Working Toward New Leadership

Leadership has been challenged in the recent years.  Traditional leadership involved face-to-face efforts and team building. The needs of good leadership have had to adjust by being more “messy,” meaning that structure and patterns have had to give way to listening, encouraging, and finding new ways to get things done.  Those are the marks of the true new leadership.  And yet, some “leaders” still hold on to the old styles - being a yes-man to the whims of others with greater seniority with no regard for the organization’s mission, vision, or goals.  It is unfortunate that people are still governed by biased and uninformed leaders.  It is reassuring, however, that it remains possible to be an effective and compassionate leader.  This is my goal as I work to apply school discussions and theory into practical application in the real world.

 

I am excited about the prospect of opening my new business, Def burger, in the Pensacola, Florida region.  We will begin as a food truck service with the goal of expanding to a physical brick and mortar facility within the first two years, if possible.  As a trained leader myself, I know that I will not fall into the pattern of being a “good old boy” who makes decisions simply because someone tells me to.  I will work to always be the trainer, the teacher, the one who only must fire someone because they refuse to step up to the job requirements and I know that they know what those requirements are.

 

My vision for Def burger is that we have delicious food, prepared in an attentive and careful way by people who understand how to cook.  Those people might not be offered the same kinds of responsibilities and work duties elsewhere because of society’s views of disability or impairment, but we will see the potential and value of everyone we encounter and bring opportunity to those who seek it.  We will emphasize Deaf and Wounded Warrior applicants and encourage a work environment of positivity and good will for all people, employees and customers.

 

This requires a key element in the entire process – listening.  We need to listen to our customers to identify the things they appreciate about the food and service and the things they see as needing improvement.  Likewise, we will need to listen to our employees and ensure that we are empowering them to be able to do their best work without being preoccupied with any differences they may experience as compared to other people.  We also need to encourage cooperation with our competitors in the Food Truck business so that we are seen as an ally, not an adversary, in what should be a shared goal of bringing good nutritional food to consumers.

 

These are the challenges I choose to face and conquer.  I know I will need help to do so, but first and foremost is sharing that vision so that others who wish to share it join with me to make that vision become reality.  If we all seek ways to cooperate rather than compete, we can all benefit from the resulting mutual benefits.

 

These are my goals and my vision.  Will you come alongside and share these with me?