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.