An individual’s perspective on leadership guides the way in which they interact with stakeholders, affects how they make decisions, and shapes their views of themselves and their organization. Cultivating a healthy perspective on what makes a leader effective is fundamental to allowing your organization to benefit and grow from the strengths and skills of your team.

Throughout my career, I have led countless planning meetings or debriefings to help determine what could go, or what went, “wrong,” and how we could guard against common pitfalls such as lack of clarity, defensiveness, and making assumptions. These meetings have addressed a range of issues, including donor solicitations, employee and parent conflicts, directors’ plans having been rejected by their team--you name it. These meetings became an opportunity to help educate, guide, and support a greater institutional awareness of the various motivations of the stakeholders involved. Acknowledging, understanding, and accounting for motivations is an essential step in crafting effective strategic action and will result in greater organizational alignment and interpersonal success.

This journey started at a point of professional frustration, where I felt powerless and at odds with my workplace and continued to a place of great joy, agency, and capacity in my career. This blog post outlines this progression and addresses how I was able to understand my personal leadership style, cultivate my strengths, and act with confidence as the leader that I am.