Leading with Your Heart (Literally)
By: Maribeth L. Minella, Esq., Learning to Lead Board Member
Today Meridith Levinson and CIO.com, a website dedicated to business technology leadership (link – www.cio.com), posted a short and to-an-important-point post about charisma. It is undeniable that most leaders have a certain amount of what seems to be natural charisma. For example, while President Clinton was in office, many people remarked about how he oozed charisma, and I have to admit I was dubious – until I saw him speak. His speech was delivered in a large gymnasium in Massachusetts, filled with hundreds (and maybe thousands) of people, and I felt like his words were directed to me. Now that’s charisma.
Not all of us are naturally charismatic, and Levinson offers some common-sense advice about tapping into your inner charisma. In fact, Levinson sounds a lot like your Mom. Levinson suggests standing up straight, with your shoulders relaxed, and “leading with your heart” so that you appear open and confident. She writes, “One trick to appearing – and being – more charismatic lies in the way you carry yourself.” Levinson continues that people are charismatic when they express emotion and passion.
So the next time you need to get your peers on board with a new idea or you are running for a leadership position and need to give a speech, remember to tap into your inner charisma by “leading with your heart,” letting your passion come through, and remembering that your Mom already told you to stand up straight.
I always find amusement in the stories or articles I read about how no one truly lets a parent “in” on the fact that parenting is going to be the most challenging job ever experienced. Thank goodness it comes with so many rewards along the way, even if they are small ones. Like my 3 year old daughter informing me this weekend and I quote “I do not wish to sell you and get a new Mommy. I like you and will keep you.” Who knew shopping for Moms was even an option? She must be demonstrating her early creativity skills as a leader!
However, I think we can all use all of the help, advice and suggestions we can get. In fact is there any greater recipe to exchange amongst friends and families than the recipe about how to build strong, compassionate teens/college students/kids who will go on to be strong leaders in whatever field they choose?
I thought I would share a Book Recommendation for all Moms out there who are working hard to build and raise strong daugthers! There’s a new book written to help foster dialogue between mothers and daughters! “Leave Your Footprints Along the Way” helps you share your hopes, values, and life’s lessons with your teenage daughter. Written as a workbook, this book helps you discuss these important topics in an easy to use format. And proceeds from the book are being donated to ‘the girl effect’ (www.girleffect.org).
Author, Carolyn Viens knows a lot about leadership having worked for a major international corporation for many years all over the world. However she put a stop to her international career to focus on that most important job 100% of her time, parenting. In doing so she was inspired to write her first book about how to have those all important conversations between Mothers and Daughters. For those of us with sons out there, do not worry she is also working on a important guide as parents of boys as well.
For more information, or to order, visit www.carolynviens.com. It is a great gift to give to yourself and other teen Moms out there!
You know how you watch a show or movie that you will never forget and often enters back into your mind. Band of Brothers did that for me. And what I recall from this well done series was how it captured the resiliency and persistence of the soldiers and leaders in the armed forces. It was also powerful at the end of the series to actually meet the “characters” in the series, the true leaders who fought in the battles of World War II.
I often wonder if persistence and resiliency like these leaders demonstrated are lost leadership arts. In our attempts to streamline, gain efficiency, save time, etc we have also forgotten the importance of sticking to something until we “win the battle”. As parents I think it is also common for us to want to make our children’s lives easier and in doing so we may not want to have our children experience trials and tribulations.
However, I am realizing more and more that these trials and tribulations are great “battle wounds”; great opportunities for our future leaders to build character and pride in themselves. I am not sure there is any greater feeling that a future leader can experience than knowing they have accomplished something after a lot of hard work, resiliency and persistence.
So I hope we can put these lost arts back into the leadership museum by teaching and using them more ourselves. Perhaps this upcoming summer you can give an opportunity through work or a job to a college or high school student to work really hard and gift them then with that great sense of resiliency and the good that can come from persistence.
Here is a great recent example of such a story! Just wait until you read about how twenty something Mareeda Perry’s persistence and resiliency in Ronnie Polaneczky’s blog in beating all odds to graduate from LaSalle yesterday!
It’s never to late to say “Thank you!”- an important thing for all leaders to remember.
On April 23, Cope Homes was kind enough to allow Learning to Lead to host its annual fundraiser at its model home in Unionville, PA. While the first order of business is to thank Cope Homes for such a wonderful venue, the second order of business is to thank all of the local businesses who donated items to the auction. A non-profit is only as good as its supporters, and as you can see, we are fortunate to count as partners in leadership a wide variety of businesses and business owners. Check out photos from the night on facebook and/or the website.
Finally, we can’t forget the members of Learning to Lead’s “Fill Your Shoes” committee, who volunteered countless hours to get our fundraising off the ground.
This year we were fortunate to raise enough money to subsidize scholarships for Learning to Lead’s Girls Take Charge camp, which will be held at Villanova University from July 12-16. Find out how to register for camp today!
Teach Your Children Well
When Beth Mooney was in ninth grade, her father told her she would be a leader. And a leader she became, through Bucknell and Loyola University Maryland, then at a Fortune 500 company where she managed development programs for new employees.
Mooney’s calling, however, was teaching others, so she and her husband, Colin, started Learning to Lead, a non-profit in Kennett Square, to guide young people between the grades of eight and 12.
Learning to Lead provides training programs for kids who are already leaders, as well as average students who show potential but don’t have the confidence to develop it. “Leadership can be taught,” Mooney says. “If any student even shows the slightest sign of leadership potential or wants to be a leader, we can help them make it happen.”
During the summer, the organization runs a one-week leadership program for students in grades eight through 12 at Villanova University. Another program, Girls Take Charge, is a one-day program specifically for high school girls. Facilitated by successful, dynamic women, Girls Take Charge focuses on building self-esteem and confidence. Learning to Lead also provides customized leadership workshops for schools and organizations.
“Most of our programs have a capstone project incorporated into it,” Mooney says. “Through this project, students are given a challenge and must work together in small teams to solve it. They present the projects at the end of the program. The wow moment comes when they realize all of the projects could be implemented the next year in their school.”
Through Learning to Lead, Mooney hopes more students will become leaders.
Delaware Today.
The Board of Directors for Learning to Lead was recently announced in an issue of the hometown paper of Philadelphia.
Read the article.
It’s time for “Girls Take Charge” at Binghamton University.
The day-long leadership seminar, featuring keynote speaker Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, will take place Saturday at the university’s Vestal Campus.
Leadership was always an important family topic and I am looking forward to returning to my hometown and helping girls to jumpstart their goals and dreams,” said Beth Mooney, executive director of Learning To Lead, which created “Girls Take Charge.”
Read more here.
The founder of Learning To Lead-Beth Mooney was recently featured in Profiles of Change the site The First Thirty Days…Read the interview here.
