Recently our 20th class graduated from the Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge, and their passion and insight moved me to think about leadership from both the individual and the collective perspective. I’d like to challenge each of you as alumnae of this great experience to make the decision now to continue down your leadership path in the coming year.
This may be about being passionate and committed to a cause, whether in your work or in your community and volunteer activities. At our St. Louis session, Gina Hoagland of Development Strategies visited with us at the Monsanto reception about how being passionate about our work leads to success. She encouraged us to take ownership in our work, to make sure that our ideas are actionable, investable, and fundable in contributing to the triple bottom line of any organization.
You undoubtedly have experienced a variety of leadership styles in your career. What have you learned from the stories of others? Karen Foss of Ameren inspired us to learn from the words, actions, and mistakes of others, but to truly decide to “be where you want to be.” Get out in front, inspire others, initiate change, be willing to be first, but be sure that you are moving in a meaningful direction, was her message. Ask yourself why you want to be a leader. Are your reasons authentic? Leadership is in the decisions you make within yourself, in those decisions you make when no one is looking, and what you are doing that no one will ever know about.
In answer to their final challenge, the class of 2010 replied with the development of a series of initiatives. They elected a class president, created a “Reunion with a Purpose” to take place in 2011, and decided to work with me to identify and unite the alumnae of the past 20 years of GM. Look for more great news to come from this dynamic group of leaders! I applaud their idea to use smaller regional “collaborative circles” of women across all classes to engage in a conversation to develop momentum within the alumnae of the program.
In my years as a business owner, I learned that building a team by focusing on individual strengths is a powerful method of leadership. And so I would encourage you to learn more about your own strengths and leadership style, and set your individual goals appropriately. (One of my favorite strengths-based tests is found in Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath. I had my entire staff take this test and we put together a team matrix.) One of the members of the 2010 class decided that she wants to be a member of the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators, another said she wants to anonymously fund a GMLC scholarship from a specific institution, and another approached me with the goal to become a member of the board of directors of a foundation. Whatever you decide for your 2011 goals, please let me know if I can help you. I look forward to working with all of you as passionate members of Greater Missouri’s alumnae volunteer network.
We are still accepting applications for the 2011 GMLC Class. Please let me know if you would like to nominate a worthy candidate for our Challenge!
Sincerely,
Shelley Simon