Leadership?

Well, I finally did it. I have been trying so hard to convince myself (and everyone around me) that blogs were extremely overrated. It seems like everyone and their brother has a blog out there that basically talks about nothing. However, I do find myself extremely entertained by some of them and late at night I cruise the search engines on various topics.

Lately I have been caught up with postings on business and Leadership. I have read some interesting things lately on "What constitutes a Leader" in the business arena. There are thousands of books on this topic and a lot of people have made a lot of money selling their so called expertise on the subject. My humble opinion is that, while I believe Leadership can be cultivated, it is not something that can be learned through a book or drilled into someones head. It takes a certain type of personality, a sheer drive to excel, and desire to win. At Resort Realty we have been re-instituting this "drive" into all of our employees and managers.

It is very easy in any business to start feeling complacent and be satisfied with the status-quo if there is not a clear and present vision for the future. The day-to-day can become quite drab when there never seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. I once had a coach while playing baseball in college who said "once you think you have achieved success, you have to practice that much harder because there is someone that always wants to win more". I have always lived my life with this mentality. I have always had the opportunity to be around people with this same mindset, be it my Dad who always demanded the best at whatever I did, my Coaches in sports, or my first mentors in the business world.

When I first arrived at Resort I knew I had an unbelievable opportunity to finally prove my worth as a Leader through all my years of training by these great mentors. To quote the age old cliche, it was time to "sink or swim". However, really thinking back to what I was taught by these mentors, I want to judge myself by how I am able cultivate the next leaders within our organization. I must say that this has been the most challenging, and rewarding, part of my job. Many managers, who have never had the opportunity to challenge the "old way" of doing things have blossomed in their new found role of "Leadership".

Many of the new ideas that have emerged over the past two years have been directly from our employees and managers that are on the front lines everyday. This is (what I envision anyway) what a successful, innovative business looks like. I take great pride in hearing these ideas and even greater pride when we implement these for the benefit of our homeowners and guests.

So, in closing on my first post on The Salt Spray blog, I want to thank all of my employees, managers, seasonal staff, Real Estate Agents, and vendors who have helped me get off on the right foot in my "Leadership" role with Resort Realty. This is truly a Team that I feel proud to be apart of.