Where Do You See Leadership Today?
Posted: September 9, 2009, 09:15 AM by Leslie Grossman
Yesterday, I noticed leadership all around me. Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat on the Supreme Court. President Obama gave an inspiring speech to school children. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Eikenberry told President Karzai not to declare victory without certification among rumors of vote-rigging. But perhaps the most striking examples of leadership I experienced yesterday was in the "Anatomy of Leadership" class I was invited to attend at the College of Westchester in White Plains, NY. The story of how I happened to attend this class is quite interesting. Last Saturday I went to my local Apple Store to purchase a few items and check out my MacBook Pro that got damaged with my travel to WLE conferences. I was immediately welcomed to the store by Mike Blank, a Lead Specialist. Upon examining my laptop, he noticed the www.womensleadershipexchange.com home page. "Is this what you do?" he asked. I explained briefly that I was cofounder of WLE. "Wow," he said, "You should be teaching a class at my college." I was taken aback by his comment, because I've been talking a lot to my family and friends about my interest in teaching college students. Had Mike read my mind? Before I knew it, not only had I made my purchases and received advice on my laptop, but I was invited to attend Mike's leadership class, which he obviously enjoyed taking. Last night was quite an exciting evening. I met Mike outside the college. and from that moment on, I knew I was in the company of a leader. He introduced me to practically everyone who crossed our path, making me feel comfortable, and showing me that he was known and respected. He even introduced me to the Dean as a prospective teacher. Once inside the class, I met the teacher Charlotte Ramsey, an impressive lawyer, who showed tremendous respect for her students. It was obvious she was a true leader. But the biggest impression to me were the students, a few already leaders like Mike, others leaders-to-be. I was fortunate to witness them giving presentations about people who they viewed as leaders, and how they exemplified the leadership qualities they had studied. The students were diverse in every way - age, gender, ethnic background. Most were excited, and even moved, by their leadership role models. I learned a lot last night from the students. We can change our world for the better, when we take the time to notice and recognize not only the Sonia Sotomayor's of the world, but the Mike Blank's, the Charlotte Ramsey's, and all the other so-called "ordinary people" who are leaders and are all around us. Last night, I was a student, too. I learned that to acknowledge the leaders in your life, and recognize their qualities, is to become a better leader. I'll be noticing leadership today. Will you?..............Leslie Grossman, Cofounder, Women's Leadership Exchange
Reader Comments
Posted: January 5, 2010, 12:54 PM by Thanh
This is a great little story. I like reminers of everyday activities and positive stories about people's good examples.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanh
Posted: December 21, 2009, 04:38 AM by David
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Posted: September 9, 2009, 01:19 PM by Susan Colantuono
Leslie, what a wonderful story of how the universe provides and how inspiring to look for leaders all around us.
In my new book, No Ceiling, No Walls: What women haven't been told about leadership from career-start to the corporate boardroom, I tell the story of Helen. Helen persisted over 7 years in trying to get management to pay attention to a billing flaw in the medical clinic where she worked. She meets my definition of leadership because she was "using the greatness in <her> to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others." When her personal persistence finally paid off, she engaged others to resolve the problem and achieved this amazing outcome: $250K added revenue in the first month...and added revenue for each subsequent month!
I tell Helen's story because she is an example of a leader at the individual contributor level and her story offers several lessons to managers and executives in organizations. First that leadership exists at every level in an organization (not to mention in many places outside!), second that if you know what leadership it's easy to recognize leaders and third that identifying leaders enables them to be developed for additional responsibilities.
Looking around us for leaders, those who use their personal greatness to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others, is a worthy endeavor today...and every day! Thanks for the reminder.
Lead ON!Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls (Dec 2009). She blogs on networking for PINK Magazine. Follow her on Twitter (@LeadingWomen).
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