Meet Lawrence Henderson | CEO, BOSS, LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lawrence Henderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lawrence, how do you think about risk?
This is a fun question for someone like myself. As a former U.S. Army Officer I see “risk” as being a matter of perspective. To put it plainly I think about risk in a very extreme way. To make something worth taking a risk on I weigh the risks to my life being taken, me loosing a limb, or me loosing my eye sight. See I told you it was extreme. Due to this extreme way of seeing risk I have rarely come up against something that makes me shake in my proverbial boots. The role taking risks has played out in my life has allowed me to view it as a filter and connection to doing what I was put here on earth to do. Any thing that is not aligned with my purpose means I am placing myself in harms way. Taking on my entrepreneurial journey was not a matter of thinking that I just wanted to it was in alignment with what was next for me. So quitting my job albeit scary, it paled in comparison to staying in a position that devalued who I was and what I was supposed to be doing.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets me a part is one that I have rewritten over the course of the years. What I keep coming back to is I work on the ugly things that most training and development consultants don’t want to because it is messy work. I work on the disposition of people. The Values/Beliefs, Personal Characteristics, and Attitudes of people. With an intention to support the whole person not just fixing symptoms. How I got here today is by staying true to what my work is. I tried for quite sometime to be the jack of all trades kind of consultant that wanted to fix everything. That lost its appeal very quickly. It was not easy to move down the path of what I am doing today. I can say the catalyst was my desire to be a student of leadership and lean into how doing it right or wrong could be the difference in an organization. The murder of George Floyd caused me to search deep for whether I was just going to be a number or really desire to be a champion for sustainable people and culture change. This decision to tackle Full-range Leadership and Organizational Development presents challenges in helping clients see their own role in keeping their organization stalled or not being progressive or situationally innovative due to leadership capacity or capability issues. The lessons I have learned through this process of wanting to see organizations be better is to treat each situation as a independent event. No one wants to be told they are a typical screw up, so the art is in helping a client see what they want or have the capacity to change first. Use that as the foundation to build a relationship that is nonjudgmental thus positioning me as an advisor and friend of the family. I want the world to know that inside of me is the difference between dodging the hard stuff and knowing how to navigate through it. My unique background as a Solider and Combat Leader gives me a level of calm in the face of turmoil and the storms of life. I am confidence when there is none, I am peace when chaos is all around, I am the battle business buddy organizations don’t know they need, but will be ready to serve not with an I told you so, but with open arms and a smile that communicates we got this.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The pandemic has definitely changed this list up a bit. However, if you are coming to visit me then you know we are going to eat. I always have my handy Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives app. We are going to eat at Heirloom BBQ, Thumbs UP Diner, Highland Bakery, Gabe’s, General Muir, Vortex, Beautiful Soul food, Wood Chapel BBQ, Williams Brothers BBQ, for nostalgia’s sake American Deli or Varsity. We’ll hang out at the Battery, Atlantic Station, World of Coca Cola, the Civil Rights Museum, Georgia Aquarium, College Football Hall of Fame. When the pollen is not in full take the world by force mode then the botanical gardens are a nice place to go.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As the proverb goes “it takes a village”! There are a number of people I want to acknowledge as having integral parts in who I am today. First, my wife of almost 17 years Gepre’ Henderson. Gepre, was with me during some of the darkest days of my transition from military service to praying for me as I made enormous family decisions. My community past and present include dynamic coaches and leaders like Richard Cox, Karen Hilton, Rock Anderson, Nicole Ashe, Akilah Charlemagne, Tamiko Drummond, Vincent Thomas, the late Leon Staples, Melissa D. White, Sheree Knowles, Giselle Chapman, Ginger Johnson, Thierry Myrthil, Nicholas Dillon, my brother Kenston Henderson. Books that I have consumed through the years include: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 15 invaluable laws of growth, Start with Why, 7 habits of highly effective people, The Knowing Doing Gap, Crucial Conversations, Traction, Not a Fan.

Website: https://www.bossconsultingllc.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bossllab/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhendersonleads

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bossLLAB

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bossLLAB

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Zj94IXZ9yIVyAdnKgTw9g

Image Credits
JP Visuals Gibson Family Photography Jae Productions, LLC Theo Media Pro