Governance specialist Tesse Akpeki shows how charity leaders can become pitch perfect.

Leadership excellence is underpinned by meaning, purpose and a drive to continually learn, develop and improve.  I love singing and I become a better singer as I practice and find the right pitch for the song.  In leadership development terms the following comes  to mind:

MAINTAINING OUR PITCH

 

1. Purpose, planning and meaning: have clarity of goals (and destination) and plot your journey.  You can always course correct or adjust your plans as you design  your  strategies  and gain clarity about what success looks like. Our purposeful intent  focuses not only on the short term, but on the long term solutions.  We find ourselves beginning to build that bridge that we ourselves may never cross, but our legacy is that we know that it is what is needed and future generations will benefit from our efforts.   A few days ago I was reminded of the wonderful work of the Wildlife Trust.  Some of the impact will not be felt until years after all of us are gone.  Yet the work goes on.
2. Innovate continually: complacency is dangerous and there are always new ways of achieving results.  Look out for opportunities and take risks. New technologies, social media, excellent applications are creating diverse platforms for advancement.   I had the pleasure of listening to a presentation by Bill Shore, founder and chief executive, of Share Our Strength and chairman of Community Wealth Partners. Share Our Strength changed the conversation from one that focused on hunger to one that focused on the connection between hunger and health care costs, educational achievement and economic competitiveness.
3. Trust matters as you develop shared leadership: Stephen Covey in his book, the Speed of Trust stresses the importance of honesty,  openness, building trust and organising ourselves.  Great leaders keep their promises and let you know when they can’t. Trust is a vital part of our culture, flowing through our culture (our values, norms and behaviours). Our roles, rules, expectations, decision making are nourished by the assurance that we live what we believe.
4. Commitment,  engagement and real participation yield benefits and rewards:   It is commitment that keeps  a leader going in tough and challenging times. Commitments leads to disciplined execution and actions that help realise  our goals.   Committed individuals sometimes not only sing the tune, but change the tune if that is what is needed. This commitment may lead us asking the difficult questions, challenging the status quo or disrupting existing norms.
5. Hope sustains belief: when adversity strikes and everything looks bleak.  The hope for a better future and the focus on the light at the end of the tunnel can make the difference between sustainability and success in contrast to  failure and decline.  A positive outlook and sound financial planning supports our dreams in the long term.   Hope is what keeps us singing the key messages over and over again even when people are not queuing up to hear our rendition.  Kevin Spacey recently spoke about how television and the small screen have become a healthy competitors to the big screen – something virtually believable about twenty years ago.     Yes, when I am singing in tune, it is great for me, and definitely pleasing to those who love to listen to good music!