Be That Leader

Sharing personal experiences or insights about myself is not my norm – nor is it comfortable for me. A goal of mine for 2024 is to share more so others can learn from my wins and missteps (Ok – maybe more the missteps). Yesterday, a horrifying and disturbing situation happened with my tween-aged son. All is good now and I quickly stepped away from work and calls to take care of the issue. 

This got me thinking about how fortunate I am that I can just step away from work at a moment's notice when something needs my attention. Thinking farther back in my career, every company and immediate manager I worked with supported stepping away without question when emergencies arose. That isn’t always the norm and not something I take for granted. 

So this is a reminder to be THAT leader –

Be the leader who can step in on a moment’s notice to a customer call or demo because your SDR/AE/CSM had an emergency.

Be the leader who communicates that there may be a delay in a deliverable due to a personal emergency or step in to assist

Be the leader who checks in when someone is struggling or has an emergency to make sure they are ok.

Be the leader who celebrates when an employee moves on to a new opportunity and continues to foster that relationship/show your support.  (I had a President reach out after I left his company years ago to make sure I was ok because there was a bad storm in Austin – I still remember how valued I felt getting that text.)

Be the authentic leader who treats others how you want to be treated – or even better. 

Be the leader whose word is their bond and lead by example.

Be the leader you wish you had 3, 5, 10 years ago.