Photos courtesy of Dr. Stanley Harris

by Steve Sears

Dr. Stanley E. Harris, MD, MA of Wayne, has released a first book titled The People Value Proposition: See One, Do One, Teach One….Lead.

The book, which describes Harris’s personal leadership journey and offers key advice and principles to those who are aspiring to be a leader, currently ascending that ladder, or have reached the top rung, was published in April 2022.

Writing the book, Harris says, was on his mind for a few years. “I think it would be fair to say that the beginnings of it, in terms of thinking of communicating something to people that I was experiencing, began when I received my master’s degree in Organizational Communication and Leadership,” he says. “Because then I began doing presentations on various topics that I thought were related to communicating within an organization and to leadership. The book really began to materialize as I thought about putting together the multiple presentations that I had done.”

As his work commenced and continued, Harris also realized that there were other components he had to research and add to his volume. He explains. “I think that as it began to evolve, I wanted it to be a story that many people could relate to, that leaders don’t start at the top of an organization unless you’re inheriting a business and you are automatically made the person in charge. I thought those kinds of things, and my own personal experience along the way, might be helpful to people to understand that. It’s something that you have to work at, that there are many pieces along the way in your life that contribute to your ability to lead and to simply communicate effectively with people.”

Harris devised his book’s title the following way. “You are only a leader if there are people who are willing to follow you, and a true leader is one who is constantly looking to make the people that they lead better, to try and enable them to reach their full potential. And that is how I got to the concept of the ‘people value proposition.’”

Harris, a former Senior Medical Director at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey who is active on the Marist University Board of Trustees, has included a variety of chapters which detail leadership in both life and business, such as “Defining The Leader You Want To Become,” “The Power of Empathy,” “Motivation,” and he even includes a chapter on leadership during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and health inequities and world response to systemic racism and racial injustice. 

Harris states that, to be a leader, you don’t have to be a bully. In fact, the opposite is true. “First of all, there’s a difference between motivation and intimidation,” Harris says. “If you’re beating someone over the head, and if you are threatening or frightening them, that is not really motivating. It’s intimidating. Secondly, in the book, I quote Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Quiet leadership’ is not an oxymoron.’ If you think about that, it means that you do not have to be an ogre in terms of the way you relate to the people you lead and still be effective. And I think Gandhi certainly illustrated that point where he was able to inspire, motivate, and move millions of people by his actions.” He also says that properly connecting with others is very important. “If you want to communicate effectively with others, you have to connect with them. That’s why I talk about engaging, and I talk about empathy. If you’re wanting to engage someone, I say one of the simplest things you can do is begin with a smile. Once you can connect, you have the opportunity to communicate. And when you can communicate, then you can direct, and once you are able to provide direction, you then have the opportunity of progressing in whatever you’re doing and moving forward.”

Thus far, Harris has found that The People Value Proposition: See One, Do One, Teach One….Lead has been well received. “If you look at the endorsements that are at the beginning of the book, you see that there are people who see that there is true value for this, and something that is relevant to leaders in multiple fields beyond that of being a physician or healthcare. Secondly, I’ve had feedback from individuals such as teachers who thought this book should be something that all people who are interested in leading should read. So, the initial, limited feedback from people has been positive.”

The People Value Proposition: See One, Do One, Teach One….Lead is available at Amazon.com and BN.com.