Here are our team members’ reflections on their best bosses – and how they shaped them into the leaders they are today.

“The best leaders lead by example.”

We’ve all heard this common platitude repeated in boardrooms and convention halls throughout our professional lives, but not all of us have the experience to know the truth behind the words. If you have been lucky enough to work for or alongside a leader who demonstrates, both through small daily actions and large-scale initiatives, the same level of skill and integrity that they expect from their team, it’s likely they made an impression on you. Maybe the impact was so deep that it has molded your own leadership style – like the ones we discuss today in the first installment of our new blog series, “Ad Lucem Answers.”

We polled the Ad Lucem team about the best leaders they’ve ever worked alongside throughout their lives. From a high school choir instructor who made every student feel like his favorite to a formidable general manager who expected the best while encouraging you even on the worst days, here are our team members’ reflections on their best bosses – and how they shaped them into the leaders they are today.

Patrick Farran, PhD, MBA
Co-Founder and CEO

Who was the best leader you ever worked with?

“For me, I think back to my formative years with my high school choir teacher, Mr. Fuller.”

What about their leadership made an impact on you?

“He had such a profound impact on me because of the deep care he demonstrated for each of us. I was always his favorite — or so I thought. I took a job with him working on the music library one summer, and I distinctly remember the moment when I saw him interacting with some other students (the way he always did), but all of the sudden it dawned on me. “Wait. He treats everyone like they’re his favorite!” Apparently I wasn’t that special after all! But he sure made me feel that way (and pretty much everyone else he taught).

I felt equal parts disappointment and amazement at that realization. He was one of the most self-actualized people I’ve ever met in my life. Having suffered from polio as a young child, he had limited mobility and relied upon crutches and, in later life, a wheelchair. But he lived life with such gratitude and humility that the only times I ever noticed were days when the elevator would break down and I would need to help him up the stairs, or when we were on a field trip and helping him to traverse ice. He taught with story and he had a sharp sense of humor.”

What lesson(s) did you learn from them that you now adapt to your own leadership style?

“I learned from him the importance of gratitude, humility, and deep care for others. I would have done anything for him. Growing up, I always told myself that if I could be a fraction of the man that he was, that my life would be a success.”

Amber Johnson, PhD
Senior Culture & Strategy Advisor

Who was the best leader you ever worked with?

“I’m going to cheat and pick two leaders, Jim and Mike. They happened to know each other, even though they’ve always worked at different organizations. Through the many conversations they’ve had over the years, they’ve each honed their leadership skills.”

What about their leadership made an impact on you?

“What makes them both so effective is their ability to make collaboration happen. They’re masters at engaging the wisdom of the whole team, together crafting a shared vision, and then moving people toward it.”

What lesson(s) did you learn from them that you now adapt to your own leadership style?

“They taught me that people support what they help to create. If you want to get change done in organizations, then top-down is unlikely to work. Engaging people in the vision shaping, strategy setting, and ongoing decision making is a more effective approach. That approach has the added benefit of developing leadership capacity in all levels of your organization.”

Joel Farran, MS
Senior Strategy, Communications, and Community Investment Advisor

Who was the best leader you ever worked with?

“I worked for an organizational leader who was excellent at curating strengths-based teams.”

What about their leadership made an impact on you?

“They understood where they personally had blind spots or shortcomings so they surrounded themselves with people who compensated for and complemented their style and capabilities. Conversations were sometimes more difficult and the path to solutions more winding, but the diversity of thought and perspectives meant more broadly-informed and resilient solutions.”

What lesson(s) did you learn from them that you now adapt to your own leadership style?

“What I learned was that what may seem obvious, familiar, and convenient when it comes to talent selection and team-building may also hold you back from elevating to a performance-level, possibilities, and heights you can’t yet comprehend.”

Michelle Sanford
Executive Leadership Consultant

Who was the best leader you ever worked with?

“Gabi Zolla was the best leader I’ve ever worked for.”

What about their leadership made an impact on you?

“Gabi was a great champion for me. She let me be real in that I did some things well (my strengths) and she celebrated those. And she let me be human and admit that I wasn’t good at everything; she had huge compassion and helped me to find ways to deal with my non-strengths.”

What lesson(s) did you learn from them that you now adapt to your own leadership style?

“Gabi helped me find what is essential. She helped me prioritize my never-ending list of projects and helped me focus on the most important work for the day, week, or month.”

Melissa Norcross, PhD, MBA
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist

Who was the best leader you ever worked with?

“The best leader I ever worked for was the general manager of a financial services company. He was an expert in the field, and was very good at understanding the business, the industry, and all the dynamics of how things worked inside and outside the company. “

What about their leadership made an impact on you?

“What made him so amazing was that not only did he have such a solid understanding of how things worked, he could also coach or lead through even the toughest moments without getting upset or angry with the team. You always left meetings with him feeling like you were competent, capable, and that he could guide you in the right direction (without recrimination) if you got off track.”

What lesson(s) did you learn from them that you now adapt to your own leadership style?

“I was really afraid of him when I first began working with him because he set super high standards and didn’t suffer fools. But two weeks into working for him, I was 100 percent sold that he was one of the best leaders I had ever worked for. He never got upset at you, nor ever treated you poorly no matter how badly things went, and would step in to guide you to get things to a better place. I aim to provide that level of respect and support for my team.”

 

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