Leadership 301

Kevin Smith of the Food Network, taking upon the cooking theme of the AMA Leadership Summit, talked about adding spice as a leader using a PEPPER acronym:

• Passion (bringing energy and imagination to all tasks)
• Emotional Intellegence (not just keeping emotions in check but having an awarenes of your gifts
• People Leadership (relating well to others in achieving goals)
• Prudence
• Education and Learning
• Relationships

Leadership 101

Day one is over at the American Marketing Association Leadership Summit in Chicago. For the uninitiated, the Summit is what I refer to as the "Amway Convention" for AMA Boards of Directors for the Association's 75 chapters around the country.

I will be filing the first of three reports on the talk of keynote speaker Michael Smith who spoke tonight on the topic of "Building a Brand One Bite at a Time: Lessons in Marketing and Leadership." Michael is Senior Vice President of Marketing, Creative and Brand Strategy for the Food Network.

The first component of Michael's talk on which I'll center is not so much about leadership but about what it is that makes our work fulfilling. He stated the three things that work should provide is meaning, complexity and autonomy.

Let me expound upon each. Meaning is important because at the end of the day we want our work to matter for something. We want to feel as though we've added joy to others' lives or contributed to the company's sustainability.

Complexity relates less to the human element and relies on our ingenuity in problem-solving. Autonomy is the antithesis of micro-management. If we feel free to solve problems, gaining the end result without worry that our bosses will try to convince us we need to do it a certain way, we feel less constrained, and can move on to our next obstacle, taking pride that we solved this dilemma on our own.

TOMORROW: Servant Leadership

Non-Profit Board Leadership

If you are involved in recruitment of non-profit board members I hope this information is helpful. I posed this question to former Presidents of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Our chapter has been named national AMA Chapter of the Year on three occasions in the past two decades. As I've mentioned in the past, I am the current President of the organization. Anyhow, I digress. Here's the question:

What quality or qualities are most important for individuals serving on non-profit boards?

The overwhelming response was possessing a belief in and passion for the organization's mission. This was backed up by mentions of other leadership skills that flow naturally out of this first point.

• Lead by offering your background or experience in your area of responsibility on the board;
• Provide a succession plan;
• Lead by example by giving time and talents and supporting events/programs;
• Energize volunteers to do their best and do it NOW;
• Recognizing who the "players" are among your membership so you are bringing in people who might be even more passionate, committed and perhaps more qualified than YOU;
• Display wisdom based on marketplace realities (know when it's time for change).

One respondent in closing was reminded of a quote by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter that could best describe a non-profit leader:

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be.