UK Provost Christine Riordan’s presentation at the October 7th Roundtable gave the attendees a good outline when thinking about leadership. Her suggestions:
- Lead with an eye toward excellence. I would add “in everything you do.” Whether it’s your interaction with customers on the phone, email or text, be positive, not argumentative. Don’t stretch the truth; it’ll come back to bite you. Handle complaints graciously even if you know they’re unfair or wrong. The old adage The Customer is Always Right still holds. You won’t lose if you treat the complainer with respect. I strongly believe in a win/win approach to decision-making.
- Accept that change is necessary. You can’t always anticipate the change, but it will come, so be proactive about it. Get your team or your peeps together with an attitude of “How did this change come about and what can we do about it?”
- Foresight. Consider what trends are coming down the pike. Who’s doing what in your industry? Who do you admire in your field? What are they doing and how might it affect what you do in your work?
- Resiliance and optimism pay off. Don’t fret what you did wrong; pick yourself up and try something else. Nothing works better for you than GRIT. Strength of purpose, backbone!
- Ethics and integrity are at the top of the list. Way back when I was at UK, running the Small Business Development Center network, I used to give reports and updates to the Small Business Committee of the KY Legislature. One day, Representative Ruth Ann Palumbo came over to me and said, “You do good work. Keep it up. Whatever you need, let me know.” WoW! Her recognition gave my confidence a big boost.
- Lead with Others in Mind. Ego doesn’t get you far in today’s work world. You work with others, and, if you’re supervising others, remember that your success lies in their success. If they do well, if they feel supported, they’ll make YOU successful.
More later. Stay in touch.
