The characteristics of a leader—a real leader—show through when there is crisis and chaos. Certainly, the last few months and, in particular, the last two weeks, have been chaotic, emotional, and scary. The pandemic—a horrible slow-motion tragedy unfolding before us—continues to be debilitating our health and our economy. Then the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd took us all to a new level of sorrow and terror—something even deeper.
We all have reactions to these events as they occur. We all have feelings AND opinions that are based on what we know. We all can and should share our feelings and, probably, our opinions. What we need more of, is feminine messaging. Yes, there is discord and conflicting viewpoints; however, that’s all the more reason to make an effort to understand where other people are coming from.
And when you do have an opinion, it’s important to look for differing opinions. The importance of listening is that it allows you to expand your perspective and understanding. One of the most important characteristics of a leader is being able to reach out to people who are different from you.
There has been too much destruction of businesses. In Santa Monica alone, 81 businesses have been looted or destroyed. I received a lot of negative feedback for making a comment about this. People criticized me for not posting a message about the victims of social injustice instead. Of putting property over people. I believe you want to inspire people to follow not force them to comply.
I think that there are some misconceptions about what the most important task for leadership is when faced with this situation. Is it to dictate how others should feel and communicate? No! Is it to shame those who are not messaging in ways that they find appropriate? No!
In this video, I talk about the characteristics of a leader and how these characteristics have been sorely lacking recently as we as for social justice and demonstrate for #blacklivesmatter. We need more of the good characteristics of a leader to come out so that we can work together to make change happen. A leader should embrace the importance of listening over aggression. Only by hearing all of the facts, can we truly unite and achieve meaningful change.
I hope you will watch it and share your thoughts also as you comment.
Let’s Grow,
Beate
Beate Chelette is The Growth Architect & Founder of The Women’s Code, a training company specialized in providing companies an ROI on Balanced Leadership. She has been named one of 50 must-follow women entrepreneurs by the Huffington Post. A first-generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single parent, she bootstrapped her passion for photography into a highly-successful global business, and eventually sold it to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Beate works with business leaders and supports organizations by developing and providing training the training, tools, and expertise to create and maintain a balanced, equal and inclusive work environment that fosters creativity, employee engagement and corporate growth.
Recent clients include Merck, Women’s Legislative Caucus of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), NFTE, CreativeLive, the Association of Corporate Growth, and TracyLocke.
Beate is the author of the #1 International Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome” a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.
To book Beate to speak or train please connect here.