Krystal Saab Chooses Authenticity at the Toughest Moment in Her Career

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With one succinct article, Krystal Saab has started a conversation that needs to be had publicly. “A Primer on What Not to Do When You Find Yourself Out of Work” is brave; Saab relays her own experience being laid off in the burgeoning cannabis industry when COVID-19 hit. It wasn’t that she was somehow failing at her job. It wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough. The company just could not afford to keep its second-highest-paid salaried employee. But it’s an experience too many people are ashamed to talk about, and it’s hurting their future job prospects.

“A lot of time, attorneys will put ‘consultant’ on their LinkedIn, and you just know what it means,” Saab says.  “The fact that someone was out of work doesn’t make me less eager to hire them. Sometimes it’s because people start families. Sometimes they’re laid off. But I believe we’re creating unrealistic expectations when we’re not honest about our experiences.”

Today, Saab is the head of legal at Omni Retail Enterprises, a company with a wide portfolio of high-profile digital retail stalwarts like Pier 1 Imports, Dressbarn, and Modell’s Sporting Goods. She’s always been attracted to people who are passionate about their work, leading to a career that includes gaming, cannabis, and digital retail. That may seem like Saab is attracted to fun, but what it actually means is that she’s attracted to challenging work that’s often highly regulated.

“I am one of those ‘Type A-plus’ people,” Saab says. Saab’s personality is legendary among her inner circle, and she knows that it’s not a pace for everyone. But for her, it’s meant she’s been able to exploit the details others overlook by being overly prepared and ready for anything.

That’s part of what makes her willingness to speak out on behalf of those in-between jobs so refreshing. Saab’s relentless attention to the little things would make one assume she could cover up her work gap very easily. Instead, she’s been willing to talk about it in hopes of normalizing an experience that most of us face at least once in our careers. Even the most prepared person in the room is caught off guard. In Saab’s case, it was a once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) pandemic, but the fact remains.

Saab’s article isn’t just a toolkit for those going through their own challenging moments. It’s a showcase for the kind of authentic leadership that makes the head of legal who she is. Saab speaks of the depression, isolation, guilt, and anxiety that being laid off brings. But she also speaks of the help she sought from her network, the focus she placed on her mental and physical health, and the reclaiming of her productivity that helped her through her trial.

That candid and relatable presence has been especially valuable in-house, the lawyer says.

“In-house, you have a much more realistic relationship with folks. And you more readily get to see the effect your work has.”

Saab came to Omni via one of its assets: Bodybuilding.com. After being promoted to oversee all the brands in Omni’s portfolio, the attorney is focused on helping Omni revitalize retail icons in the digital economy. It’s no small feat, but it’s a challenge she’s enjoyed embracing by seeing the passion those around her possess for brands that have been around for decades.

“Just about anywhere you look, you can see brands that meant a lot to people over the years that get squeezed for all they’re worth and kind of left by the wayside,” Saab says. “We’re living in an exciting time of young leaders helping revitalize these brands that really meant something to them. I’m proud to be part of that.”

The head of legal says she’s drawn to in-house leaders who bring their whole selves to their role, and it’s an approach she says she’s continuing to lean into. She’s worked with leaders who are the real deal, and she’s worked with leaders who seemed to be hiding their true self, and she’d much rather be the former.

“Authenticity is really important to me,” Saab says simply. “I’m continuing to work on this for myself. I really dive deep and build up that belief inside. I think it helps us connect and, ultimately, be better at what we do.”

Saab’s story isn’t just about corporate survival, it’s about how. We can choose the mark we leave in how we handle the worst and the best situations we encounter. Saab chose to set an example, not merely get by. We can’t pick what happens, but we can choose how we respond to adversity. Saab opened the conversation, and we need to keep having it out in the open.

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