Monday, May 12, 2008

What is a Leader?

Two weekends ago at Camp CEO, our keynote speaker was Dr Anne Baker, Executive Director of the Toledo Zoo.

Her early Saturday morning talk was about leadership.

One sentence that I remember and have repeated so much since hearing it was: (And I may not have this quote perfect, here!)

"A leader listens so that she may change her mind."

That is a very short sentence. That is also a very powerful sentence.

Thanks, Dr. Baker for challenging me to think about whether I am a good leader.

1 comment:

Angie Weid said...

Dr Baker did a wonderful job with her leadership presentation. One of the many quotes I wrote down is:

"You can't be a good leader if no one will follow you."

She also spoke of a point I learned in the Air Force. A good leader does the dirty work when needed before others. In Dr Baker's example: she grabbed a mop and cleaned the bathrooms at the zoo. Perfect example!