Leadership Unscripted: Navigating Your Leadership Journey

Dr. Sterling Freeman is a leadership coach, Christian minister, and activist. Leadership is about relationships, making room for people.  Being a leader means being human, not perfect, but humble and authentic. Dr. Freeman discusses the intricacies of a more inclusive model of leadership.

Satana Deberry, elected District Attorney for Durham County is motivated by a desire to serve and give to a community that has often been failed by the system. She believes a leader should be open, honest, transparent, and willing to follow as well as lead.

CEO of Locklear Roofing, Jackie Locklear runs one of the few 100% woman and minority-owned roofing companies in the United States. Inheriting the family business from her father, whose handshake was his contract, Jackie is guided by values learned early. Those values are reflected day-today operations of her company. Jackie states building your reputation by focusing on quality is paramount to success.

Anita R. Brown-Graham is UNC’s Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government, and the founder and director of the ncIMPACT Initiative at the UNC School of Government. Collaborative leadership is bringing people together to help them accomplish things they may not realize they can accomplish individually or collectively. An effective collaborative leader does this without leaving a lot of fingerprints.  An analogy from a colleague likens the leadership style to being a midwife, critical to the process but no one remembers you afterwards.

Kevin Kruger, CEO for NASPA, has more than 40 years of experience in higher education. He states, a strong organizational culture starts with an unclouded vision that identifies strategies and opportunities that empowers and values people. The actions of a leader must be consistent with the values they expound. The words of a leader must be followed-up with tangible acts.

ECU alumnus and former Pirate football player Ed Watkins says that his upbringing and athletics gave him a never give up mentality and the core values for life. Leadership, he says, is the ability to make a difference.  The best way to make a difference is to lead by example.

Bob Aston co-founded TowneBank in 1999, and helped it grow to become one of the biggest banks in Virginia and the largest regional bank in Hampton Roads. Bob thinks of leadership more in terms of “walking behind” his team. However, when a fire breaks out, the leader must run towards the trouble rather than pushing the team into it.

Author, teacher, journalist, and president of the John William Pope Foundation, John Hood notes that leadership is not a single thing but a bundle of skills and choices. Rather than being in front, John explains that effective leadership sometimes require you to turn your back on those you are leading.

Former ECU Chancellor, Dr. Steve Ballard, believes that being a good leader is about values. Your values, character, and willingness to focus on the things that make a difference reflect the kind of leader you are. Good leaders lead with courage, integrity, and responsibility. According to Ballard, great leaders are great people.

The ninth president of Elon University is the sixth child of nine children. Dr. Connie Book says a large family taught her the art of negotiation and compromise. She believes it is important for leaders to have lots of voices around the table and to offer transparency and accessibility to the decision-maker.