Former editor of Essence Magazine, Susan L. Taylor, to kick off 2016-17 Leadership Lectures this Tuesday, October 4.
If you want to lead boldly, if you want to be a visionary, make sure you spend time turning away from the outside world, away from the mirror.
“Pay attention to what you’re carrying in your own head, what’s going on inside your own soul,” advises Susan L. Taylor, former editor of Essence Magazine and Founder & CEO of National CARES Mentoring Movement, the fastest growing mentor-recruitment organization in the nation. “Rather than allowing the world to speak to you and tell you what to think, it’s your individuality, intelligence and talents that should direct your path. Passionate and effective leadership starts from within.”
On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, Taylor kicks off the highly popular Leadership Lectures series from the Center for Leadership at Florida International University (FIU). Her lecture entitled “Bold, Visionary Leadership: From the Inside Out” will take place Tuesday at 9:30am in the Graham Center Ballrooms on the Modesto A. Maidique campus of FIU.
The Leadership Lectures are a unique chance to hear from a highly-regarded leadership experts, up close and personal. The Lectures are free and open to the public, thanks to generous support from Mercantil Commercebank, but advanced registration is required. Click here to RSVP
Quiet reflection, bold leadership
Even in a world of fast changes and growing turbulence, even when technology has become an extension of our bodies, Taylor is adamant about the benefits of quiet reflection.
“You will be amazed at what happens when you allow what’s inside you to emerge,” she promises. “Quiet reflection allows you to craft a vision for your life and leadership style, and is a tremendous source for new ideas.”
Bold leadership need not be bombastic, she points out. “You can lead from the back of the room,” she says. “But being an effective leader always starts – and continues – when we look inward.”
Visionary leadership comes about as you lessen the importance of rules and elevate the power of your own vison, your own way of doing things, Taylor recommends.
“When you see little ones walking down the street, notice how they move and almost dance, rarely walking in a straight line,” Taylor says.
“Leaders need to recapture that way of thinking outside the margins.”
Taylor, author of four books, is a captivating speaker, with a knack for weaving stories and experiences from her illustrious career into her presentation. Under Taylor’s 27 years as editor of Essence magazine, the publication’s readership soared to eight million in the U.S., the Caribbean, Canada, the U.K. and English-speaking African nations. The Essence brand expanded into book publishing, broadcasting, eyewear, hosiery and its own fashion catalogue.
Today, as CEO of National CARES Mentoring Movement, she leads an organization in 58 U.S. cities that recruits, trains and deploys caring adults to serve as mentors, tutors, reading buddies and role models at schools and a wide variety of youth-serving organizations.
Taylor’s presentation will offer the tools for crafting a vision for one’s life and leadership style that is energizing and inspiring. She will show how identifying and articulating one’s personal path in life are critical steps in successfully leading others and being authentically respectful of their feelings, values and differences.
Taylor draws upon her three decades of visionary leadership to help The Leadership Lectures’ attendees take stock of their talents and purpose.