When I think about my leadership style, I realize that it has been shaped by years of trial, error, and self-reflection.

Early in my career I thought that having a degree or a title that made me a manager, and that being a manager made me a leader. But what I came to realize is that it wasn’t that simple.

I remember being frustrated as a young engineer working with CADD drafters and designers.  Many times, when I gave them tasks or  instructions they would push back or tell me that something couldn’t be done. So I decided to teach myself the so that the next time they told me something couldn’t be done, I would show them that it could. 

Back then, I thought having all the answers made me better at my job. Over time I learned that people didn’t follow me because I knew everything . They followed because I never asked them to do anything that I wasn’t willing to do myself.

They respected me because I worked hard, stayed calm under pressure and led by showing them instead of telling them. I set the pace and the bar.  If there was extra work to be done, I did it. If there was a tough problem to be solved, I tackled it first.

Eventually that work ethic and drive turned me into a very experienced and knowledgeable workaholic.  I started to believe it if something had to be done I had to be the one to do it.

This is something I still struggle with today.  I constantly have to remind myself that if I want my team to grow, I have to give them the space to grow. That means letting them make mistakes, learn from them, gain experience, and develop their skills — even if it takes longer than it would if I had just done it myself.

Today, when someone comes to me for an answer, I push back and ask, “Did you Google it? Sometimes they get frustrated, and I remind them that the Internet didn’t even exist when I started! We had to figure things out the hard way but that’s what made me better engineer.

As I matured in my career, I started feel that leadership wasn’t just about guiding teams at work.  I started to feel a call to get out of the office and into the community to serve.

It was that call that led me to join the board of the Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce in 2011. When I joined, things were pretty chaotic. I remember one board meeting where we couldn’t even get through the agenda because we needed to elect a new chair after the old one had resigned.  In the middle of all that confusion, someone looked at me and said, “Why don’t you lead us through this meeting?” So, I stepped up.

After that, they asked me to become the new chair. Whatever qualities they saw in me — my calmness, my focus, my dedication —people say it breathed new life into the organization. Under my leadership, we regained respect in the community, membership grew, and corporate sponsorships returned.

In 2014 Shreveport Times published an article titled “Face of Leadership Changing.” They had identified me as part of a new generation of Black leaders stepping into the spotlight.

I remember seeing my photo in that paper, feeling honored and humbled. It was a reminder that leadership isn’t always about seeking the spotlight — sometimes it finds you when you’re simply doing the work.

Once the community saw me as a leader, more doors opened. I was invited to serve many other boards.  I was even appointed by the Governor to serve on the State Board of Commerce and Industry,

Through it all, I’ve come to fully understand that leading is serving and serving is leading. I’ve learned that Leadership isn’t about control; it’s about building trust, lifting people up and leaving things better than you found them.

One day, a senior leader asked me, “Do you want to lead with fear, or with love?” “With love.” I answered as I thought about the leaders that I admire most. Leaders like Jesus Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and others who inspire us.  They don’t lead by simply ordering people around.  They lead by serving with a purpose, giving people hope and inspiring action.

Today as I lead whether I’m at the office or in my community, I’ve learned to trust, to step back more often, and to help others discover their own strength.

Because to me, that’s what true leadership is all about.