View from the Top

“VIEW FROM THE TOP” Summary By: Angela Gilliam Johnathon Reckford is the prime example of a good leader and educated professional. Beginning his career as a senior executive in the private sector, moving on to become executive pastor of a Presbyterian church and into his final and current role as CEO of a global religiously based non-profit organization better known as ‘Habitat for Humanity’. He explains his experiences in depth within his lecture, sharing his own personal milestones and animating the particular steps necessary to becoming a great leader. Leadership is hard Reckford explains, the more people you attempt to lead, the harder It seems to get. He explains the five assets to being a good leader in great depth. First of all is the importance of having good role models in your life, almost everyone has someone in their life that they want to emulate, whether it be counselors, teachers, bosses or parents. In his case it was three very important women. His mother, which was very active in the civil rights movement, his grandmother and New Jersey congresswoman who encouraged him and his siblings to think about what they wanted to do to serve the lost and left out in the world and to be useful. Lesson two was devoted to the importance of observing those you may be hiring and/or may be offering to hire you. Paying special attention to how they treat people not only toward those that could potentially have a positive influence to benefit them personally. The core of good leadership is to have a fundamental respect for all people and organizations. I personally believe that you should treat others the way you expect to be treated, with kindness and respect. In explaining lesson three Reckford made a point to stress the importance of not becoming a leader or working in a place that doesn’t operate in sync with your own personal values. That starts with