What are the key qualities a company leader must have to be successful? I believe that a leader is not a manager or a boss. A leader is somebody who gets ahold of a vision and takes the initiative to drive that vision to become reality. Leaders should have integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, empathy, and gratitude. A good leader leads by example and doesn’t ask people to do anything they haven’t done or won’t do.
What advice do you have for younger executives who want to run companies? Success is a result of hard work but get your priorities straight. Don’t forget you work to live, not live to work. Success is better when you have someone to share it with. Remain humble and approach your role as a leader, as a servant. A real leader’s role is to help their team succeed. When they succeed, you succeed. You succeed together and you fail together. Listen to those who have been where you are. They have wisdom that you won’t learn in books – their wisdom comes from experience and mistakes. If you watch them, you might avoid their mistakes.
At what point in your career did you know you were ready for top executive responsibilities? I don’t know that there was an “aha” moment. I have always approached every job like it was my company. I believed that if I helped the company succeed that I would succeed with it. I spent money like it was my money and was never wasteful. I gave my all. That always produced results and once those results were recognized, my superiors made the decisions that I was ready for those leadership roles.
What do you read or listen to on a regular basis to help you make good decisions for your company? I follow several commercial real estate podcasts that have different perspectives. This allows me to hear more information and draw my own conclusions. I love to read books about leadership and real estate. I’ll bet I have read/listened to 100 books of this nature over the course of the last five years. I try to stay current by reading local and national newspapers and I read relevant stories in the Business Journals for Wichita and several surrounding areas. Current events are the most important, considering our current economic situation.
What other resources do you use to help you do your job? Relationships are the best resource that I have. I try to establish good relationships with employees, vendors, colleagues, and clients. I look for the win/win solution in every situation and I’ve found that those people then want to see me win, too. That makes all the difference.
Article posted by the Wichita Business Journal
