Leadership in the Community

One of the neat things about the blog assignment is that it causes you to widen your view on stellar leadership examples in business, government, the community and elsewhere. We're on the lookout!!

In The Leader of the Future 2 (great book by the way), Brian O'Connell writes that Peter Drucker said that religious leaders were among the very best leaders in the U.S. In the same book, John Mroz talks about the imbedded leaders that are all around us.

I was struck by a video interview with Calvin Duncan, a religious leader in the Richmond area. Duncan is a former guard with the VCU Rams who is in the VCU Hall of Fame. I would call him an "imbedded leader." Duncan was orphined at an early age and was raised by his grandmother in a rough area in New Jersey. As a basketball player, he was a top 50 high school senior. He later was captain of the VCU team that finished the season ranked 11th in the nation in 1985 and knocked off an excellent Northeastern team in the NCAA tourny led by Reggie Lewis. He earned his degree and was subsequently chosen as a third round pick of the Chicago Bulls, but chose a different path than the NBA.

I was at VCU during Duncan's tenure. It was not unusual to see him around campus and he always had an entourage. The guy had charisma. At the time, I thought he carried himself with class and it's really neat to see the leadership role he now has in the community.

Here is the video:

http://www.vcuramnation.com/2009/10/ram-nation-sits-down-with-vcu-hall-of-famer-calvin-duncan/

(it is well worth the 9 1/2 minute time investment)

A couple of comments that Duncan made really resonated with me. I don't know if they are original to him, but they are thought-provoking nonetheless. Here they are:

"Your attitude will determine your altitude."

Paraphrasing: A "successful person" - the focus is on self - individual accomplishments. A "significant person" - is marked by the impact he/she has on others.

When I reflect on these statements, I think that they speak volumes to the potential leaders have with their constituents, whether it be in corporate America or the community. How often do we observe leaders who are self-absorbed and proud of their individual accomplishments? Yet the true mark of a leader is the impact he or she makes on others. And the attitude part of the equation should not be underestimated. As a leader, your attitude drives your behavior and employees in the workplace are absolutely attuned to the leader's attitude.

Significant leaders do the following:

• carry out their activities with character and integrity
• truly care about their employees'/constituents' well-being
• support individuals' personal and professional development
• help individual's achieve their potential

Duncan could have become intoxicated with fame and fortune, but the guy is incredibly grounded. There is much to learn from this community leader. There are too few Calvin Duncan's in this world. One can't listen to the video clip without coming away with an admiration for his attitude, conviction and leadership qualities.

Duncan's current ministry: http://www.faithandfamilychurch.org/pastorbios.html