Leadership & Character | Lancaster, PA

A group of Wake Foresters gathered over dinner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 21, 2018, to discuss Leadership & Character.

Overview and highlights of our Call to Conversation:

• Our group examined leadership and character in a variety of situations. Personal examples of leadership and character were shared by telling stories of individuals including our parents, mentors, corporate leaders and strangers, just to name a few. We were very encouraged by the notion of everyday character, noting that it is all around us if you slow down and look for it.
• Through stories and comments, our group demonstrated that real leadership requires empathy and the ability to listen. We expanded this idea to include examples of people who “make a difference when no one is looking.” Character and leadership is not just what you say but what you do and one might never know the impact of their actions. It can be just one person’s deed that changes lives.
• The group contemplated technology and social media’s role in our children’s ability to engage, make commitments and develop relationships. The greatest concern of our group is the effect of smartphones and their ability to captivate our children and distract them from developing deeper connections with people. We worry those traits will become a thing of the past.
• On the day of our conversation the Reverend Billy Graham passed away. One participant offered the following quote from Rev. Graham as a nice summary insight:

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”