Writtenin2016fortheALACentennialStrategicPlan

SevenSimpleTruths

1. MostALAmembersdon’tthinkofthemselvesasleadersunlesstheyhaveatitle.Leadershipisnotaranktoattain;itisamantleofresponsibility.Trueleadersputtheorganization’sneedsbeforetheirown.NotallALAleadershavetitles.

2. Ourorganizationoperateswithlayersofleadership.Thosewhodon’tholdatitlemaynothaveasenseofownershipthatempowersthemtosolveproblems.

3. Whenmembersacceptapositionofresponsibilityanddon’tfulfillit,theybreakdowntrust.DocumentsthatoutlineRoles&Responsibilitiesmustaddressaccountabilityandestablishabasisforreplacement.

4. Ingeneral,wearestrugglingwithbeingwelcoming,especiallytopeoplewhoarenotlikeus.Untilweimprovethis,weareunlikelytomatchthediversityofthemilitary.

5. Lackofinformationisasignificantbarriertoleadershipdevelopment.LeadershipCommitteememberscanhelpmembersbecomeinformedandmakeuseoftools.

6. Differentleadershippositionsrequiredifferentskills.Therigid,cumbersomeprocessinmostdepartmentsdoesnotallowthenecessaryflexibilitytomakeadjustmentswhenacandidateisalreadyinlineforofficebutdoesn’tdemonstratetheabilitytobesuccessfulatthenextlevel.Departmentsshouldevaluatewhethertheirsuccessionprocessstillservestheirneeds.

7. Successionplanningshouldbepartofleadershipdevelopment.Goodleadersleavealegacyofnewleaderswhoaresetupforevengreatersuccess.WemustbecultivatingthenextgenerationofALAleaders.