At Monday’s 365 Leadership Summit, we asked people a simple question: Why is leadership important? I was interested in how people would answer, especially given the different backgrounds and experiences represented in the room.
What struck me was how similar the answers were. People talked about helping others, serving their communities and creating opportunities. Very few mentioned titles, power or personal success.
I found that encouraging, especially considering how often leadership is associated with influence, recognition and individual achievement. More than 500 people gathered for our ninth annual Summit, including business owners, CEOs, educators, nonprofit leaders, elected officials and students from across Wisconsin. Our theme was Built to Last, and the day gave me a lot to think about.
Much of my life has been spent building organizations, working with leaders and trying to become a better one myself. Along the way, I’ve learned that talking about serving people is much easier than consistently doing it. The real test comes when serving someone requires us to share credit, give up something we want or make a decision that doesn’t necessarily benefit us.
Several leaders mentioned how much they appreciated simply being around people who understood their responsibilities. Hearing what others were experiencing helped some think through challenges they were facing. For others, the conversations were a reminder that they weren’t alone in what they were dealing with.
That resonated with me because I’ve experienced it myself. Leadership can be lonely, even when you’re surrounded by people. Certain decisions can’t always be discussed with employees, and there are concerns you don’t want to bring home to your family. Meanwhile, people are looking to you for answers when you’re still trying to figure things out yourself.
You can carry something for weeks, and one conversation with another leader can help you see it differently. Maybe that person has experienced something similar or asks a question you hadn’t considered. Other times, advice isn’t even necessary. It’s simply good to be around people who understand what you’re dealing with.
Those conversations can also help us think more creatively. When you’re responsible for an organization, it’s easy to become consumed by whatever needs to be handled that day. Being around people with different experiences can help you see possibilities you hadn’t considered.
The people who spend their lives strengthening others need places where they can be strengthened, too. That’s something I believe deeply, and it’s one of the reasons the 365 Leadership Summit matters so much to me.
There’s also real value in exclusive spaces where leaders can spend time with their peers. Those relationships can create the trust needed for honest conversations about challenges they might not feel comfortable discussing elsewhere.
At the same time, I believe leaders have a responsibility to share what they’ve learned and help others gain access to experiences they might not otherwise have. We can value the relationships we build with our peers while still making room for the next generation.
One of my favorite parts of the Summit was seeing approximately 150 high school students in attendance. Some shared that they had never been around so many leaders at one time, and I’ve been thinking about what that experience might have meant to them.
For those of us who regularly attend conferences, sit in boardrooms or meet with executives, it’s easy to forget that those experiences aren’t ordinary for everybody. What feels like another meeting or event to us might be something a young person remembers for years.
Imagine being a student and walking into a room filled with people leading businesses, schools and organizations across the state. You get to hear their conversations, ask questions and perhaps meet someone doing work you’ve never considered possible for yourself.
Most of us can point to someone who gave us an opportunity before we had much experience. Perhaps they answered our questions, made an introduction or believed we had something to offer. None of us got where we are entirely on our own, and I think we have a responsibility to extend that same generosity to others.
That’s part of what Built to Last means to me. Building something successful matters, but so does what happens to the people who are connected to the work.
We often measure the success of an organization by its size, financial performance or how long it has existed. Those things matter, and I want the organizations I help build to be successful long after I’m gone.
But I’ve also come to believe that what we build should be measured by what becomes possible for other people. Are we developing leaders and creating opportunities for others to grow? Are the people and communities we serve better because of the work we’re doing?
Those questions aren’t always comfortable, but they’re worth asking. It’s possible to become so focused on our own accomplishments that we lose sight of the people we’re supposed to be serving.
I’m grateful to our staff, sponsors, volunteers, panelists, moderators and everyone who helped make Monday’s Summit possible. Seeing more than 500 people come together was encouraging, but what matters most to me is what happens after we leave.
I want the 365 Leadership Summit to continue being a place where people who spend their lives strengthening others can be strengthened themselves. What happens in that room matters, but what those leaders do afterward matters even more.
The more I think about Built to Last, the more I believe the real measure of our leadership isn’t simply what we accomplish while we’re in charge. It’s whether the people and communities we’ve invested in are better prepared for the future because we were there.
