A couple weeks ago I attended the Associated General Contractors' (AGC California) Executive Leadership Development conference and it really made me think about the fundamentals of success. I've been to plenty of workshops and conferences in previous years, and to be perfectly honest, I was expecting the usual - cookie-cutter speaker line-up, mediocre continental breakfast and networking with industry executives. But this one was different...it even felt different being there. Aside from the backdrop (Pepperdine University overlooking Malibu!), something about this conference struck a chord with me.
Over the course of three days, we examined the basic assumptions of leadership and identified the differences between "leaders" and "managers" - although it seems glaringly obvious that not every "boss" has the traits or capabilities (nor desire) to be a leader, it was interesting to see just how strong and impactful a person's mere drive toward leadership can be. It's true that not everyone is born to lead, but it is comforting to know that with positive channeling through effective motivation, each person then has the capacity to lead in some fashion.
Something as simple as one of the instructors giving an acronym for "leader" was a gentle reminder of the importance the relationship between a boss and employee plays in an organization:
L - Learn - before a leader begins a process for change he must learn as much as possible.
E - Example - leaders must be prepared to lead by example.
A - Attention - leaders have to be able to get and then hold the attention of followers.
D - Deal - we have to be prepared to make a deal.
E - Empower - giving others the power to accomplish the task.
R - Responsibility - at the same time the leader empowers the followers, the leader also needs to make clear that the team also has responsibilities to fulfill.
Too often though, titles and an organization's hierarchy dictate the positions of leadership, so following the three-day conference, I took a good hard look at our organization to see where our executives fell on the leadership spectrum. I've learned many things over the years at Seals/Biehle. Most importantly, I have learned that the benchmark of a great leader comes through work ethic, values and confidence in fellow employees. Much of this is due to the examples led by the humble beginnings of Steve Seals and Steve Biehle. With their guidance, I've become a person who firmly believes that you never stop learning and that in order to grow and develop with the organization and with the employees, you must be a leader who not only motivates, but listens...listens to the challenges in the field, digests the information, and comes up with solutions. I've made that commitment in order to be the best and most effective leader I can be.
Sincerely,
Matt Seals
