LEADING INTO THE FUTURE
Leadership in Economic Development: A Look at Servant Leadership: In his 1970 classic essay, The Servant as Leader, Robert Greenleaf introduced the term “servant-leader” and, in doing so, launched one of the most impactful and ageless conversations regarding leadership. To put it simply, leaders who believe in the principles of servant leadership broadly answer the “leadership for what” question with the basic response that leadership exists to serve – period. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Going from Good to Great: Not only do few organizations achieve greatness, few seek to achieve greatness, wrote Jim Collins in his masterpiece Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t. Why? Because “good is the enemy of great,” he boldly challenges. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: On the Line: Leadership is nothing short of a daunting undertaking.
It means bearing responsibility for those who have entrusted us to serve them. It means making tough decisions with less than perfect information, and often during times of discomfort or in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. It also means putting ourselves “out there” to be dependent on, and subject to, the world around us. In Leadership on the Line, Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linksy discuss how exercising leadership is an improvational art. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Getting to Peace: We humans are, by nature, distinctive in our interests, priorities, histories, and sociocultural experiences, all of which shape how we see and communicate with each other. While this diversity is perhaps the most beautiful aspect of our human condition, it can also be our most challenging aspect in achieving peace with each other. In Getting to Peace: Transforming Conflict at Home, at Work, and in the World, William Ury provides helpful guidance. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Why Confidence Matters: As many leadership experts point out, our ability to raise up successful leaders is an essential duty in our calling to serve. That is, when serving as a leader, it’s not about us. Rather, it’s about those we have been privileged to influence. How do we do raise up leaders? In Confidence, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, says we do this when we feel and exude confidence in others. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Fostering Change: Whether we’re talking about an organization or community, helping people truly connect with each other is essential for such groupings to reach their potential. This connectedness is what inspires people to work together for a better future. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell speaks to the importance of building community. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Start With Why: For successful economic development leaders, serving in our profession is all about fulfilling a special call in their lives, and they are magnetic in attracting others to join them in this call. They not only inspire others to follow; they inspire others into doing work they love, and therefore find meaningful. How do they make this happen? In the words of Simon Sinek, these leaders start with why. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: It's About Credibility: So how do we lead others in today’s turbulent times? How do we provide leadership that others will want to follow? In Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner discuss how we can all contribute to the renewal of mutual trust and understanding among leaders and those who follow them. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Developing the Leaders Around Us: In our respective journeys, we have each been blessed with one or more special people who have had a profound influence on shaping who we are and why we do what we do. Likewise, we have each had the privilege of serving as such people in the lives of others. As leadership expert John C. Maxwell points out, even the most introverted among us will influence ten thousand other people. Click here to read more.
Leadership in Economic Development: Trust and Inspire: “The only thing to expect in life is the unexpected,” a local leader once said to me many years ago. There is no doubt that the last few years have been marked with the unexpected—whether we’re talking about how we serve, what we do, or who we work with. And while our surrounding environment continues to evolve and even disrupt, there is an ever-pervasive call for all of us to continually adapt in our leadership as we seek to improve the human condition in the world around us. Click here to read more.
Photo by Joy Wilkins, Grand Canyon, February 5, 2024