Hear from some of our chapter leaders across the nation on how they lead with confidence.
What’s the best piece of advice you can share on being an effective leader today?
“My best advice on being an effective leader today is to be a servant leader. I believe the focus should be on putting those you lead first, helping them to develop and sharing power and responsibility. We can all be servant leaders in everything we do—in the workplace, in our relationships with friends and family and in our communities.”
—Elizabeth Pollack, President, NAWBO-Central Illinois and Owner/President, Leg Up Services
“The best advice I can give regarding how to be an effective leader today is, do not multitask. So many entrepreneurs think they are actually masters at multitasking. Striving to become a successful entrepreneur, means failure is not an option, there is too much at stake. Yet so many entrepreneurs sabotage their efficiency by multitasking. When entrepreneurs are multitasking, they are actually task switching, which is not nearly as effective as when whey finish one full task before starting the next.”
—Angela DePaoli, President, NAWBO-Sacramento Valley and President/CEO, Bargas Environmental Consulting, LLC
“The best piece of advice I can share on being an effective leader is that leaders listen. All too often, many believe leaders do most of the talking. But I have come to know that not only does ‘it take courage to stand up and speak; it takes courage to sit down and listen.’ Listening communicates that you respect and value the person and their opinion. It gives them a voice, letting them know they matter. It conveys that one is open to being influenced, and it is one of the best ways to influence others. When a person knows you value their opinion, they tend to be inclined to listen to yours, too. It’s really quite magical. Try it. You just might like it!”
—Gwendolyn Tucker, President, NAWBO-Memphis and Managing Partner, RIX International, LLC
“Allow yourself to be led, while actively leading. Effective leaders develop emerging leaders. Nobody wants a leader who dictates how to take the reservations, cook the food and seat the tables while standing around pointing the finger. Your team will quickly lose interest and feel like they aren’t an integral part of the big picture. Your job is to make the vision clear and trust your leadership skills enough to allow your team to develop and implement a plan to achieve the common goal of keeping the restaurant full.”
—Hyacinth Henderson, President, NAWBO-Miami and Managing Director, The Henderson Financial Group