Where do you find leadership role models?

Working with our VIP coaching group recently, we asked them to identify role model leadership qualities, and then to find people who were role models, displaying these qualities.  The qualities they listed include:

• having a vision and going for it
• staying true to your purpose
• balancing work and home life
• making a difference in the economy
• making a difference to the community

So who, we asked, embodies these qualities?

After a long silence, one voice hesitantly offered “Barack Obama?”  It was clear that the participants were having difficulty finding their leadership role models, but here’s the thing – look closer to home, and look carefully.  There are examples on your doorstep.  “Show us”, the participants challenged, so we put on our coats and walked into the village where our rural retreats are held to find the following:

1. the mother/daughter partnership who both hold down full time jobs and have simultaneously set up Chillilicious,  the UKs most Northerly Chilli farm – overcoming the climatic challenges to grow and sell chillis and chilli products
2. the special needs teacher with a passion for art, who has opended the Lunardi Gallery to showcase local artists and crafts people, while continuing to teach art therapy for special needs children, and also taking comissions to produce ther own unique textiles
3. the local Ceres butcher who got fed up having to buy meat from supermarkets when we live in a farming county, and opened his shop selling locally sourced meat. He can even tell you which herd that steak came from, and provides much-needed employment for many people.
4. Griselda Hill, who made it her mission to revive the iconic Wemyss Ware pottery, reinstating the original designs and techniques and breathing new life into this age-old brand.

And we visited all these role models in just one afternoon, in one small village of 1,000 people.   How many inspirational leaders can you find on your own doorstep? And is one of them you?

The best kept secret of effective networking Part 2

In the previous article, I wrote about networking as being a method of beginning a relationship that would become mutually beneficial over time. The person who taught me this, by her own demonstration of this approach, was Rhona Hutchon, then working at the recruiters Hudson, now a director of Harvey Nash Scotland. I first met Rhona at an event in 2000. Rhona approached me and asked good, open introductory questions. She soon discovered that my company then had only 6 people and no budget to recruit, let alone use an agency. Where others would have glazed over and walked away, Rhona took an interest in me and found out a little bit more before elegantly leaving the conversation (incidentally, by introducing me to someone who she thought might be interested in my service), leaving me feeling good about the meeting. Some time later, Rhona sent me a small snippet she thought I might be interested in. A few months later she invited me to an event where she thought I might be able to meet some potential buyers. And so it went on, with Rhona actively building the relationship.

Our company began to grow rapidly, and guess who the only recruiter was that we trusted and respected enough to do business with us? Since then, Rhona has probably placed over 20 recruits with that company. In return, we recommend Rhona to everyone we speak to – a true illustration of a relationship that has been mutually beneficial over time.

When you are next planning to go to a networking event, try the following simple action plan:

• decide ahead what you want to achieve, in terms of how many new relationships you plan to initiate
• enter the event with a smile – it signals friendliness and approachability, and also gives you self-confidence
• ask open, general questions to learn as much about the other person as possible
• listen and look out for opportunities to offer something that will help the other person
• don’t try to push your CV, product or service. Remember that you are just starting the process of building up trust and respect
• always follow up on your promises. Send that article, or pass on that contact
• keep in touch. You never know when that new relationship will deliver benefits