Fara Haron of Majorel: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Be open and seek out different perspectives and experiences — Do not work in a silo. Diverse perspectives are crucial to the success of businesses and one of the greatest advantages given to executive leadership is the ability to seek insight from diverse teams. Failing to make diversifying teams a focus could directly impact business success and team morale.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Fara Haron of Majorel.

Fara Haron, Regional CEO North America, Ireland, South East Asia, United Kingdom, Kenya & India, EVP Global Clients, Segment Head Global English, Middle East & South East Asia (GEMS).

Fara Haron is the CEO North America, Ireland, Southeast Asia, United Kingdom, Kenya, and India & EVP Global Clients at Majorel. She leads a rapidly growing team of customer service professionals helping companies with their global customer service strategy, providing top-notch customer engagement to some of the world’s largest and most respected brands.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I was born in Austria, but lived in a variety of places, including Russia, Poland, Australia, Malaysia, and Argentina. Due to my dad’s job as a diplomat, I had the privilege to travel extensively. Today I am living in Canada.

I ended up in this career field by chance, but it is a testament to my philosophy of taking opportunities as they present themselves. When I was younger, my parents gave me two career options: medicine or finance. At first, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, but once I realized how long the process was, I chose the finance route — eventually graduating with a major in accounting. From that point, my resume ended up on the consulting side of a finance firm, which I had never thought about, but it was so much more exciting than accounting. My career developed from there, and I learned about the customer service space and am now in my current role with Majorel.

As an executive leader, I encourage people often to be flexible and adaptable — something I credit my nomadic childhood to — and to take opportunities as they arise, whether or not it was something you had considered before. Both personally and professionally, I do not believe in creating barriers for myself and if I had done that in terms of career options, I would be either a doctor or an accountant right now. Though neither of those are negative options, it is proof that flexibility is vital to our careers and eventual leadership styles. I am where I am today because I was adaptable to different career paths.

Taking a risk and finding aspects of a job that are fulfilling is important. Sometimes ending up in a job that you never thought you would be in can be exciting and lead to many different opportunities.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?

I think the last 18+ months have been uncertain for many people. At the beginning of the pandemic, Majorel was faced with numerous challenges, and we did not always have the answers. During that time, it was critical for me to be available to support my team in any way possible, from helping to solve an issue or to simply listen. It was important to not let any situation get to a stage where it was too overwhelming and adding some structured intentional meetings helped provide stability and calmness during a chaotic situation.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

Building off my previous example of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical for leaders to support their teams during challenging times and to provide understanding and flexibility. It’s also critical for leaders to set an example for the rest of the team, to promote understanding and empathy, and realize how approaching leadership with flexibility can inspire a team.

During the past few years, leaders have had to evolve and change the way their team functions, the way they communicate and manage their expectations and those of their team. One part of this is also realizing that work can be completed without being 100 percent perfect all the time.

When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?

One thing I try and live by is to not create barriers for myself. Even in challenging times, it can be difficult to step outside of the box and not underrate yourself or allow yourself to become overwhelmed. It’s important to encourage those around you to take that jump and trust themselves; to not create barriers.

Another way you can empower and motivate a team is to foster a sense of community and teamwork. Also, focus on building true relationships with people. This will ultimately inspire people to work hard for each other and the rest of the team to overcome tough problems and situations together.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

The best way to communicate difficult news is to be honest and choose a direct channel of communication where feedback and questions can be addressed. One of the most challenging things I had to communicate was that over 400 people would be losing their jobs due to a change in a client’s strategy. It was an extremely difficult message since everyone was doing a great job. I navigated this situation by communicating directly to those individuals and found a way to support new career opportunities by making myself available on an individual basis to whoever wanted to discuss options. Being direct, supportive, and personal can make a big difference.

Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Be open and seek out different perspectives and experiences — Do not work in a silo. Diverse perspectives are crucial to the success of businesses and one of the greatest advantages given to executive leadership is the ability to seek insight from diverse teams. Failing to make diversifying teams a focus could directly impact business success and team morale.
2. Lead with empathy — talk less and listen more — As an executive leader, I approach any team issue by letting others speak first and share their opinions. This allows me to see the bigger picture of a team’s opinions and how pain points can be solved — finally determining what course of action would be most impactful and cohesive.
3. Acknowledge that showing emotion does not have to be negative — The events of the past few years have forced many workplaces to acknowledge how events on a national and global scale impact employee emotional and mental health. I believe leaders can find that showing some level of emotion and humanity can inspire a team. It is a balance, and you should still respect business etiquette, but showing emotion is not automatically negative.
4. Be adaptable and flexible — I’ve touched on this a little bit already, but it deserves to be repeated. At work, roles individuals have traditionally filled have changed and become more flexible. The perfect example is remote work. As leaders, we can’t be afraid to redefine the standards. Lead with understanding and flexibility. Your employees’ work and personal lives have blended and that level of humanity and understanding of where individuals are coming from can bring better results.
5. Treat people as unique individuals, not just employees — As I said previously, it’s good practice to make yourself available to your team for professional mentorship and a listening ear. When I approach a mentorship situation, I try to set the goal of helping employees work through solutions on their own, versus the mindset of “I’m imparting knowledge.” When employees are struggling, listen to them and give them a chance to express what they need. From there, work towards a plausible solution and how it can be executed.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I remember a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that said “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” This quote certainly resonated with me. I truly believe that it’s each of our own responsibilities to make the best of whatever comes our way, instead of waiting for something else or someone else to do it for you.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!