Q: As a former Women of Achievement honoree, you’ve been recognized for outstanding leadership. What do you feel are the most important leadership qualities for the times we are in now?
Sherri L. Collins, M.Ed.
Executive Director
Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing
Sector: Government
As the executive director of the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, I believe it is more important now than ever to lead with empathy and grace. In the past 18 months, the world as we know it has changed. We are now in a new normal in which we must continue to be flexible and malleable to change. We have to understand as leaders, pivoting to this new normal will take its toll on our staff and our community. I have found this to be of the most utmost importance for the deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind community I serve.
We must lead with empathy and listen to what is being told to us and asked of us. Driving our decisions based on people will give us the grace we need to adapt to the daily current of change and to continue to build in our communities.
A nationally recognized advocate for the deaf and the hard of hearing, Sherri Collins is the executive director of the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, a position she has held since May 1998, where she is the agency’s registered public lobbyist. She advocates, strengthens and implements state policies affecting deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their relationship to the public, industry, healthcare and educational opportunities.
Rachel Frazier Johnson, Esq.
Principal and Managing Editor
Rachel Frazier Johnson Law
Sector: Law
I believe adaptability, creativity and compassion are the most important leadership qualities for the current times.
Adaptability because the world and the employment landscape are ever-changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The way we work, collaborate and engage with our customers/clients is different than it was just two years ago! Adaptability is an indispensable quality to ensure that your company can remain relevant and keep up with the notion that change is inevitable.
Creativity is an element of a highly effective leadership for the current times as global and local business have been impacted by the global pandemic. Business leaders must utilize their creative thinking skills in how they make decisions, run their business, serve their customers/clients and engage with their employees. An effective business leader will think and respond creatively and encourage their team to do the same to not only keep up with the evolution of business but accommodate the changes in the local, national and global marketplaces which bring new opportunities.
Compassion is the third critical leadership quality for effective leadership in the current times. One’s level of emotional intelligence must drive the unique needs of a business, its employees and customers. The current global climate; awareness of social justice locally, nationally and globally; and the COVID-19 global health pandemic have brought many leadership lessons. Being able to practice compassion and empathy is an important factor in the sustainability of your business because it impacts how you lead and serve customers/clients especially during difficult times.
Rachel Frazier Johnson is an accomplished attorney, a formidable pro tem judge and a successful business owner. Prior to establishing her private law practice, Rachel Frazier Johnson Law, in 2013, she had served the State of Arizona as a senior attorney for the Securities Division of the Corporation Commission and as the managing attorney for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Civil Litigation and Advice Section of the Child and Family Division.
Eileen Rogers
Owner
One Creative View
Sector: Business Coaching
Wanted: Courageous Leaders. Today, more than ever.
It is the courage to lead teams and organizations with transparency. Being straightforward with challenges, consequences and, at the same time, being comfortable with not having all the answers. These same leaders have found that being vulnerable (defined as all the emotions associated with risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure) is not a weakness; it is a strength. There is no courage without vulnerability.
Courageous leaders lean into, not away from, difficult conversations. They know being clear is being kind. They know what their core values are, and these values become the important boundaries they set, live into, and role model every day.
Courageous leaders trust and value their teams. They build psychologically safe environments where individuals are encouraged to challenge the status quo. These are the teams that are always curious, pivoting, innovating, adapting and thriving during these very challenging times. A courageous leader also knows that success isn’t possible without failure, so they encourage and grow resilient teams.
Eileen Rogers is a business advisor, facilitator and executive coach. She is an accomplished and recognized entrepreneur and community leader who is fiercely passionate about supporting and growing more courageous leaders. She is leaning into her role as a courage and vulnerability leadership evangelist, spreading the gifts of self-awareness, joy and wholeheartedness. Rogers is a Certified Coach, Dare to Lead™ facilitator, and Integrative Enneagram practitioner.
