01/04/2022
What does it mean to be a good leader?
Over my years as an employee and as a boss, I have met some incredible leaders. These individuals are not always in the “management” role, but you would know that they are a leader as soon as you meet them. These are the people that you want to follow, they are always the champion of an idea, or they come up with solutions to situations that everyone else just wants to complain about. I bring this up now as I begin to write a book on leadership and what it takes to be a good leader.
I picked this topic because I have worked my entire career to be a good boss, but it took me almost having my nonprofit close its doors after 32 years of doing business to realize that being a good boss wasn’t going to cut it. I needed to be a great leader. I knew I needed help and I turned to mentoring, coaching and peer support to fully understand how to be a great leader of my organization. Even in my darkest days, I knew that I could get through this. I took that organization, which was about to “close their doors”, to a thriving sustainable organization because of perseverance, number one, but also because I gave up trying to think I knew everything and became humble enough to see that being a good boss does not mean that I was a great leader.
I have learned to lead by being courageous, empathic, a good listener, an advocate, creative, ethical, and strong. I lead now from a strengths-based approach which basically means, that I no longer listen to “problems” from my staff, but I encourage and support their ability to solve their own problems, with of course my help. I see a great leader being someone that encourages their staff to feel good about their ability to do their job and that they can solve their own problems.
As I write my book, I plan to share with you, other ways you can be a great leader. Hopefully you will feel comfortable sharing with me what you have found works for you or what you see in others in order to be a great leader in your organization.
