INTERVIEW WITH LAURA DEAN

What does it mean to be a great leader?  

One aspect of being a great leader is following through on your commitments. I’ve worked with several volunteer groups over the years, and it seems that some people just like to have their name listed on the board/committee but rarely show up or help out.

 It’s the people who take the commitment seriously and add value to the organization that make the best leaders, and those are the people I look for when selecting the leadership for my groups. I know I can count on them to get things done.

Do you feel you're a leader? Why or why not?

I feel I’m a leader by nature of being a “connector.” Until I read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, I didn’t realize there was a name for my sickness! For example, if I meet someone who is new to town, job hunting, and/or starting a business, my wheels instantly start spinning to think of how I can connect them. 

Tell a story of a time you took the lead -- what was your motivation?

For many years, I ran a listserv I called “The Dean’s List.” It was sort of a "mini-Craig’s list," where people would send me job openings, places for rent, or other things they were trying to promote and I would send out the list weekly. I had over 1,000 members at one point. I created the list because I wanted to help people make connections on a larger scale. When I went back to school while still working full time, I found it was too much to try to maintain the list as well as my sanity! I may try to revive the list after I graduate. 

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