Leadership and Love: A powerful combination!

February is a month that we reflect on leadership and love.The connection of these two seemingly different subjects might surprise you.
Let's first look at leadership.

We celebrate the birthdays of two of our most famous presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  These two leaders had many differences.  George Washington grew up wealthy and Abraham Lincoln grew up poor.  Washington had a lot of military experience and Abraham Lincoln had very little. What they shared was extraordinary leadership ability. Their leadership, strength and courage lead us through times that transformed our nation. It is a model for us all to embrace and emulate.

Now let’s talk about love. In February, we celebrate Valentine's Day. A day when we acknowledge the people that we love and care about. We often don't talk about love in a business context, but maybe we should. We know that the most successful business leaders make decisions and conduct themselves in a way that care for people and the world we live in.  We know how important it is that we have family and friends to provide us with the balance that we need to be able to
live productive lives. We also know that people who experience the greatest
levels of well-being are people who love what they do, care about the people
they work with and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways. 

The ability to contribute in a meaningful way is what drives our active members to contribute their time and energies to our Chamber’s mission.  Ask an active member why they are involved. They will say it is good for business but they will also tell you it is good for them personally. The connections, the relationships, and the satisfaction of helping other business owners have made the Chamber a place where people make meaningful connections.

In the short and long term we are successful as a Chamber because our most active members care about our business community. They bring
their leadership strengths and skills as well as their passion for business and
our organization to ensure that the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce
succeeds. What is remarkable is the amount of time and energy invested by our
volunteer leaders. These leaders, including the Executive Committee, the Board
of Directors, our Group and Committee chairs, and past chairs have achieved
remarkable results. For the first time in many years, we have a net gain in our
membership. This is important because in the past what we have seen is that
people join the chamber but often did not continue their membership. This year
with the goal of ensuring that our members receive the value that they expected
from their membership, these volunteer leaders of LBCCC have worked hard, smart, and with passion to ensure businesses large and small benefit from chamber membership. Our group and committee chairs were asked to think out of the box, to reach goals never achieved, to challenge each other to find ways to ensure that LBCCC in our business community attracted membership that broadened the diversity of our organization, encouraged young leadership, and ensured the economic growth of our community. These men and women of our community are asked to serve, a.k.a. volunteer, taking time from their businesses and careers to give back to the business community. 

While we're celebrating leaders and love this month, I would like us all to celebrate and acknowledge the leaders of our Chamber - volunteers and staff.  During this month as you attend events and meetings, show some love for our volunteer leaders, our great staff, and the members of the business community. Show this love by recommending them on LinkedIn, liking them on Facebook, writing them a note of thanks, or just telling them personally that you appreciate how much they care and do.

Leadership and Love: A powerful combination! Have a great month!

Here’s to your success!

Susan Rosner
Chair of Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce
Managing Partner
Calder Associates of PA