dership is a hands-on activity. It is valuable to read about and learn from those leaders who have preceded us, but you become a leader when you act as one, and not before.
You become a better leader by action, not study.
I participate in a workplace leadership committee with my local Chamber of Commerce where we are chartered with the mission to bring best practices to our Chamber members-at-large. The monthly meetings are exciting since the participants are all interested in leading edge ideas, personal growth, inspiration and helping others become better leaders.
At our recent meetings, I noticed that many great ideas flowed within the committee; but, I wondered if any of these ideas were relevant to the general membership. By relevant I mean: did the member companies understand the workplace leadership attitudes and needs of their employees; and, were they taking any actions to address them. If leadership is action, then our committee discussions are meaningless unless we, as better leaders, translate into action the ideas shared at our meetings.
As chairman for this year, I am called to lead. To me, a call to lead means: observe the situation, identify an improvement opportunity, create an action plan, and implement. So this is what I did, to become a better leader.
Observation: I have sensed that few if any companies are taking positive actions to mitigate the workplace effects of the most recent economic problems, or have a strategy for handling the dynamics of their personnel changes when growth begins again. It seems that they are exhausted dealing with the trauma of the past few years and are mystified as to when and how the business environment will improve. In essence, they do not have a good grip on their own company situation. Their better leaders know this too.
Improvement Opportunity: I believe these companies need to become better informed about their workplace. They should obtain an accurate assessment
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