A Successful Day Fostering Leadership at ILTA’s 3rd Annual Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar- Part 1
At yesterday’s seminar on leadership development, attendees received guidance for strengthening our ability to lead. We also learned true leadership includes working to find and mentor tomorrow’s leaders. The keynote speaker, panelists and moderator referenced the leadership qualities Sharon Swartworth possessed as a pinnacle today’s leaders should achieve and teach to tomorrow’s leaders. To learn more about Sharon Swartworth’s impact and leadership, read last week’s But Wait… There’s More posting, “A Preview of the Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar.”
The seminar produced too much rich leadership guidance for one blog post. I want to share all of it with you but not inundate you. I will post information on each of the panels over the next few days including some direct insights from discussions with panelists.
Brigadier General LeAnne Burch presented the keynote speech. She led by asking, “What defines a leader? Is it rank or position?” She believes leaders inspire us and take us where we hope to go. Burch provided many recommendations and steps on developing leadership traits supported by experts in the field. Along with Dr. Kim Cameron, Burch believes leaders should create a positive work environment. Leaders need to think strategically and not get into the weeds. She noted this can prove difficult as the leader may already know the solution. A leader must allow her team to learn the answer for themselves. This helps to build a trusting team from which a new leader can emerge. Despite needing to resist getting into the weeds, leaders must also personalize the relationship with the team. (e.g. Send a personal note of congratulations at the birth of a direct report’s child or grandchild.) Brigadier General Burch also gave attendees some practical tips for becoming a leader.
- Get up early (nothing good happens after midnight).
- Adopt mentors.
- Listen more than you speak.
- Take care of yourself.
- Be persistent.
- Believe in yourself.
Great advice from a great leader. Brigadier General Burch told me about one of her favorite leaders, Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper. Hopper hated hearing, “But that’s how we’ve always done it.” To prove that one can and should always look at things in more than one way, she had a clock on her wall that ran counter-clockwise. On leadership, she once said, “Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors; care for one's crew.” In an upcoming post, I will include a list of Brigadier General LeAnne Burch’s recommended reading on leadership that she follows and that inspires her.
In addition to the opening keynote, four panels on leadership and mentoring presented throughout the day. Matt Homann of Filament moderated the day and enhanced our understanding through storyboards. His questions for the panels brought out keen insights from the panelists and extended to rich discussions at each table keeping people so engaged they missed the coffee and snack breaks. No one wanted to leave their seats as we all had so much to learn from each other.
Stay tuned for summaries of the sessions at the 3rd Annual Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar in the upcoming days. If you attended the Sharon Swartworth Leadership Development Seminar and want to share what you learned, please use the comments section below or contact me at joanne@iltanet.org and I will include your input in the next post.
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