The Leadership Challenge – Challenge the Process

It’s true – great leaders have been known to “rock the boat.” Great leaders search for opportunities, experiment, and take risks.

At the SIA convention I had the opportunity to chat with a wonderful woman from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her club was so passionate about sex trafficking of women and children that they took the risk of engaging first responders, law enforcement, human services and legal services to bring the topic to light. They produced a training video for law enforcement and held a public screening of a documentary on girls who had been trafficked. Not exactly the picture you get when you hear of a woman’s club in the South; but these women followed their passion and successfully brought the issue into the living rooms of Raleigh.

And while it’s not been on quite as grand a scale, our club has seized opportunities, led from within. Capitalizing on the fact that we live in the “Scrapbooking Capital of the World,” Pat organized our first ever “Crop ‘til it Stops” event, raising over $1,000 for the UDVC LINKLine. Acknowledging that women’s heart health is one of Soroptimists focus areas, Lisa encouraged us to support the Heart Walk, where we were the second highest fundraiser of the community teams. We’ve never had an International Women’s Day luncheon before – but that’s not stopping us from inviting women all over Salt Lake and beyond to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

Challenging the process doesn’t mean giving up time-honored traditions – unless they really should be given up. Let’s continue to challenge the process – because our actions matter.