Leadership is a winning combination of personal traits and the ability to think and act as a leader, often having to make the difficult decisions!
Your members are looking TO YOU for leadership and guidance, especially after what most of them have recently experienced.
The following are the five key strategies followed by the most successful leaders in the staffing and recruiting profession.
KEY #1 – A LEADER PLANS
Effective leaders PLAN in order to elevate their level of success as well as the success of their members. The core of leadership is being proactive rather than reactive.
Last year MANY conferences experienced very low participation. That does NOT mean you will experience the same results THIS year! If you put together a program targeting the greatest challenges of your members, they WILL come!
KEY #2 – A LEADER HAS VISION
Vision is essential to strong leadership. If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t get there and neither will your members!
KEY #3 – A LEADER SHARES THEIR VISION
When I spoke with many owners who lost their companies during 2009, one commonality was they had NO IDEA what they were attempting to build. Sharing your leadership vision will significantly help your Association or Network Grow. They need to understand and prepare for new trends that will occur during this coming year.
KEY #4 – A LEADER MAKES DIFFICULT DECISIONS
A true leader makes difficult decisions on a timely basis. If you wrote down the characteristics of a great leader, “procrastination” would never be included on the list!
Study what your association did right last year – do more of the same. Also, study what wasted your time last year and stop those activities today. Determine the greatest NEEDS of your members and provide them with the information and services they need to thrive.
KEY #5 – A LEADER INSPIRES THROUGH EXAMPLE
As a state leader, it is important that you attend educational events and bring your staff; your membership will follow your lead!
Another trait of leadership is staying ahead of trends. Since some associations have decided to CANCEL events this year, market your event to those owners! Education IS power and your members need to be empowered after last year.