your team is vital to their moral and value of your leadership. Many people believe that being seen as a leader is more than enough. But just being seen or sitting in an office all day strategizing does not make you effective or influential in maintaining high morale. All leaders are servants who have a weighty responsibility to serve their team in the best possible manner. Being engaged will ensure your position in receiving real insight and ways to affect team morale and effective management.
You can’t make the impact you would like all by yourself. That is why it is also crucial to establish a leadership team and constantly assist in their development. You can learn just as much from your team as they can learn from you. When you engage with them, you are creating an impact from within. You build loyalty and receive commitment through the intensity of their actions. Engagement is another way of giving attention to those you value, making them aware that you see them as valuable to the decisions at hand.
When it comes to your team, ask questions and allow them to be open with you. Getting their opinions and sharing their ideas with others is what engagement is all about. When you are creating a strategy, ask for your team’s input so that everyone feels that they are part of the development process. Understand the needs of the individuals on your team. The issues within a person’s private and professional life does affect with one another at times. Being engaged allows you to understand why a member of your team might be going beyond what is expected or not living up to their potential. Stay engaged with your team and you will be able to have and attract the support that you will always need.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RahGor.com
- Instagram: @RahGor
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/rahfeal.gordon
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rahgor/
- Twitter: @rahgor
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/RahGor
- Other: Check out other businesses and organizations by Rahfeal Gordon: Rahfeal Gordon Foundation | www.RahGorFoundation.org Madison + Park Agency | www.MadPar.com
Image Credits
Ole Christian Eklund Baa-ith Nurri-Deen