Who do I admire as a Leader?

The person that I admire as a leader is someone I just met last year. They became a crucial leader in our organization at a time when we really needed direction. She took the time to set up individual meetings with each member of the staff to address their concerns, goals and feedback for the program going forward. This was one of the first times I think each staff member felt truly valued and that their opinion mattered and might make a difference in the way things were going.

The quality I admire most is her ability to be transparent at a time when no one else was. Many conversations were happening behind closed doors and she came to us and explained in detail what was happening with the organization and what she was going to do to move us forward. She is strongly opinionated but also appreciates when colleagues or coworkers challenge that opinion while giving their own. She is able to delegate when necessary, and often goes to specific individuals with tasks she knows they will excel at, again giving them the sense that they have a purpose in the organization. She is an extremely successful leader because she goes above and beyond to enact change when necessary, while making people feel like everything is going smoothly, even though that might not be the case.