Effective leadership is a lost art....

I recently travelled to North Dakota with a colleague to deliver a workshop that he developed. One of the things that both he and I have discovered in our work, is that there is a significant lack of leadership skills throughout our great land, and it's especially true in rural America. It's not because we lack people who want to make things better in the communities where they work and live, but in many cases, they lack the knowledge of how to be an effective leader.

I've worked in rural Kansas for many years helping rural businesses and communities become more entrepreneurial in how they approach the problems they face. It's been challenging to institute a change of the culture, especially at the community level, but the results have been nothing short of amazing.

So, back to North Dakota where we met with a group of ranchers who comprise the board of directors of a non-profit organization to assist their members to become more productive and profitable. Again, all of them were well intentioned, but the organization was struggling to be an effective force in what they were trying to do. We were called in to help.

We delivered our Board Excellence Workshop to a group of sixteen board members, and at the end of the day, every one of them had a different perspective as to their roles in becoming effective leaders and board members.

How many of us have been members of boards, committees, or organizations where we became frustrated with the lack of direction, or progress, toward what we thought we were supposed to accomplish? It happens all the time.

If I might be so bold, I suggest that if you are a member of such a group, that it might be time for you to step up and be the "leader" who institutes a change in the culture of the organization. Make it clear to the group that without a vision, and without a plan, we are all just wasting our time. You don't have to be the elected "leader" to make a difference, so go for it....

I certainly don't know everything, but if you need some help in making a difference, let us help.