Welcome to Forum 360.

I'm your host, Leia’ Love.

Where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Today I am so excited because we are going to talk with Miss Ramona Hood about delivering success.

She is a top business executive, an innovator, and the first African-American to lead Fedex.

So thank you for joining us today.

- Thank you for having me.

I'm excited to be here.

- Oh, I can't wait to learn all of our leadership lessons that she's going to teach us today.

So let's back up and go into kind of what got you on to your path.

Are you from Akron?

What really got you into Fedex as a starting point?

- Yeah, so I am born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and my entryway to Fedex was really by accident.

I was a 19 year old single mom, and my family said, “Listen, if you find a job that has consistent hours.” My grandmother actually said, “I will watch your daughter while you also go back to school.” And they had a job opening for a receptionist.

At the time, the company was Roberts Express.

And although I had never been a receptionist, I was like, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, it sounded like a perfect match.

And I applied and got the job, and that was September of 1991.

- So how did you work your way up from receptionist?

- You know, one of the things that I credit the organization with is really promoting an opportunity of learning from within and getting opportunities and projects.

I found myself doing the receptionist job for about a year.

They had a job opening in the safety and compliance department, and I applied there.

And within a couple of years, I had my first mentor, someone who looked at my work and thought I had a lot of potential and wanted to talk to me about it.

And that conversation just, I would say, opened up a pathway for me of, basically doing whatever I wanted to do.

And having unlimited possibilities.

And so from that, I really did begin to get pretty intentional with my career.

Really with three areas of it.

One was being ready to articulate what I wanted to do.

And at that time, I knew I got joy from helping others.

Rather it was showing them how to understand a process or developing and coaching in the job that they were doing.

I also felt it was important that I had individuals around me that could support me like coaches, mentors, and sponsors.

And got pretty intentional and purposeful with navigating that along my career.

And then the third thing was getting comfortable with the uncomfortable.

And so taking on some of those high level projects, as well as going into positions that would stretch me.

And maybe I was walking into it and walking out of a position that was very comfortable because I was confident in it.

Into learning and doing something differently.

- So you mentioned a mentor, and I hear the word sponsor.

Is there a difference between the two of those, and how can one go about that process?

Because I feel like some people are like, “I don't know, do I just come up and say, hey, I want to be my mentor?” - Well, you know, I do define them differently and I think about it as, really three different roles to help shape, you and your development.

One is a coach.

And a coach is very specific.

They're focusing on a specific area that you want to shore up.

I look at a mentor as someone who's been in the same role that you've been in.

They kind of know what it takes to get to where you want to go.

And they're a great person to give you insight from that perspective.

A sponsor is someone who has power and authority more so than what you have.

And so what they have the ability to do is really open up doors and opportunities for you.

They're maybe introducing you to individuals and getting you exposure to people and projects that you normally wouldn't have that exposure to.

And so, I've read a lot of information around sponsors that really speak to women in particularly not having sponsors.

And so I think it is really important for women to understand the value of a sponsor and the importance of having one.

And I've been fortunate enough in my career to have both mentors and sponsors within the organization.

- Amazing.

So what challenges did you have along the way?

And I'm sure you've had a lot, but what would be some of the challenges that people could prepare for as they ascend to elevate up to lead a company, an organization?

- Yeah.

You know, I think a couple challenges I would share.

The very first one was one in leadership and it was a front line leadership position.

And I was a single mom, and I found that there is the work that you do in the office, and then there is the work that is expected out of the office.

Maybe it's a dinner or something of that nature.

And I actually had peers that would make comments about me needing to leave early because I would need to, you know, put my kids to bed or whatever the case may be.

And that wasn't the case.

I had good family networks to help support me.

And it was clear in my family that I also had goals around a career.

And I knew that important conversations happened in those different settings and wanted to be there.

And so almost this, if you will, I'm going to say unconscious bias around the gender of women and the time and the commitment that they can give versus their counterparts.

I certainly experienced that early on in my career.

As my career continued to progress, I would say, you know, at a certain point in your career, I think everyone gets a little bit of the inner critic, where you start to doubt yourself.

For me, that happened in a senior role.

I was on the executive team.

And as I looked around to my peers that, no one looked like me.

More so no one was Black on the executive leadership team except for myself.

And it started to create this self-doubt.

Like, am I worthy to be at this table helping to shape decisions that would impact the entire organization?

And the solution to that was, again, I was fortunate.

I had a sponsor who I shared that situation with, and although they didn't have a remedy for me or a solution, they did actually introduce me to someone outside of our organization who ran their own business, who looked like me.

And as I started to meet that person and get to know them and see their authentic way of leading, it made me feel more comfortable about who I was.

And it allowed me to really, in the executive leadership meetings, give my full self without that inner critic doubting my thoughts and my opinions also.

- So you mentioned, with the the unconscious bias that some may have.

How can one handle a situation like that if they're at a business meeting and someone makes a comment or something like that?

How would you have handled that differently?

- Yeah.

Well, you know, in that particular situation, it was interesting because there was the assumption that I needed to leave and that was incorrect.

And I shared at that time with them, I was like, “No, I'm here for as long as the after meeting will happen.

I'll be here.” You know, when I think about it now and how I've handled other situations, I've had situations where I've been told that I am articulate.

And I'm in a place where now I'm very curious what would make someone give that as a compliment?

And it's something I would ask someone.

You know, what would make you give me that particular compliment?

And would you give that compliment to someone that didn't look like me?

And a lot of times it's been eye opening to the individual where they thought they were giving a compliment, and then they realized they don't give people that compliment, unless maybe they're African-American.

And so they had a better awareness moving forward.

And so I think, you know, a little grace, but also helping to understand why people say what they say or, mean what they mean.

I think it's helpful for them and for at least for me, it was.

- So the definition of leadership, has that evolved over the years for you?

And what does that look like from when you started to now?

- Yeah.

You know, when we talk about leadership, I think there's informal leadership as well as formal leadership.

You gain leadership with a title, right?

But you also informally can lead people.

And so I did see early on in my career a couple of things.

One, me having the ability of informally leading people, where I was in a peer role, and I would be comfortable with coaching individuals and leading them to really bring out the best in them.

And individuals responded to it.

And I think it's one of the things that excited me about being in leadership.

I think what I've seen with the evolvement of leadership and it really evolves as your responsibility expands.

It's not maybe a team of ten direct people.

But now, you know, you're talking about 500 indirect people, and it's also about leading around decisions and processes that will impact an entire organization.

And the people that, not only work in the area, but the people you're serving as well.

And so recognizing the importance of the decisions that you're making is a piece that I've really seen evolve with leadership as well.

- Were there any organizations or resources that you felt were critical in that development?

- Yeah, I think it's so important to be a lifelong learner.

And, for me, throughout my career, there were different things that helped.

Spending, you know, 33 years in an industry that is predominantly a male dominated.

I really wanted to make sure in every position and role that I had, that I not only demonstrated competency, but I had, you know, results to back it up as well.

Or as the younger kids say, receipts to it.

And so, what I did is always make sure I was learning things.

So I remember the first time I had the responsibility of a PnL with that profit and loss statement.

Not only did I want to understand ours, but I wanted to understand what was going on in the industry.

And at a much macro space, just, you know, in the world, in different industries as well.

And so I would start listening to earnings calls of other public companies, and that insight would let me know what things may be going on in our industry.

What things we were experiencing that was specific to us.

But it provided really great insight for me.

And a better learning of our PnL.

I'm a person who— I'm a reader, so I would read articles that would help me that were industry specific as well.

Or just what was going on in the economy.

And once podcast came out, that was a great way once I, you know, were traveling on a plane, I could listen to a couple podcasts and get updated on information.

So I just think it's really important in every role that we have that we have a pulse on it when we think about, you know, technology and how even the role you're in, you can be in the same role for five years, but it evolves because of what's going on around it and the technologies and the capabilities associated with it.

And so investing in education, both from a formal perspective and then a practical way I think is really important.

- And if you are just tuning in, we are talking to Miss Ramona Hood about delivering success and leadership principles for success.

So let's get to... your board serving.

Tell me, for those who would like to get involved in serving on boards.

And in that indirect leadership capacity, what would be some of the things that they would need to do prior to joining a board?

- Yeah.

And I'll talk about board readiness in both the not for profit space as well as in the for profit space.

I'll start with the not for profit space.

Typically, in that space, when you have, time, and talent and even treasure, you have to realize that typically in a not for profit board, they expect all of their boards to provide some type of, charitable contribution to them.

And you have a level of passion for a particular area.

That's a great way to join a board.

And I remember early on in my career, I was looking to join a board.

I felt at that point I had all of those things.

But it's almost like finding a job to some degree.

And I started to have conversations with individuals about my interests.

And for me, there were three things that I was interested in.

Education was really important.

Certainly it's something that changed my life.

Women and leadership was another area that was important to me.

And then also, focusing on health disparity and trying to close some of those gaps.

And so my first board was a business advisory board for the Akron Public school system.

And I’ll share a story, because this is a piece of, like, when you want something, the effort you have to go to get it as well.

I did not, I was not connected with the not for profit sector.

And I'm dating myself because I picked up the paper and I see an individual receiving the Athena award.

It was Theresa Carter.

I did not know her at the time.

And I look at it, I was like, “She looks nice.” And literally I looked up the phone number for her company and called the next day.

And her receptionist actually passed me through to Theresa, and I shared with her, you know, I read that she received that award and I wanted to congratulate her and she would be a great person to talk to you about, you know, nonprofit boards and serving in that capacity.

And we ended up having coffee together.

And later on, I'd say later that year or maybe, maybe about 14 months later, I was asked to join the Akron Public School Advisory Board.

Now Theresa was on it.

But the chair of the board was a different gentleman who had reached out to me.

And so that's how I joined that board.

But to get ready, I think it's one, putting together a board file, to show and demonstrate what you're going to bring to the board.

What level of leadership and expertise that you have that a particular board would be able to benefit from it?

The second piece is to really network with individuals to let them know that you're looking for board, what boards of interest you may have.

And then continue that network.

And sometimes it's not directly on the board.

It may be supporting that board through like a fundraiser or committee.

But all of those steps ensure that you're getting board ready for that opportunity as well.

So that's on the not for profit side.

And then on the for profit side, this is something that I, I remember doing my executive MBA.

And we actually had a class that was around corporate governance, and we talked a lot about the board of directors.

And I was like, “Huh, so these are individuals that are serving for the public companies that are meeting four times a year to talk through strategy and functional areas and including governance.” But I really didn't know a lot more than that at that time.

And so I started to explore it and was really interested in that and actually thought this could be my second career, a portfolio of corporate boards.

And so to get ready for that, I did a couple things there.

Theres, most boards are looking for C-suites.

They're also looking for specific technical background, especially like a CFO is something that's really looked for.

And once I was in a C-suite position, I then did a board readiness with, Deloitte had a woman board readiness class that I did that was about a six months to nine month class.

And what it did is really walk you through the process so you had a better understanding of the interview process, how those positions came about.

The majority of them, over 60% are word of mouth.

So it's the directors that are on them that are identifying individuals.

And then, the other 40% come from some of the larger headhunters that are working to fill those positions.

And so I took the approach the same, really focused on getting board ready, getting a board bio, which is different than what your work bio would look like.

And Deloitte was great in helping with that.

I did a draft.

They gave me feedback on it.

And then opportunities started to come my way for that.

Some of it was timing driven.

I joined my first board in early 21, but it was 2020 when I started to get calls about it.

And for me, it was really finding a board that wasn't trying to be prescriptive because of the racial uncertainty that had happened in the injustice with the murder of George Floyd.

But really finding a board that had a really good fit and were really looking for my skill sets and talent.

And I was able to find a board that had diversity.

- So this is only just a couple of years ago, you were just getting into corporate.

- Yes.

- Okay.

- Yes, yes.

So, my very first one was in 21.

- Okay.

Since that, since then, I've expanded my board portfolio.

I serve on the Federal Reserve Bank of the Forest District, as well as an early stage technology company in the space of supply chain.

It's Venture Capital-backed, private company.

I joined their board last year.

And so that is a space for me as I think about, you know, my next chapter, having a portfolio of boards that allow me to, again, contribute to the organization and support their governance as well.

- That's amazing.

Were there any other places that you found for a prep other than Deloitte that you considered a good resource?

- Yeah, there are probably a handful of other organizations that do board readiness.

Some of them have a fee associated with it.

Deloitte, which, Deloitte does it across the U.S.. I happened to do the one in Cleveland, and it was And for me, with the timing of everything, it worked well.

But, there's organizations like, National Association of Corporate Directors where you can get certifications as well as part of your board readiness.

- Perfect.

Okay, so I want to get a couple more of your leadership lessons.

So did you develop any non-negotiable habits or disciplines that you felt like they kept you sharp as a leader?

They kept you driven.

They kept you on the path where you were trying to go?

- Yeah.

I think most of them either shifted or changed depending on the role that I was in.

But there's some personal non-negotiables that I think always helped me.

And those are, I'm an early morning person.

And the first thing I like to do is read devotion and the second is, workout.

Not because I like to work out, but I do like to eat.

And so I find those things first thing in the morning.

They free my brain.

I don't have a lot of things going on up there.

I don't read email before either of those take place.

And it just allows me to start today in a very fresh space.

And I like to do that every day.

- I was listening to someone and she said, “You can't control your day, but you can control your morning.” And she was like, “Get those two things done and you'll be okay the rest of the day.” - Yeah, it's, you know, I've taken a twist to it.

I've been retired for a year and a half now.

And so my mornings can also be slower than what they were before.

And, several months ago, I found myself, I did that, I worked out, and I'm drinking a cup of coffee and nothing else.

And I looked down at the clock on my phone and I was like, “I have just had a cup of coffee for 25 to 30 minutes and did nothing else.” I don't think I've ever done that in my life.

And so of course, my type A personality, the next day I like set a timer.

I'm like, “I'm going to do that again.” It did not work that way.

But, yeah, I think there's something about being able to control your mornings.

And even when my daughters were small, that waking up and no one else being awake, and having that quiet morning really made a difference to the chaos that was going to start any moment.

- Okay, so speaking of retirement, how did you know?

And how can someone know it's time to transition when you make that step, what did that really look like?

And did you already have that in mind, or was it like, we just got to the point, and this is where I realized it was time for me to transition to my next phase.

- Yeah, there were two things.

So my long term goal always was to retire at 55.

So much so that, you know, financially, I was planning to make that happen.

And so I remember with my financial advisor, like in my early 30s, they do modeling and they're like, no, your chances like 20%.

And in the model they're like, I want to push out the age.

I was like, “I don’t want it in the universe.” Like, you tell me what I need to do to get to that number, but I don't want the modeling to go further out.

Because I really believe in what you manifest and what you say.

Those are the things that are going to happen.

And so that was a piece of it.

Financially preparing and planning.

I actually retired at 52?

- Oh, wow.

- Yeah, I had to remember how old am I?

I'm 53.

So a year and a half ago, I could have been 51.

So a little bit earlier than the 55.

And I would say there were some signs that said, now is the time.

The first was, doing some of the work that I was doing and really feeling like, I was dealing with individuals I didn't want to deal with.

And I remember after a meeting reaching out to my financial advisor and I said, “Okay, you've told me at 55, I can do it.

Can you run the modeling and let me know if there's an age sooner than that?” And she came back and she’s like, “You can retire now.” - Okay.

- And so that just gave me a different boost, if you will, for future meetings with that individual.

And so our work weren't co-mingled for much longer than that.

And so it was about a year after that where I was like, “It's time.” And I will tell you, 2020 felt like seven years.

I mean, it felt like dog years.

And so I thought, you know, I have the financial means, I have the physical ability to go out and do something else as well.

And I'm going to do that.

And I got really good advice that first year to say no to anything new.

- Okay.

- And I did that.

And what that really allowed me to do is be pretty clear and thoughtful on, what do I want to do?

You have the freedom of time and so how do you want to spend that time?

And so really kind of shaping what that looked like.

And from that evolved a couple things.

One, my business Aphthonia, which really focuses on abundance and bringing the best out in people.

And I do that two different ways, one through motivational speaking, and doing keynote.

And the second is through coaching individuals or teams around their strategy, their execution, and their development individually and collectively.

And so, that was a place where I was like, “I can pick and choose, my clients.” It's work that I truly believe in.

And also I can further build out a board portfolio.

- I can talk to you all day.

I have so many more questions.

But that is our time for today.

I hope you are able to gain some leadership experience.

You gave a lot of nuggets of things that we can take and practically implement.

And I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week.

My name is Leia’ Love.

This is Forum 360 where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Thank you.

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