Leading Teams Authentically in the Hybrid Work Model, Omar Ali
Omar Ali is a Senior Program Manager, Business Growth at Red Hat. Omar shares how the Transforming Leaders program revealed his strengths and values. With those clear, he has felt more authentic leading a team in the tech world and parenting his three triplets. Omar is a 2020 Leadership Triangle Goodmon Fellow.
“A lot of us are having to adapt to a very different kind of environment where we have this hybrid form of work at home and/or in the office. I would like to see better tools and resources for people that are adjusting to this new lifestyle. I think that what I’ve seen happen is that everyone is inundated with responsibilities. And I don’t think that we have a firm grasp on everything that’s on people’s plates.”
Owen Jordan: Thank you again for meeting with me. First, what brought you to Leadership Triangle?
Omar Ali: What initially brought me to Leadership Triangle was just a little bit of self-searching that was going on. So, my dad passed away in December 2019 and when that happened — it really was like a shock to the system. I wasn’t willing to simply go through the motions anymore. I wasn’t willing to delay who I wanted to be and how I wanted to show up anymore. I took a hard look at how I was spending my time and the impact it was having on me and the impact I was having on others. I wondered, “How am I operating in my personal relationships and how am I showing up professionally?” And that’s what led me to Leadership Triangle.
I reached out to folks in my network and there’s an influential guy in my network named Matt Bland that suggested Leadership Triangle. I think he’s pretty heavily involved with the Leadership Triangle group. He recommended Transforming Leaders to me. I respect him and his way of going about things. And so I took a step in this direction and then embraced everything that the Transforming Leaders program had to offer because the goals of the program represented the changes I wanted to make… I wanted to know where I was at as a leader. What are the behaviors that are working for me, not working for me, and what are better ways for me to show up and have a bigger impact? I didn’t want to be complacent.
Owen Jordan: That makes sense. And what a pivotal moment you had in your life that encouraged you to dive deeper into leadership. Why is that sort of development important in your role and department?
Omar Ali: I work in program management and so, by definition, my role is leading important initiatives that the company wants to invest time and resources in. If I’m not an effective leader at what I do, then I’m not able to get the best out of the team that I’m working with. I’m not able to clearly find where I can help the team the most. I think that’s probably been the most important part of leadership development from my perspective is no two situations are the same. My vision for leading the team before coming into the Transforming Leaders program was just being someone who speaks well and has a set of polished characteristics. But, after the program, I’ve learned to bring intentionality and my authentic style in a way that will best benefit the team. So, it’s less about what I expect from a situation and more about what the team needs to bring its best. That can show up as coaching others in their role on the team or facilitating a group to clearly define a problem we need to solve. So it’s about maximizing the impact of the team by adapting to what it needs to be successful.
Owen Jordan: How would you say Transforming Leaders impacted you in your personal life?
Omar Ali: I learned that being transparent about who I am helps others be transparent about who they are. Once we do that, we can figure out how our strengths complement one another. Where I’m not good at something someone else can step in and take charge. As a dad, I think that really bringing the human element and showing my kids that I don’t have all the answers, or that I’m sad on a particular day or whatever I do to bring my humanness makes me more relatable to them; I am not just an authority figure with decision-making rights. I have five-year-old triplets who are trying to be the best they can be. I want to encourage them in their growth. So instead of constantly correcting them, it’s probably better to model the good behavior we’d like to see and gently direct them where we’re trying to go together. So again, it’s about going towards a common goal, showing compassion, empathy, and letting go of unrealistic expectations.
Owen Jordan: That’s powerful. It sounds like leadership is a large part of the acceptance of who you are and sharing that with people so that they can accept who they are while still striving towards a common goal together with an understanding of each other.
Omar Ali: I think it makes sense to create that transparent, social, personal human connection, and develop an understanding of one another. I think we should develop empathy, compassion, and use that as a foundation of trust when working together. I think it’s been really impactful for me over the last year and a half.
Owen Jordan: What’s your dream for the Triangle?
Omar Ali: We live in a great place where we have lots of great resources, lots of creative people, lots of really smart people. And this area has a lot to offer from education to industry. My kids just started kindergarten and I feel very tied to the school and community. I want their experience to be great and I am personally invested in that not only for their benefit but for the benefit of other kids that attend their school. All of that is predicated on bringing positivity, connection, and respect. My dream for the Triangle is to have that kind of mindset prevail; we should really look at how we can create better citizenship in the region and take more ownership of what it means to be a great community. My dream is that we enrich the wellbeing and culture of our regional community together. It’s like we’re all neighbors in the same neighborhood in a way.
Owen Jordan: What’s your dream for the future of the workplace and teams in the Triangle?
Omar Ali: That’s a great question. I would say that a lot of us are having to adapt to a very different kind of environment where we have this hybrid form of work at home and/or in the office. I would like to see better tools and resources for people that are adjusting to this new lifestyle. I think that what I’ve seen happen is that everyone is inundated with responsibilities. And I don’t think that we have a firm grasp on everything that’s on people’s plates. We haven’t really shifted our expectations of what we expect from people. The change in the workplace is compounded by the change that people are constantly adjusting to in their personal lives… all of this together has led to burnout and change fatigue.
We haven’t properly assessed the world we live in right now while continuing to demand results from people. So, I would just like to see folks be a little bit more transformative in how we approach work because the answer to me isn’t just moving to Zoom or Google Meet and shifting in-person meetings to remote as an example. We need to be more intentional…when under the stressors of everyday life today, how do we approach employee engagement? How do we better factor well-being into how we manage people/work? There’s a drain on people right now that’s palpable but don’t have a clear definition of and inefficiencies in the ways we’re working because of the remote/hybrid environment that we’re not quite able to articulate. I think we have to go back and apply empathy in assessing what’s on everyone’s plate holistically and adjust the people strategies we have to properly account for the environment we work in now. I don’t think anyone has received training on how to work/deal with the changes we’re seeing so how do we address that in a way where people feel acknowledged. How do we equip leaders with the skills they need to adapt to the changing needs of the workforce?
It’s a double-edged sword because there will be short-term impacts on productivity but I firmly believe that, if done correctly, you can develop organizational resilience which will help you adapt to almost any environmental circumstances. So really, I think the problems we’re seeing now need to be looked at differently because the future of teams will be more than just skilling up talented people; it will be about how organizations are able to become more targeted, intentional, and adaptable when it comes to employee well-being.
