Goodness Greatness

Do you want to be a great leader? Not just somebody who’s good at your job. Not just somebody who gets promoted and earns awards.

But a great leader. Somebody whom others willingly follow — with enthusiasm. Do you want to be a person whose opinions matter? Someone others look up to, and want to be like?

Then, according to Jack Zenger, you need charisma.

At LFI’s September 29 Leadership Briefing, keynote speaker Jack Zenger said that most people believe that great leaders are born, not made. Most people think that it’s hard to learn the skills that make leaders great.

But Zenger believes that charisma, the ability to connect emotionally with others, is the main quality that separates great leaders from the runners-up. Zenger believes it’s a skill that can be learned.

Once mastered, charisma generates a contagious enthusiasm that people find inspiring and motivating. Research shows that inspiring leadership increases cooperation among employees, heightens creativity and ups productivity.

As LFI members, we obviously want to be great leaders. Hearing messages like Jack Zenger’s reinforces the knowledge we need to excel. We’re fortunate that LFI’s support of our goals doesn’t end with our class year, and that we can benefit from LFI involvement through events like the Leadership Briefings.

Why waste a good crisis?

The last twelve months have been extraordinary. None of us recalls a more challenging time for our economy. We take no solace that Fairfax has been less impacted than many parts of our country. For our vulnerable neighbors, preserving or finding basic needs is critical. Nonprofits face the combination of increased service requests and diminished resources available to meet them.

For LFI and other nonprofits, this is a critical time to look at our mission and the ways we are focused on it. In good times, there is little sense of urgency to fix things or to redesign delivery of services. In times like these, we must focus on our mission and instill innovative ways to fulfill it.

We have realigned our staff to better serve our members, and are launching new initiatives to help the nonprofits do what they do better. Leadership Fairfax will emerge stronger, more relevant, and more responsive to community needs than ever before. Our glass indeed is half full.

— Wayne Hill, CEO and Chief Concierge