Leading the Way

I worked in corporate banking for many years. My bosses always gave me high scores in the category of relationship retention and told me it was a great attribute to have. At one point, a change in command of who my bosses were lead me to seek out a new position. I applied for a job I didn’t  believe I was fully qualified for, but  was ready for a change and new challenge. The position asked for leadership skills, required a strong math aptitude and a high level of attention to detail. Check and check, except for the math part. Simple math and figuring out how much 40% off meant at a Macy’s sale, no problem, but anything beyond algebra, forget it! I was called for an interview and eventually got the job. I sold myself on the other skills and promised to be a fast learner on the math part (especially because I would be given a fancy calculator). I oversaw the work of a team of eight people, developed a good rapport with them and sharpened my math skills. Less than one year later, my boss approached me and asked me to apply for an internal position that would align closely with the experience from my previous work. It would be a promotion and give me a significant pay increase. The job description fit my background well, however, it also suggested a law degree because of the complexity of the legalities associated with it. I applied anyway and got the job. One of the other candidates was an internal applicant who held a JD law degree, but knew little of the business line. I sold myself with the ability to walk the walk and talk the talk over someone who may have appeared more qualified because of their degree. I had no degree.

I stayed in this position for several years and continued to excel at relationship retention. Fast forward five years, I was once again looking for a new challenge. A friend worked for a workers compensation firm looking for a supervisor to oversee a small team of service representatives. They were in need of a leader to boost their morale and help reduce an error rate within the business line that stemmed from lack of communication within a larger group.  I had zero experience in workers compensation, but definitely possessed the leadership skills required. Again, despite not feeling fully qualified, but up for a change and a challenge, I applied and got the job. One of the other candidates was an internal applicant who had worked at this company for eleven years. I had no experience but knocked the interview out of the park because of my leadership skills. The person who hired me told me exactly that. Within three months I changed the dynamic of my team. Their morale had improved and the concerning error rate had been reduced to almost zero.

Vision, Courage, Integrity, Humility, Strategic, Focus, Cooperation, Appreciative, Confident, Compassionate, Diligent, Fair, Flexible, Honest, Impartial, Responsive... these are all qualities listed as traits of a good leader. If I were asked to write down the characteristics I have that make me a good leader, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t rattle off a list this long. Looking back at the jobs I was able to secure, there’s no question these things make up who I am. I wasn’t sure I could live up to the first job that required math skills and it awoke a level of confidence in me I didn’t know I had. Applying these traits to my personal life has been beneficial, but not something that was necessarily intentional. The wisdom I’ve gained over these last eight years has helped me connect the dots from the years past until today.

I became committed to leading by example and am not afraid to speak of my past mistakes and take responsibility for them. I appreciate the vision my former bosses had to see my potential.Because many people I meet have experienced one of life’s great adversities, I do my best to remain impartial, honest and compassionate.. I offer support and mercy for the courage I know it sometimes takes to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I would still count relationship retention as one of my top attributes. I believe we are all here to help one another and who better to do that than someone who has well-worn shoes on a journey someone else has just had to put on for the first time. There are hundreds of books available to learn how to be a good leader. I haven’t read one. I learned from the University of Life.