Food for Thought
My company, Heritage Associates, Inc., is working on a five year project to create a culture of leadership and teamwork in an organization of highly skilled and professional individual contributors. So lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this topic. Why would creating such a culture be a good idea? What would the value-adds be and why am I writing about this for NAWBO-OC, an organization of entrepreneurs?
Individual contributors are often very successful “solopreneurs.” Strong and results driven, they take pride in achieving results and doing it on their own or with very little assistance. Independence and achievement are their hallmarks. They laser focus on their purpose and are not easily distracted by seemingly unrelated issues. When the purpose/mission shifts, let’s say to grow the business in terms of size, market share and revenue, this laser focus and independent attitude will need to expand to include other people to share the work, perhaps attract a partner to share capital expense or any number of other factors. Leadership skills to articulate the vision for the future, to attract and inspire others to come on board to achieve the vision, and to create an effective team in which each member understands the part they play in taking it to the next level are all required. Wow! That is a big shift for the successful individual contributor who is used to achieving/doing everything on their own and not needing to depend on others. The challenge in making this transition is significant.
Many successful solopreneurs experience a similar challenge as they get involved in non-profit work. Whether it is in your business or non-profit work, the consequences of doing everything yourself can lead to burn out and limited growth. You are exhausted, not having much fun and eventually those excellent results diminish. So how do you shift gears from being a strong doer of everything to one who enlists the support of others to accomplish what needs to be done in a timely and excellent manner?
Awareness of the issues is the major first step. Identifying the skills required and perhaps finding a mentor to help with developing the skills are good next steps. Early in my career, mentoring and coaching were not in vogue. Recently I have been involved in many conversations where colleagues and I have discussed how a mentor would have been a real asset in our career paths providing guidance, support, insight and perspective. Here at NAWBO-OC we have an outstanding mentor program, and applications will soon be accepted for the 2012 session. Be on the lookout for the announcements and click here for more information.
In conducting team building events for clients, there is a TEAM mantra – “together everyone accomplishes more”. This is true on multiple levels in terms of time, talent, energy and outcome. As President of NAWBO-OC, I can tell you that leaders in organizations do not accomplish things on their own. Quite frankly there is too much to do. This year’s theme, “Community, Connections, Competitive Edge: Join Engage and Use the Opportunity” is being realized by the efforts of a truly dedicated board, committee chairs and members who share my vision for what NAWBO-OC is and can be. So much more can be accomplished through collaborative effort which synergizes the work, resulting in 1+1= 3 or even 4 or more.
During this month of Thanksgiving I am very appreciative of this awesome team and the fact that because of their efforts we are touching the lives of so many here in Orange County, including you. I encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities NAWBO-OC has to offer – join a committee, enroll in an educational course, join a Power Partner Pod, become a Mentor or Mentee, or go to your first Member Only Mixer. Just click here to learn about our abundance of upcoming events. We’ll all be enriched by your participation.
I look forward to seeing you very soon.
Maureen Rhyne, Ph.D.
President, NAWBO-OC 2011-2012
President, Heritage Associates, Inc.
Claudia Bryan of CBC/HR Solutions was our professional facilitator at the recent Progressive Dinner.
Thank you to NAWBO-OC’s sponsors.
The Progressive dinner has long been a NAWBO-OC member favorite.