Leadership Traits: An Executive Coach Listens

Choosing the right parents may be a key strategy for leadership! On my web radio talk show this morning, Wendy Lazarus, founder and Co-President of The Children's Partnership discussed the important impact her parents had on who she is and what she has accomplished. She is the second guest in a row and one of many who attribute the environment they grew up in as key to their success.

Wendy said that her parents instilled two critical values in her: one was that she was put on this earth to worry about more than just herself; and second, that she could do anything she wanted to do.

Thinking back on my own upbringing (which was, admittedly, a tad unusual) I received a slightly different message. That was that I could BE anything I wanted to be--as long as it was a lawyer--or at the very least a master's degree in something related. I saw my mother volunteering and helping others as a way of life so I had a role model there. But being what you wanted to be and doing what you wanted to do seem to me to be two very different notions.

When I asked her what was the most memorable moment of her growing up years, she spoke about the time her father, a successful businessman in retail, decided to get involved in a community project to help people get jobs. Wendy, a 9th grader at the time, told her dad that she wanted to help. He said that she was a little young and underqualified but he'd see what he could do. Then he gave her the assignment of cold calling a long list of people to invite to participate in the project. With excitement in her voice, Wendy said that she absolutely loved the experience of people responding to her in this way and that she was actually helping them. Equally or possibly more important was the sense of pride that her father would entrust her with this important responsibility. She said that it was probably the turning point that sent her in the direction of becoming a powerful force for good.

Wendy Lazarus has been more than a powerful force for good in the world. She started right out of graduate school when she was hired by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children's Defense Fund. That was followed by her energetic work with Children Now to promote health care for children. And today with The Children's Partnership, she focuses both on health care and making technology accessible for "children at risk of being left behind."

So much of what Wendy believes is integral to effective leadership is incorporated in my philosophy both in executive coaching and in leadership training. It's always exciting to talk with someone who agrees with you!

It was a joy to interview this dynamic, creative dynamo with such a wonderful sense of purpose and humor.

www.coachjudynelson.com