Wall Street executive shares her leadership keys with Mantella, Economic Club

Harris, Mantella discuss power of authentic and intentional leadership

Mantella, who also serves as vice chair of the Economic Club, said she was eager to learn from Harris, particularly about her leadership strategies honed through four decades on Wall Street.

“I really felt like she was an important person to bring to Grand Rapids to our greater Grand Rapids region and community as we think about leadership and intentional leadership,” Mantella said.

Following Harris’ 30-minute address to members and guests of the Economic Club, Mantella asked her about a recurring theme from her presentation: being authentic as a leader. 

Harris said that empowering employees is a key factor in fostering authenticity as a leader.

“Your people have to be aligned with who you are, what your values are, what you're trying to get done,” Harris said. “The way that they will get aligned with you as a leader is you show that you value everything they're bringing to the table, and that you see them. 

“Do not underestimate the power of articulating to someone, ‘I see you.’ That is extremely powerful.”

Mantella echoed Harris’ sentiment, reflecting on a quote from one of Harris’ books that resonated with her about impactful leadership.

“In leadership, you focus on the big moves. Where are we going? What do we have to confront in five years?” Mantella said. “But it's all those little moves of every single day that lend to those larger moves.”

GVSU, REP4 students engage in roundtable with Harris, Mantella

Following her time at the Economic Club, Harris joined Mantella and a group of GVSU students and REP4 participants in a roundtable discussion about leadership, REP4 and entering the workforce as young professionals. 

REP4, an innovative initiative founded by GVSU in collaboration with eight other educational partners across the country, empowers high school and college students to reimagine the future of higher education. Through idea generation and prototype development, students have created tools like REP4®FinLit, a financial literacy platform that recently received a nearly $2 million grant from the Fifth Third Foundation .

Students discussed FinLit with Harris, who provided valuable feedback about pitching a product to investors. 

“Every financial institution is trying to reach the next generation,” Harris said. 

Students also asked Harris a variety of questions including how to set boundaries in your career, what motivates Harris and how to accomplish your goals in whatever role you’re in. 

Harris said it’s important to understand the qualifications and skills stakeholders are looking for and how to harness them. While working hard and being resourceful are important, Harris added, it’s necessary to develop relationships too.  

“This experience has given me motivation to seek a better future for myself,” said Emily Par, a junior at GVSU and T4 Scholar . “Her words were very inspiring, and I see a new perspective for myself. Instead of thinking about what a company's requirements are and what they would think of me, now I’m thinking, ‘I should build a relationship first, I should engage first.’”