January’s message emphasizes leadership and initiative and encourages all ACS Members to provide valuable input so we can grow and improve as an organization & better support the City/LAFD.Being a Good Leader – An Ongoing Resolution
The fresh climate inherent to the New Year also ushers in a sense of resolution and a spirit of renewal. Some of my ongoing resolutions include becoming a better person and to also be more open to my fellow man. And with this relatively new mantle of responsibility on my shoulders – that of Club President – I know that I also need to become a better leader.
I have noticed that highly effective leaders do so by example. It’s much easier to follow and respect someone who “walks the walk” in addition to “talking the talk.”
Effective leaders are also fair, open minded and willing to change their ways if necessary so that their constituency are happy and taken care of. In the framework of the ACS, this means my job is to (1) Work closely with other members of the Presidency to make decisions that are for the good of the membership at large; and (2) Listen to the needs and wants of each member and do our best as a Presidency to meet that person’s needs.
Taking the Initiative (This means all of us!)
Now that I know what I need to do, how am I going to accomplish it? The first step is to get some constructive input from Membership and from friends of the ACS. What do you think can be done better? How can we improve as a Presidency? And here’s a real scary one (for me) – what do I as a President need to do, in your opinion, to be a more effective leader?
Our Club Vice President (and webmaster) Alberto Casanova (KF6UXT) has come up with an excellent vehicle for members as well as the public at large to provide constructive input through the new and improved “Contact Us” section/button of the lafdacs.org site. Use it!
Let’s all provide input and even solutions and ideas there. We need to break away from what I call the Cycle of Whining, and voice our opinions about what is “wrong” or what we don’t like while concomitantly coming up with a solution (or at least helping that process along). I can’t tell you how many times Command Staff has heard complaints from members about how something is being done – with no solution or constructive input being presented. The bottom line here is: Bring a solution or at least some ideas to the table with you if you can.
On that subject, our new website is a prime example of a good ancillary communication tool. The Radio is our main method of communication and vehicle for service. Likewise, the computer is both a companion to our radios and a tool we can use to manage the massive amounts of information being hurled at us through Cyberspace (via email and the like). The site is there to help coordinate our efforts as a Club and as an LAFD Citizen Corps volunteer entity serving the City of Los Angeles. It also aims to ease the administrative burden placed on our ACS Command Staff, so that all of us can do some “one stop shopping” for information and answers to questions.
We have the whole of 2006 ahead of us. The Command Staff is about to roll out our formal LAFD ACS Calendar and we as a Club want to put together effective Club Activities, training and service opportunities.
Be a part of that. Let us know what you think!
My best,
Carolyne J. Keeler
ACS Radio Club President
