I Am A Leader: Tom Blair's Thoughts about Leadership

Welcome to the I Am A Leader blog series, featuring leaders who make a difference. Today's guest blogger is Tom Blair, CEO of Imagecraft Exhibits. Tom is a senior executive with a broad based background in numerous functions and industries. His strong interpersonal skills, along with his problem solving, coaching, and teaching expertise equip him with the strengths to lead and mentor large teams to achieve consistent, outstanding results. Tom and his wife, Debbie, are the proud parents of three wonderful children, Christi, Jackie, and Brian. Brian and his wife, Natalie, have blessed Tom and Debbie with two energetic grandchildren, Brooklyn and Reed.  

Being a leader means being accountable to yourself and to those who follow you, which is always a challenging responsibility. When I think about my leadership journey, I realize the many leadership roles I’ve had and how they have formed me into the leader I am today. The most important leadership role in my life is my role as the spiritual leader of my family. As a husband, a father, and a grandfather, this is a role I take very seriously. I often ask myself, “Am I fulfilling this role to the best of my ability?” and “Am I providing the right direction as the spiritual leader of my family?”

I am also the CEO of Imagecraft Exhibits, which provides full-service solutions for trade shows and custom interiors for sales and marketing centers, museums, and showrooms. My role is to lead the company into the next decade by building the brand and exploring new opportunities for growth in a dynamic and constantly changing industry. Investing in the personal and professional development of our team is a key priority for me; I strive to remain focused on how I can grow and how I can help others to grow as leaders.

Defining how you want to be remembered as a leader isn’t easy. When asked to define my leadership legacy, I identified several key themes that define my leadership style:

• I want to be remembered as a leader who was a strong family man.
• I want to be remembered as a leader who worked hard and played hard.
• I want to be remembered as a leader who had fun and made work fun.
• I want to be remembered as a leader who was a good coach who focused on the personal development of each person on his team and cared deeply about the success and growth of others.
• I want to be remembered as a leader who took the time to recognize and reward hard work.

Lastly, there is one piece of leadership advice that I’d like to offer that has served me well throughout my career: When someone’s not getting the job done, look in the mirror first. You hired them, trained them, and coached them. What is your role in ensuring their success? Ask yourself if you’ve done everything you can to ensure their success. If the answer is no, try harder. As a leader, it’s your obligation.

A special thank you to Tom Blair for sharing his insights with us today! Stay tuned every Friday as the I Am A Leader blog series continues. Please share this blog post via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter using the #iamaLEADER hash tag! You can connect with SOS Leadership on Twitter here.

Weekly Motivational Minute: Character

Every week, an SOS Leadership partner or friend shares a motivational minute about a different leadership topic. This week SOS co-founder, Billy Moyer talks about Character.

Are YOU a Gr8 Leader?

We recently launched our second Gr8 Leaders Program with a group of incredible women who are committed to developing their leadership skills and challenging themselves to learn, grow, network, and achieve at a higher level. This group of Gr8 Women Leaders are already amazing leaders, but they recognize that they can grow and become even better. They have a strong desire to learn, and they are willing to invest their valuable time, energy, and money to gain an edge and become the best version of themselves.

During our kick-off session, we had a thought-provoking discussion about what makes a leader great. Here's a list of qualities the SOS Gr8 Women came up with:

• Committed to leading by example
• Ethical
• Positive attitude
• Strong communication skills
• Active listener
• Lives with Integrity
• Genuine/Honest
• Trustworthy
• Transparent
• Humble
• Accountable to self and others
• Approachable/Warm
• Consistent
• Motivator
• Organized
• Intentional
• Credible
• Seeks wisdom
• Patient
• Shows gratitude, says thank you often
• Supportive
• Facilitates learning
• Develops other leaders 
• Committed to learning and becoming a subject matter expert
• Can be open and respectful when opinions differ
• Validates others
• Keeps commitments
• Doesn't fear making decisions

This is a comprehensive list from a group of truly great leaders. What else would you add to this list? Share your ideas in the comments below. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. 

Are you a Gr8 Leader? What are you doing to grow into the best leader you can be?

I Am A Leader: Ben De Leon's Thoughts about Leadership

Welcome to the I Am A Leader blog series, featuring leaders who make a difference. Today's guest blogger is Ben De Leon, President and Managing Partner of De Leon & Washburn, P.C., which was founded by his father and mentor, Hector De Leon, on July 1, 1977. A native Austinite, Ben serves on various boards that emphasize the importance of education, social services, and mentoring. Ben was named the 2009 National Big Brother of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, out of more than 250,000 mentors nationwide; he received the 2011 Austin Under 40 Youth & Education Category Award; and was recently named a 2012 Outstanding Young Texas Ex by the University of Texas Ex-Students’ Association, based on his significant accomplishments and dedicated service that have brought distinction to the University of Texas. Ben and his wife Shannon are the proud parents of three children: Anna (4), Winslow (2), and Henry (5 mos.).

Growing up, I always strove for perfection: I had to color within the lines; I had to make the blocks line up just right; I had to demonstrate excellent behavior in the classroom; I had to memorize everything for the upcoming test; I had to get straight A’s; I had to have the correct response each time a teacher called on me; I had to execute my assignment just right when playing football in high school. Anything less was inexcusable and, consequently, I considered myself a failure for many years – well into my professional career as an attorney. As I have come to find out, there is no such thing as perfection, particularly when it comes to leadership. There is only progress, and more progress. Upon reflection, I think I have become a better leader through making mistakes and learning from them; falling and getting back up again; and battling through adversity when every fiber of my being tells me to give up.

Strangely enough, a 7-year old boy named Anthony Saldana helped me become the leader I am today. I first met Anthony in the spring of 2006, when he was a seven-year-old, second-grade student at Oak Springs Elementary School in East Austin, through a mentorship program called Austin Partners In Education. Unbeknownst to me, at the time, Anthony was on the waiting list for a Big Brother through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas. His grandmother and legal guardian wrote me a letter at the end of the school year, asking me to become his Big Brother. I carry that letter in my briefcase to this day, as a reminder of how far Anthony and I have come, and how far we have yet to go. I have been Anthony’s Big Brother through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas since June of 2006. Anthony is now fourteen, and is entering the ninth grade at Connally High School in Pflugerville.

By getting out of my comfort zone and mentoring this young man, I have learned so much about myself. And I’m a better person because of it. Service to others before oneself is at the heart of leadership. By serving others, we gain new perspectives on our own lives and, in turn, we are transformed. My paternal grandfather often told my father, “No one can take away what you know.” And as my father often tells me, “The only way you learn is by doing.” Thanks to Anthony, I now know much more about humility, love, patience, perseverance, and tolerance than I could have ever imagined – because I decided to stop making excuses and start doing by focusing on someone else. Don’t ever discount the origin of your next learning experience, and don’t ever discount another human being because of the circumstances into which he or she was born.  

The above leads me to where I am today: I am passionate about organizing others for the greater good, and the underlying theme is service – be it through matching more at-risk children in need of affirmation with willing mentors (I have served on the BBBS of Central Texas Executive Board since 2010, and the BBBS Foundation Board since 2011); scholarship programs at the University of Texas at Austin (I have served as the Scholarship Chair of the Texas Exes Board of Directors since 2011); serving as a pro bono attorney to Spanish-speaking women who seek divorces that oftentimes involve domestic violence (I was recently named to the Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas Board of Directors); advocating for the creation of a new teaching hospital in Austin, to serve more of our indigent population in most need of medical services (I have been a member of The Fifty (the Seton Fund) since early 2012); or listening to and communicating with my coworkers, to better manage their expectations of me (I was named President of De Leon & Washburn, P.C. on July 1, 2012). 

At day’s end, we cannot please everyone with whom we come into contact. Indeed, leaders are called upon to make difficult decisions that others may not like. But leadership is not a popularity contest. To me, leadership is about accountability: I can only control my thoughts, actions, and reactions, not those of others. I still have work to do in this regard. Progress, not perfection.          

A special thank you to Ben De Leon for sharing his insights with us today! Stay tuned every Friday as the I Am A Leader blog series continues. Please share this blog post via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter using the #iamaLEADER hash tag! You can connect with Ben on Twitter here and SOS Leadership here.

Weekly Motivational Minute: The Problem with Goal Setting

Every week, an SOS Leadership partner or friend shares a motivational minute about a different leadership topic. This week SOS co-founder, Billy Moyer talks about the problem with goal setting.

Becoming a Self-Aware Leader

Do you understand your own individuality? Do you get what makes you unique? Have you come to understand what motivates you and what is most important in your life?

All of these are BIG questions, and they typically aren't questions people ask us very often. When was the last time you thought about who you are, what you do, and why you do it?

Effective leaders seek to understand themselves. They recognize that developing self-awareness is a lifelong journey, and they know that in order to lead effectively, they need to have a deep level of self-awareness.

Self-awareness is defined as "the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals."

As a leader, how much time and energy have you invested in coming to a better understanding of yourself? Are you committed to your growth as a leader?

"Awareness is not a giver of solace - it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener."

~ Robert Greenleaf

This quote serves as a powerful reminder that becoming more self-aware can be a challenging process. It can awaken us to realities about ourselves that disturb us; it can bring forth ideas about how and why we need to grow. And perhaps most importantly, it can remind us that leaders choose to lead. The best leaders choose to invest time, effort, and energy in becoming the best version of themselves because they want to lead to the best of their ability. Are you a self-aware leader?

I Am A Leader: Heather's Black's Thoughts about Leadership

Heather Black

Welcome to the I Am A Leader blog series, featuring leaders who make a difference. Today's guest blogger is Heather Black, a Marketing Program Manager at Liaison Resources working onsite at Dell, Inc., and a Board Member for the Young Women’s Alliance in Austin. After graduating college, Heather spent the next three years pursuing a career in law. She realized this was not the path she was destined for, and her experience through a complete career shift inspired her to document what she feels many young professionals go through on her blog, www.un-charted.com.

 

As a kid, I had a lot of misconceptions about life. I thought if you worked hard, had good grades, were involved in every extracurricular activity under the sun, you would be set. Your life would just make sense and fall into place. While I was obviously wrong, this innate need to achieve and be the best naturally put me in leadership positions at a young age – from student council to officer positions in the service organization I joined in college.  As I reflect on my leadership journey to this point, I realize how much I have learned from the early leadership positions to the ones I serve now, and how differently I view them.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors in a marketing position for the Young Women’s Alliance here in Austin, and when I first began the term in June, all I could think about was how much I could accomplish in the year. I established quantifiable goals: publish this many press releases, get this many likes on our Facebook account, reformat the newsletter, etc. But over the past two months, I’ve realized that while those goals are certainly worth striving for, what really worries me in regards to this position has nothing to do with goals I can quantify, but everything to do with the people I work with. I worry if my interactions with my committee in their respective chair positions, the members, and my fellow board members are sufficient enough. Am I making people feel like they can achieve? Am I supportive enough? Am I positive enough? Am I listening enough? How do you measure these things? These worries led me to reflect on when this view about leadership may have shifted.

I volunteered as Guardian Ad Litem for CASA Travis County a year ago and was responsible for spending time with three children who were removed from their parents’ care and placed in the court system. I was to provide reports to the court on what I thought the best interests of the children were. It was very challenging for me to come into a family I knew nothing about and make recommendations on their behalf that could potentially affect the outcome of their entire lives. I put a lot of pressure on myself and had my goals all set up for this particular position. But as time passed, I realized my goals weren’t needed. Fulfilling this family’s needs wasn’t fixing anything for them or pursuing my own agenda. It was only to be there, offer a smile, positivity, and consistency. I wasn’t the head of anything, I didn’t have direct reports or some fancy title. I was just the person that came around to spend time with the kids, help with communications when the family didn’t quite know what was going on, and let them know that there was someone there that was willing to help them.

This experience and others has made me realize great leadership doesn’t fit in a nice little box with a black and white definition; it comes in many shapes and forms, and it is much bigger than just the individual. It is not a single act, title, or position, but a way of being – every day. Great leaders aren’t people whose exclusive reason for leading is to aspire for power, authority, glory, or prove they are smarter than everyone else. They think about how things affect others first before themselves. They are the teachers who tirelessly encourage their students, moms and dads making countless sacrifices to develop their children, and the person in the car in front of you paying for your Starbucks coffee just to pay it forward.  No official title or position necessary.

I have concluded that I don’t want to be remembered for my accomplishments or positions held, but for the way I made people feel. I want those I touch to feel they are the best version of themselves and like they could accomplish anything when they are around me. Leadership potential is in everyone - what we choose to do with it is solely up to us. There is no right or wrong. You do not have to be in the spotlight to consider yourself a leader; you could offer a stranger a smile and ask them about their day – that is the beauty of it.

A special thank you to Heather Black for sharing her insights with us today! Stay tuned every Friday as the I Am A Leader blog series continues. Please share this blog post via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter using the #iamaLEADER hash tag!

Emerge as the LEADER You Are

In 2009 I had the incredible honor of participating in the Leadership Austin Emerge Program, which is a three-month leadership development program for community-minded, high-potential young professionals who want to build relationships and gain leadership skills to make a difference in Central Texas. This program provided me with the opportunity to more deeply explore my leadership potential and to connect with amazing people - leaders with various jobs and life experiences, all committed to serving others in ways that align with their unique gifts and talents.

As the proud daughter of an awesome Dad who has spent most of his life doing leadership development work, I had very high expectations for this program. I spent my childhood years sitting in on leadership workshops and keynotes, trying to absorb everything I possibly could. An ever-present theme throughout my life has been to define the leader I want to be...to be intentional about developing my leadership skills and answering the call to leadership in my life. What I gained from the Emerge Program was a more profound understanding of how to answer the call to leadership so that I can best serve the people and causes that matter most to me. And I was energized by being in the same room with others who also wanted to ignite their passion for community leadership (which is the mission of Leadership Austin). It was a meaningful experience that reinforced these words from Margaret Mead that I always believed to be true:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

The application deadline for the 2012 Leadership Austin Emerge Program is August 20th! Click here to learn more. If you're thinking about applying and need the encouragement to take the step, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to share more about my experience! Have a wonderful day!

I Am A Leader: Don Christian's Thoughts about Leadership

Welcome to the I Am A Leader blog series, featuring leaders who make a difference. Today's guest blogger is Dr. Don Christian, Dean of the College of Business at Concordia University Texas. Dr. Christian received his Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. Check out his Thinking about Leadership blog here. 

A leader is…

What constitutes great leadership?  What do leaders do?  How do leaders behave?  I have been considering these types of questions for many years now, and still wonder if I have come close to having the right answers.  In The Concordia MBA classes I teach (most recently Leadership: Engaging the Community) we wrestle with the multiple (and I mean MULTIPLE) paradoxes that are inherent in the leadership role.  Just when I think I can say with some type of certainty and clarity “A leader is…” I realize that the opposite is also true.  Here are a few recent examples:

• A leader is driven: A leader is humble (ala Jim Collins’ Level 5 Leadership)
• A leader has a vision: A leader facilitates the group to shape their vision
• A leader knows what to do: A leader seeks the answers from others
• A leader knows everyone’s name: A leader sets the stage for everyone to know each other’s names

The beauty of paradoxes is that they are not either/or but a both/and (just ask my colleagues about my insistence on the “both/and” in our conversations).  The problem with paradoxes is that they are a both/and, thus they seldom lend exact answers to the issue at hand.  I think it was Albert Einstein who made the comment that “the sign of maturity is the ability to hold two competing thoughts in one’s mind at the same time and not go crazy.”  So maybe that’s what a leader really is…one who has the ability to hold those two thoughts at the same time…keep communicating those thoughts to a group of people…help others wrestle with the two competing thoughts as they work through an issue…and bring together the best of both thoughts to come to some type of action that moves the group ahead.

So as I sit here at my desk and prepare for an important meeting that will take place in a few days, I am faced with the following paradox: Do I go into this meeting with the idea that a leader is someone who has the courage to name the elephant in the room OR do I go into this meeting with the idea that a leader is someone who knows how to act politically and gather allies?  In other words, do I speak up or stay quiet?  For me several things come into play as I consider this paradox:

• This is not an either/or – it is a both/and
• This must be carefully thought out and well worded
• I really have to wait for the moment to see how I react and how others react
• It takes courage to do both
• I have to be comfortable with the reality that I don’t know the answer now…and I may not know the answer at the time

So what is a leader?  My latest definition is that a leader is one who is able to steward the power given them to influence others toward accomplishing a shared vision.  And then again, I might be wrong…


A special thank you to Don Christian for sharing his insights with us today! Stay tuned every Friday as the I Am A Leader blog series continues. Please share this blog post via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter using the #iamaLEADER hash tag!

Introducing the "I Am A Leader" Blog Series

Tomorrow we will officially launch our "I Am A Leader" blog series! The purpose of this blog series is to share the stories of leaders who make a difference. We have a fabulous lineup of guest bloggers who will share their leadership journeys with you each Friday through the end of the year.

Each of these amazing leaders has been asked to reflect on the following questions as they prepare their blog post:

• What leadership roles are most important in your life right now?
• When was the first time you identified yourself as a leader?
• When you think back, what leadership role brought about the most personal growth?
• What do you want your legacy to be? What mark do you hope to leave in the minds and hearts of those who follow you?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts about this blog series in the weeks and months to come. Share your comments here and on Twitter using the hashtag: #iamaLEADER

Our hope is that this blog series inspires you to: 

• Think deeply about your own leadership journey.
• Challenge yourself to choose to be a leader who makes a difference every day!
• Share your leadership journey with others.

Face Your Fears

Everyone has fears.  But not everyone learns how to face them. Have you ever let your fears stand in the way of you accomplishing your goals? In SOS Leadership’s Seeds of Success program we teach that there are four keys to living a successful life, and more importantly a significant life: know what you are doing, love what you are doing, believe in what you are doing, and the people you meet and the books you read.

If you know what you are doing, believe in what you are doing, and love what you are doing then you will have the power to face your fears, and accomplish your goals. One of the top reasons we do not accomplish our goals is because we are afraid of failure. But failure is not necessarily always a bad thing. John Keats once said: “I was never afraid of failure, for I would sooner fail than not be among the best.” Henry Ford also said: “One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.”

Failure is a natural part of life. If everyone always succeeded at everything they did how different would the world look? Even if you fail, you can still accomplish your goals. You can learn from your mistakes, correct them, and succeed. There is a great saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.”

I have always had a fear of public speaking. When I even think about it, I start to panic and wonder if people will be interested in what I have to say. Or what if I freeze and am not able to say anything at all. Speaking is a big part of our business, meaning that I had to overcome my fear or find a different industry to be in. I had a choice to make, and the choice I made was to face my fears. I took public speaking classes, started going to more networking events, got a business coach, started reading more about the industry, and after a while speaking to people and in front of groups started to be easy. While the nerves are still sometimes there, I know that I have the ability to do it, and have a passion for what I am speaking about.  

Thomas Edison was fired from his first two jobs for being non-productive. As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked: “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied: “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” We are in charge of our destiny and can do anything and be anybody that we want to be.

Elbert Hubbard said, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.” Do not let fears stand in the way of you accomplishing your goals. Face your fears and start on the path to answering the call to leadership today!

What is Your Purpose?

“Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it lit.” 

~ Mary Lou Retton

Ponder this quote today. It speaks to the importance of finding your purpose in life. Is your purpose clear? Do you know what you are called to do? Are you answering the call to leadership in your life?

There's a fire in your heart. Have you taken the time to understand why it's burning? Are you focused on keeping it lit?

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If you're in the Olympic spirit and want to relive one of the greatest Olympic moments of all time, click here to see Mary Lou Retton winning the gold in 1984 with back-to-back perfect 10s on the vault! Incredible!