Leadership Lessons from the Louisiana Flood of 2016
The sheer magnitude of this flood is beyond comprehension. I have been beyond fortunate, as has my team and my family, and that adds to my loss for words — many, many, friends, colleagues and clients were not so lucky.I’ve often said in my workshops and talks on leadership that we all have the capacity to lead and we are all called to be leaders and owners in different ways. This flood has been an affirmation. Right away on the first weekend of the major flooding I ran into friends and colleagues at makeshift shelters and donation sites. I marveled at friends and colleagues as they galvanized troops and organized cleanup of flooded family, friends, neighbors and total strangers’ houses. I barely kept up with the Facebook posts of friends, who day after day, showed up to clean and gut houses, deliver food, and take care of flood victims in all variety of ways.And during this time, we also all reached out to one another. I heard from friends and clients all over the country. And as I touched base with Success Labs clients and friends to see how’d they done in the flood, as busy as they were taking care of their employees, without fail they took the time to check in and ask about the Success Labs team, but also tell me that they had 15, or 50, or 150 or 500 employees and their families who had lost everything. In many cases, they and their teams were not only trying to take care of employees but also take care of patients while operating with skeleton crews with tired legs and losses of their own. Yes, I’m particularly talking about you, Todd Stevens (Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center), Robert Burgess (St. Elizabeth Hospital), and Patricia Johnson, Wendy Singleton, Beverly Brooks Thompson, Cheri Johnson, Donna Bodin and Cathy Griffiths (all at Woman’s Hospital).My business is the business of leadership. And what’s been confirmed for me is something I’ve always believed: Leaders are at heart a scrappy bunch. This flood didn’t come with an instruction manual, and many of us — whether we flooded or not — don’t really know exactly what’s next. Leaders don’t have all the answers, and they don’t always know what they are doing, but they show up, they ask how they can help, they figure it out and they take care of their people — their families, their friends, their neighbors, their employees, their teams, their clients, their customers, their patients.This flood confirms that Louisiana has a lot of leaders, and it will be these leaders that light the way as we all work together to rebuild our homes, our community, our businesses, our Louisiana.If you would like to help, here are a few places where your donation would have a meaningful impact.
Together Baton Rouge
Together Baton Rouge is a broad-based, nonpartisan coalition that focuses on building relationships across our community based on trust and a willingness to listen to each other. They are playing a key role in organizing volunteer efforts for cleanup and rebuilding.Donate to Together Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge Area Food Bank
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank saw its own facilities flood. This organization fills critical needs in our community year-round and during emergency events like this, so this loss is particularly devastating.Donate to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank
Foundation for East Baton Rouge Schools
A number of our schools are flooded, and many of our teachers and students have lost their homes. The Foundation for East Baton Rouge Schools is dedicated to helping everyone return to safe, re-stocked classrooms as soon as possible.Donate to the Foundation for East Baton Rouge School System
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is providing assistance across South Louisiana, tapping its strong connections to get money quickly to where it’s needed the most. It even has a program to help employers donate funds to their workers.Donate to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation
