Peer to Peer Magazine

14 Follow the Leader Everyone wants to create and to have meaning in their work, and that all starts with having strong leaders to follow. Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm that helps leaders and organizations solve their most pressing employee engagement challenges, asked thousands of followers what they need from a leader. With remarkable clarity, the top three things were: Trust The chances of employees being engaged at work when they do not trust the company's leaders are just one in 12. If they trust the company's leaders, this changes to one in two. When teams trust their leader, the issue of trust is seldom discussed. In teams where trust is an issue, the subject dominates conversations. Compassion The words caring, friendship, happiness and love are frequently mentioned by followers of leaders who contribute to their lives. "My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person" is one statement on the Gallup test. People who agree with this statement are more likely to stay with their organization, have much more engaged customers, are substantially more productive, and produce more profitability for the organization. Stability The best leaders are ones that people can depend on. A leader needs to display confidence and hope for the future. Employees who have believe in their company's stability are nine times as likely to be engaged in their jobs. At a company-wide level, nothing increases stability as quickly as transparency. Are You a Leader? It doesn't take a high-profile role or title to be a leader. If you don't have the corner office, it doesn't mean you can't make a difference in your organization. Create a new picture in your mind of what a leader looks like and find the inner leader in yourself and those around you. ILTA 1 2 3 E M P O W E R I N G W O M E N B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S Leadership is a passion of mine, and I have been drawn to and inspired by the needs of women who are running their own businesses or farms in impoverished areas around the world. During visits to Kenya, Honduras and Rwanda, I have seen firsthand that when a woman business owner gets a loan, she grows her company and improves the lives of her children. The increased income means more and better food, school fees are paid, and medical expenses are covered. When a woman contributes to the household income, she improves the lives of her children, her family and her community. To help empower these women business leaders, I serve as a champion for World Vision's Women's Empowerment Fund, and our goal is to radically grow the number of loans VisionFund can make to women. One of my favorite success stories comes from Honduras, where I met a strong woman named Delmi. She started out volunteering to make meals for malnourished children in her community and now leads a group that owns a bakery that employs 12 women and their oldest children. The women's children are eating better, staying in school well beyond their peers and watching their mothers build a business and contribute to their households. This example is the key to eliminating extreme poverty. Delmi's pure joy moved me, and her work continues. She has a vision to invest in others and have a long-term influence on families in her community. (Most recently, the group granted a loan that built a greenhouse that provides produce to local markets.) I am grateful that I had a few bosses early in my career that believed in me and invested in me as Delmi is investing in these other women. It is a part of my leadership journey to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate and to empower strong women like Delmi across the globe. What inspires you to make a difference?

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