Naomi Asher targets the ‘missing middle management’ in East Tennessee businesses
Naomi Asher, founder of The Maven Consulting LLC, helps local businesses scale their leadership development.
If you’ve spent any time in Oak Ridge’s nuclear space, you’ve seen Naomi Asher. As the long-time mic runner for the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), she’s the person ensuring critical questions are heard, with a strong sense of style and humor.
But behind the mic, Asher is solving a more systemic problem. Following a career as a powerhouse in the nonprofit sector, she has launched The Maven Consulting, LLC.
While she has been serving nonprofits, she also wants to help the scrappy, fast-growing local companies develop the leadership skills they need to survive the growing nuclear opportunities coming our way.
Why nonprofits and nuclear startups align
As an Oak Ridge native whose father worked at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), Asher sees a surprising parallel between the high-stakes world of nuclear innovation and the nonprofit sector.
“When we look at nuclear energy, it’s so similar to where I come from with nonprofits,” Asher said. “It’s so passion-driven, and it has that scrappy feel, or that feeling that you have to make it happen for a greater good.”
But “scrappy” only scales so far. As local nuclear startups transition from research to deployment, they often hit a wall in leadership. Asher identifies this as the “Middle Management Gap”. From her research, this is often seen in Department of Energy (DOE) hotspots where technical expertise is high, but formal leadership development is often done on the fly.
“Middle management in Oak Ridge and DOE hotspots is always going to be a big focus,” Asher noted. “That’s what I’m hearing over and over again about what companies need.”
This fall, Asher is launching an executive-focused cohort specifically for that middle tier.
“It’s for those who have leadership responsibility, but not at the CEO level,” she explained.
By training middle managers to lead effectively, Asher is helping companies protect their workforce talent.
“Income has very little to do with burnout after you hit a base dollar amount,” said Asher. “It’s a lack of opportunities for growth, advancement, and formal learning and development.”
Understanding a diverse workforce
As Oak Ridge draws in diverse workers from across the country due to the growing Nuclear Renaissance mission, the risk of workplace misunderstandings is expected to skyrocket. This is an issue that must be tackled proactively, as 87% of workplace conflict stems from misunderstandings.
“With the Nuclear Renaissance and East Tennessee taking the lead, we’re going to be needing a lot more people to get the job done. Hiring needs to be more open-minded. There are people out there who are great workers who maybe don’t interview the same way we’re used to,” Asher said, pointing to the need for companies to understand different mindsets and socioeconomic status.
With Maven Consulting, Asher believes she can help CEOs and HR departments overcome this.
“How do we identify the people we are overlooking? The more diverse in personality and background a team is, the more successful they will be,” said Asher.
Her goal with moving into private sector consulting is to eventually be able to provide leadership expertise to local nonprofits free of charge.
Authenticity and permission
Asher’s advice to founders: stop trying to be the “stiff” executive you think people expect and permit yourself to lead.
“I used to try to be the stereotypical ‘executive professional’. My true personality is more laid-back and witty,” she said.
Even her wardrobe choice was a lesson in permitting herself to lead authentically.
“The structured suits? Not me. When I dressed like that, I couldn’t move my arms, and I spoke with my hands. When I went back to what made me comfortable, it made a huge difference and started getting me places.”
Authenticity and the idea of permission are also at the core of her new book, Take to the Bed and Bring a Cake. The book argues that while one should permit oneself to rest, it must be purposeful.
“If you need to rest, rest. But the bottom line is, you don’t stay there,” Asher said. “You figure out: What put me here? Is it a misalignment of values? Have I worn myself ragged? It’s not a call to quit your job or make a huge life-altering decision, but it is a call to evaluate what has you wanting to take to the bed, and how to get back to your authentic self.”
Follow The Maven Consulting LLC on LinkedIn.
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