Just Be Yourself
Like most newspapers in metropolitan areas, The Washington Post annually selects top workplaces in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia—commonly referred locally to as the DMV. Organizations apply and go through a vigorous process to be selected to be on the list.
The award is open to any employer with 50 or more employees in the DMV area, and survey results are only valid if 35% of employees respond to a survey. Actually, smaller employers have a higher threshold of responses—at least 30 people need to respond.
I look forward to the summary of the organizations that make the list. The article about the winners usually includes a few interviews with leaders of winning organizations.
This year, I was particularly interested in the interview with Sylvia Megret, President and CEO of ACDI/VOCA, a nonprofit global development organization. In an interview, she said she considers “authenticity and transparency as the cornerstones of modern leadership.”
She went on to say that ‘you have to be willing to know that you don’t know the answers. You have to be curious, and you need to value open and honest communication with staff members. She encourages people to come talk to her and ask questions about how decisions are made. She finds this practice helps build the trust that is so necessary in today’s business environment.
She shares her philosophy that when people feel trusted it allows them to be confident and do their best work.
Megret and her staff recently instituted a set of six values that define the organization: passion, insight, respect, resilience, impact, and integrity. She says that these values are the words that guide everything we do.”
She acknowledges that some of these values may be inspirational, but that integrity is the key to what she describes as “absolute excellence.” It reminded me of a quote from Warren Buffet:
“Look for three things in a person—intelligence, energy, and integrity. If they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.”
Hearing Megret’s take on leadership, it is no wonder why her organization was voted on the Washington Post’s Top Workplaces in 2024. Here’s a final quote from Sylvia Megret, “You don’t have to be a superman to be a good leader. You just have to be yourself.” And if you lead with authenticity and transparency, you will be on the right track to being a great leader.