SERVANT LEADERSHIP

A few weeks ago, I sent a note to our board noting the remarkable strides our country has taken since the tragedies of 9/11/01, while also lamenting the unthinkable political violence we experienced with the assassinations of Charlie Kirk and Melissa Hortman.

It was, and still is, a dichotomy: a business trip to Manhattan on September 11 was now normal; murder due to political differences should never be. It’s hard for all of us to comprehend these things, let alone explain them to our young children.

In the note, I paraphrased Mr. Roger’s great counsel to Find the Helpers in challenging times, remarking that in my extensive time with our elected leaders, I still see an overwhelming commitment to making our communities and our country better. In these divisive political times, we need civil servants who forego privacy and, increasingly, security to serve, even those whose opinion of what the greater good is or how we achieve it differs from our own.

Our industry has this in spades. We’re blessed with innumerable leaders committed to rising the tide for PEOs, not just their own boat. NAPEO’s leadership is chock full of individuals who show up and contribute, repeatedly telling me they are there because they want to give back to an industry that’s given them so much. It’s a unique quality that permeates our industry, and my friend and NAPEO’s departing Board chair David Feinberg really exemplifies this.

Anyone who has ever been in a meeting with David knows that, without fail, he’s always got a question that will challenge thinking or approach, and we always learn something from him not just being present but being prepared for the meeting and interested in making us better.

Before I knew this was habit, I experienced it in my, let’s call it “thorough” interview process, where David served as a member of the search committee. I left all of those meetings impressed by the depth of the conversations, and even more excited about what it must feel like to work in this industry.

David ran our board nominations process last year while on sabbatical, frequently fielded (tolerated?) texts and calls in evenings and on weekends, and somehow came to anticipate an unscheduled, but nonetheless regular Friday afternoon call. Together we made real progress to modernize NAPEO to meet the industry where its going, tackling difficult and delicate member, policy and association issues that have and will continue to make us better. While he won’t want the recognition for it, this progress has David’s fingerprints all over it.

When you read this, David will have already passed the Chair torch to Bill Maness, one of those leaders committed to giving back I mentioned earlier. Bill inherits a better organization than where we were when David took on this role, and will no doubt leave it better still.

The commitment they’ve both made to add the responsibilities of industry leadership to their personally and professionally full plates is not just admirable, it’s an example of dedication, balance and sacrifice we all benefit and can learn from.