What Type of Leader Do You Want to Be?

Define Leadership

Take a few minutes to think about people who are great leaders…

Did your mind go straight to well-known officials or billionaire entrepreneurs? Think about leaders closer to home, people in your own circle.

What traits made you think of them?

Leadership looks different on everybody. Some leaders are defined by their title, “bank president” or “senior executive.” Some leaders are defined by their personality – perhaps they are outgoing or motivational. Maybe you thought of someone less obvious… a mentor in your life or a colleague who is dependable.

How Will You Lead?

Now, take a few minutes to think about your own leadership skills…

Great leaders identify their own strengths and use them to guide others. While you must challenge yourself to grow as a leader, you do not have to become someone you’re not. Not all leaders give public speeches or create new inventions.

Take me, for example…

My natural tendency is to take care of things myself (aka recovering control freak). Delegating is a challenge for me. As bank president, I need to be focused on strategic thinking and developing our team of talented bankers. Doing everything myself takes far too much time and doesn’t help my team learn. Thankfully, one of my strengths is teaching. (I actually started my career as a math teacher.) I continue to grow as a leader because I have learned to take the time to teach others, rather than try to do everything myself.

Understand your weaknesses, but identify your unique strengths. Everyone has the ability to lead, when maximizing their own potential. Leadership is not “one size fits all.”

Be Intentional

Like anything else you want to accomplish, write it down. What will you look like as a leader? Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Draft a pathway to your goals. List the actions you can take today to get there.

Best of luck in your journey.
 

The Boy and the Butterfly There was a little boy who loved caterpillars. One day he found one, took it home and made a home for it. He watched this caterpillar every day, making sure it had plenty of food and water. One day the caterpillar started spinning a cocoon … soon it would go through metamorphosis to become a butterfly. The little boy couldn’t wait to see the butterfly! One day it happened. A small hole appeared in the cocoon, and the butterfly started to struggle to come out. The little boy was so excited! But then he noticed the butterfly was struggling so hard to get out that it looked like the butterfly wasn’t going to be able to break free. The little boy was so worried for the butterfly that he decided to help. He got a pair of scissors and snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger, and the butterfly quickly emerged! But the butterfly had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The little boy sat and watched the butterfly, expecting that at any moment the wings would dry out, get bigger and expand to support the swollen body. But it never happened! The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly… The boy learned the butterfly was supposed to struggle. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. The boy’s good intentions actually hurt the butterfly.

This Month's Guest Writer

Shane Pilarski
President/CEO
Alliance Bank, Francesville