The Impact of Community in Leadership
When I took over as the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Health Center in 2015, there was no blueprint for how to run a federally qualified health center much less transform one. So what did I do? I reached out to my new community of CEO peers across the state of Virginia and launched a CEO Best Practices group that would meet up monthly to discuss all things near and dear to our hearts. To my surprise, over 90% of the CEOs in the state joined the effort which is still in full operation today.
I did this initially for personal reasons because I needed to learn and wanted to establish relationships with those I knew would be helpful. I am thankful for patience and grace showed to me by leaders who would help mentor me through those early days. Angela Futrell, Peggy Whitehead, Eileen Lepro and Nancy Stern were four of the most amazing CEOs in the state and were instrumental in my own development. They were not only great colleagues but became true friends.
Today, I am one of those who provides these opportunities for new CEOs as they join the group and hope to learn from those of us who have tripped over ourselves making progress. A community of leaders is what it takes.
The CEO Best Practice group wasn’t the first one of these I launched, I did it with an operations group of COO’s just ahead of taking the top post in 2015. Prior to that, I did the same thing with procurement and HR leaders at Bayer across the country and at LexisNexis in the early 2000s.
The common theme and outcome of it all is that we are much better in a community than we are on our own. In our Virginia based CEO group, while we are technically competitors, we have the same mission to serve those patients with or without the ability to pay. Since we have the same North Star, we have been able to accomplish a lot as a network and this has made us stronger when it comes to negotiating joint agreements and sharing data for the benefit of our customers (patients) and the successful operation of our centers. The main driver is the trust in community that has been built and the willingness for those who lead to want more, do more and serve. It’s rewarding and you impact a lot of lives this way.
The benefit of community for leaders is not reserved for the workplace alone. We see it in churches, neighborhoods, recreational sporting associations and the list goes on.
I spend quite a bit of time at my second home in Myrtle Beach and have become involved in a close knit community along Shore Drive where our condo sits. While I have been coming here for years, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago I stumbled across a Facebook group called Shore Drive Mafia and its administrator, Brad Heard.
Brad’s daytime job is the Senior Vice President at Gateway Outdoor Advertising in Charlotte, NC, a firm that helps other businesses achieve their full potential though custom advertising and marketing platforms. But most of those along Shore Drive know Brad more for his tireless leadership efforts in administering the Shore Drive Mafia page with over 7200 members who depend on him to keep this community informed on all-things Shore Drive.
But it’s not just a group that shares where to eat or hang out, it’s a group that comes together all the time to help those in need. From fundraising efforts to annual charity events, there is something for everyone to contribute to. At the end of the day, people feel better giving vs. getting and this community accommodates that in the best kind of way.
Given Brad’s professional success and expertise, you would think he fares pretty well running a page like this but he doesn’t get nor want a penny for all the work that goes into it. I asked Brad what drives his passion around this work and he says, “I created the page to connect folks that love Shore Drive to be made aware of our various charitable events from Polar Plunges, Coats for Kids, Backpack Buddies, Breast Cancer fundraisers, Lunch for Kids, SPCA and other forms of community outreach all supported by our local businesses. I have used Shore Drive Mafia Facebook page to communicate the events to bring folks out to causes that local businesses have championed. We have our little hidden area of paradise, which is a community of giving hearts”!
Brad, who came to the Shore Drive area some twenty-two years ago, credits two special people who helped him assimilate into the area and get involved with this community of givers. David Ruffner and James Calverley were instrumental in setting up community before the advent of social media and paved the way for the broad outreach of today.
Having gotten to know Brad in the community setting, our leadership styles are similar and aligns with my great friend and bestselling author Bob Burg’s view from the Go-Giver, “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment”. Bringing value to people’s lives is what leaders do, it is what they must do if they want make an impact. For more on the Go-Giver, click here.
Why then is a community so important both in and outside of work? It teaches you not only to care for others but also yourself. The demands of a leader are intense and if you allow yourself to be walled off from external community, you are limiting your ability to truly impact the lives of others.
So take stock today and see where you can lead a community effort or simply be part of one. You don’t need permission to start one up yourself if you have a passion for something or want to selfishly learn more yourself. Remember, there is nothing more impactful than giving.
Here's to your impact!
Gary