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New leaders should read all governing documents on day one, listen to stakeholders before speaking, and stay open to changing their mind. Understanding bylaws and procedures prevents missteps. Listening builds credibility faster than talking.
New leaders should read all governing documents on day one, listen to stakeholders before speaking, and stay open to changing their mind. Understanding bylaws and procedures prevents missteps. Listening builds credibility faster than talking.
What are the top 3 things newly elected leaders must do immediately? Well, you might be elected to your church committee, you might be elected to your association leadership, you might be elected within your political party, you might be an elected official. Whenever people have chosen you, there's lots of reasons for it, so your reaction matters. The first thing you've got to do is read. In fact, you may already have this one done so you can check it off your list. But if not, because you were busy, read the bylaws, read the policies and procedures, read the minutes for every meeting you can find. That's going to allow you to know what you're walking into in a partial regard. It's also going to prepare you for challenges to the rules. It's going to prepare you for parliamentary procedure and prepare you for all the ways that you may support an idea or be the one who speaks against a terrible idea. The second thing you must do in your new position, listen. You probably don't know everything that went on behind closed doors. I can say that when I became President of the North Carolina REALTORS®, I learned that a lot, because there are certain things that staff must keep confidential. There are certain conversations that only happen in rooms without devices. And when you become the newly elected leader, You're going to have to listen so you can become prepared before you speak. Listening is hard to do, but y'all know what they say, the good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, so you'd listen twice as much as you talk. The spoiler alert here is that once you've listened to all the stakeholders, they're going to be more prepared to listen to you when you finally open your mouth. And that's what leads me to number 3. The third thing all newly elected leaders must do is prepare to change. You may have come into this role with a very strong set of opinions. You may have the best idea ever, and then you get into the room where you've read all the information, listened to all the stakeholders, and now you say, "Well, perhaps there's some nuance here. Maybe, just maybe, there is a different way to approach this." If you come into this position with a dogmatic approach of you are always right and it's your way or the highway, friends, that is a fast track to failure. Don't set yourself up for failure. Set yourself up to be educated, to be a listener, and then that new version of your idea might just be what changes everything for the good forever. For more information on how you can get yourself in a better leadership position, click the bell to subscribe, send me some messages, and stay tuned because I might be coming to a city near you.
