If a company is to survive, leadership cannot be a luxury. Leadership must be the lived embodiment of thought through action. For a company to thrive, leaders must engage, challenge, and encourage their people.
Perhaps the greatest “gift” that we have to offer as aspiring leaders of our industry is mentorship. This is a gift to those who are prepared to seize the opportunity and embrace the teaching – it is a reward and obligation for the teacher or mentor; an obligation that must be accompanied by commitment and a willingness to challenge existing thought while expanding the barriers of the possible.
Encourage people to break pencils, spill ink, and type missives that they never intend to send. Mistakes are part of growth. For the most part, the only fatal mistake is the failure to try. People will stop trying if they fear the repercussions of their effort. If people fear, they will stop thinking of ways to thrive and start thinking of ways to survive. Find the courage as a leader to encourage, show and teach your people. For me, the pulse of my purpose beats through the incremental development of those people who have chosen to spend their time and exert their efforts in the pursuit of collective betterment.
