2007 SLC Blog

Am very curious to see how this morning's leadership general session will go. Have found that many books and lectures on leadership muse on the qualities, a little on the behaviours associated with, and much on the failure of leadership... but to what end?

What really affects our day-to-day actions? Helps us to express our shared values in every action? Makes us more likely to take the necessary risks? Stimulates us to mentor and coach joyfully, day after day? Rolls up our sleeves when it's time to just get something done? Pauses us... so we can think and dream when dreams are urgently needed? Takes our hand and helps us gently press another into limelight because their voice is important to the goal?

I will keep my ears open this morning for a mention of leaders in unexpected places. That embodying our shared values and goals, for example, means that every individual working and volunteering for United Way has participated in the process of community engagement.

Some day, I would love to know that everyone who calls themselves a part of their United Way has served on a Vision Council, been there when community leaders convened, educated themselves on a community investment goal important to them and talked to a neighbor about it, led an agency visit, offered a personal insight to the community investment folks on a program strategy, metric, implementation challenge. Everyone… the board chair, finance staff, fundraisers, audit committee members, office managers, marketing geniuses, campaign chair, program officers… you get the idea.

Ok. Off the soap box!

[What do you call the box you stand on when you’re listening instead of speechifying?]