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www.privateairny.com Private Air | Spring 2020 55 BUSINESS Nimble, Organized and Ready Leadership requires influencing others to accomplish the company's mission, and a key is to provide employees with adequate tools to be flexible, organized and purpose-driven. is is according to Ken ompson of AlignOrg, who believes that experienced leaders curate great and well-equipped teams through strategic planning, organizational design and change management. "Organizations today don't have the luxury of stability since they're an ever-increasing change in markets, customers, and technology," ompson notes. "Organizations who are ready for this change, who are organized enough to respond to these changes and who can operate as a tight cohesive unit will not only better survive seismic shifts in the market, but also actually thrive in the face of such profound competition and other evolution. Leaders are Activists In our brave new world of rapid change and complexity, there is no single person who can really direct an intricate business. A lone individual can only encourage those involved to think differently, which is a key argument as to why leaders can be considered activists. is is particularly true for those who promote change and coordinate the efforts of others to help them achieve goals without actually "controlling" them. Chris Stewart, CEO of brightbeam, is a deep-rooted leader, activist and 20-year supporter of charitable and education- related causes. As a parent himself, Chris leads brightbeam's network of education activists under a single mission: to demand better education and a brighter future for every child. When asked how he gained such a powerful voice fighting for the educational opportunities of all children, Stewart remarked, "It's because 29 years ago, when I had my first child, I became a parent with a problem. I didn't have a great education myself and I didn't have many resources. But, I had a kid that I loved and I was determined to give him a better life than what I had." Today, Stewart fights to provide millions of families with the tools, knowledge, skills and confidence to fight for their own children's ability to receive a quality education. As far as Stewart is concerned, the future of education in this country shouldn't be grounded in empowering parents, but rather by putting them in power. Stewart upholds that same premise when it comes to leading his organization, which he does through a distributive leadership model. "If leadership provides direction, it should come from many where the collective wisdom prevails, rather than just one dictatorial voice," Stewart says. is mindset led Stewart to establish a chief leadership team at brightbeam. "Operationally, of course, it was important to have a group of smart, influential individuals leading the work of the organization, but it was also important for external stakeholders to recognize the power of a strong bench," Stewart notes. "I am attempting to change the world. at's a big mission and I can only achieve it by building relationships with top-notch people." To lead today, in a world where there is an abundance of passionate, talented people who want to make a difference, Stewart knows he doesn't have to be the smartest person in the room just because he holds the title of CEO. A Winning Leaders Key to Success Andrew Wyatt, head coach at Andrew Wyatt Leadership, LLC, acknowledges that the modern business landscape has clearly shifted but also notes that, as the saying goes, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." at is why he feels it's vital for a leader to avoid focusing on trends or on sentiment that are ever-changing and instead focus on principles, which largely remain constant. is, he asserts, is the foundation of winning leadership. According to Wyatt, winning leadership requires a ruthless application of one key leadership principle in particular: that effective leaders guide from the inside-out. Meaning, before any leader can successfully lead others, one must lead them self. Wyatt offers these three ways to accomplish this: 1) establish your credibility, 2) build your following and 3) lead with impact. And, the order of execution is apparently vital. Here's Wyatt's advice: Like building a skyscraper, leadership first requires excavation before elevation. is is how one establishes credibility. It starts with an inward look. e leader must know the truth before taking the next step to build a following. People follow truth, and most have a natural ability to discern it. Building a following requires the leader to look outward to draw followers inward. is is the principle of servant leadership through which a leader must "engage" their followers in order to build a genuine and certainly impassioned following in return.

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