Louisiana Tech Park’s Stephen Loy Says Communication is Key to Leadership
In our Leadership Journeys series, we’re profiling Baton Rouge-area leaders. We’re sharing where local leaders find inspiration and what decisions they’ve made on their leadership journey.Stephen Loy came to his career in PR in a roundabout way, starting out in television. “I thought I wanted to be in TV and worked there for awhile, but it turns out that wasn’t what I wanted,” he says. He then worked at Louisiana State University in public relations, and then for the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association. During that time, he says he hit on his true passion of crafting messages and getting them out to the public. He’s worked at the Louisiana Technology Park for more than 10 years and is now executive director. Throughout that time, he’s seen a lot of different leadership styles, and learned from a lot of leaders.
Mentors Provide Leadership Lessons
Loy says the mentors he’s had throughout his career have shaped the way he feels about leadership. “My first mentors were people I worked with at LSU in PR,” he says. They taught him the importance of details in writing and communication. “Every word matters, and you need to make sure you’re succinct with what you say. Sloppy messaging makes you look bad.”When he worked at the LRTA, he learned about the importance of customer service. Listening to members and sticking to the association’s values were vital. He gained other important skills as well: He applied for and got a grant from Microsoft to help retirees learn how to use computers and the Internet.At the Tech Park, Loy says he draws on everything he’s learned in his career. With 25 companies at the park, he focuses on customer service. Leading an organization that answers to the public and receives public funding, he must create the correct messaging about what the organization does and why it’s important to the community.Fostering connections among entrepreneurs is one of the best parts of the job, Loy says. “A barrier to one person is just a phone call to another person,” he says. “I love being able to remove barriers for people.”
The Importance of Communication
Through it all, Loy says one thing has remained constant: The importance of communication. Being direct and having constant communication solves a lot of problems, he says. “You can sit down across the table from someone and have a continuous conversation. With emails and phone calls, you can take things out of context, but face to face, you can drill down to the true intent of what someone’s saying.”Loy says part of good communication is taking other people’s perspectives into account, and then making a decision you will stand up for. “Hold to your direction,” he says. “Follow me or not, but this is the way we’re going. If you’re a leader or director, there’s a reason why you’re there — not to follow public opinion, but to foster the programming and ideas that are important for an organization.”Looking for ways to develop leaders at your organization? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
