- Just ahead, we launch our new WTVP 50 years of leadership series.

Tonight, critical conversations bring discussion from three great central Illinois leaders.

Are you a leader?

We'll find out.

Right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

I've spent 30 years on the air at commercial and public television stations.

And more than two decades as a student of leadership everything rises and falls on leadership.

That's a quote from New York times bestselling author, John Maxwell.

He's written more books on leadership than anyone in the world and I'm honored to call him my mentor and friend.

And before you tune out, because you don't see yourself as a leader, leadership is simply influence over others, nothing more, nothing less.

We are all leaders, because we all have influence over others.

In our family, our friends, neighbors, coworkers, volunteer organizations.

I could go on and on, but I won't because we've got a great group of guests to help us discuss the issue.

So, let's meet them right now.

We begin with Brett Elliott Stark County School District Superintendent, Brett talk to us a little bit, let us know a little bit of what the leadership role of your job is very difficult to be leading a school district right now.

And your perspective about leadership.

- Well, we come with the shared leadership philosophy in Stark County.

So we really believe that it starts with relationships.

Everything begins and ends with relationships, as with our employees and our students and our whole community.

Once you foster that strong relationship, you know you develop a trust and once you have trust then you can get into the nitty-gritty of running a school district and making sure we're meeting the teaching and learning needs of our students.

- Great.

Thank you so much.

Next up, Tony Moore, started his boys and girls club of Bloomington Normal.

Tony, talk to us your perspective on leadership.

- Absolutely.

We have, you know, a message that we share every day is, we can be leaders no matter what.

There are people who look up to us whether we're an elder, retired individual or a young child growing up in the school or at the club.

You know, you have the opportunity, opportunity to lead and you have the opportunity to leave it in a positive manner or in a negative manner.

So it's just a message that we share all the time at the boys and girls club.

And I share that with my team as well.

- Thank you so much.

Our final guest this evening is Lesley Matousek president and CEO of WTVP PBS right here.

Lesley, thank you so much for your time.

Talk to us about, you've been in leadership a long time.

Let us know a little bit about the leadership here at the PBS station.

- Well, first of all, Amy, thanks for being here with us.

And I got to tell you we take our cues from our audience, our membership and those that watch and love WTVP PBS.

So what happens out there is what we do here.

So we like to follow the leaders out there and bring it bring it here to the station.

So with that though, we have a wonderful team of people and our people push us forward.

I'm not the leader.

The team is the leader.

I just get to be called the leader and we push forward to give everybody that's watching and viewing what they want.

They're our leadership.

- I love it.

That's so exciting.

But when we talk about it, there are challenges these days, especially COVID-19 has made all of our lives as leaders, a little more challenging.

And I would love to talk about it in the schools and working with children.

And either of you can go first, but what have the challenges in leadership become because of COVID-19?

- Well, we've kind of attacked the, the COVID-19 pandemic in Stark County, were really back to what we mentioned earlier is that relationship and trust.

So instead of me, as the superintendent making all the decisions we put together, a task force 25 stakeholders represents from parents to teachers and support staff, board members.

And we made decisions together what best fits our community.

So we're really coming back to that relationship and trust piece.

That's, that's how you lead when you try to stand alone that that's when you fail but together we're so much stronger.

- Absolutely.

You know, talk to us a little bit.

Tony, when you work with young people and working with young people, when they can't show up at the boys and girls club every day.

How can you help them see themselves as a leader?

Because as we mentioned, that's such a critical part for people, for their self-esteem for their future success.

How do we help those young people see themselves as leaders?

- Yes, it's, it's definitely presented challenges this year.

You know, one thing that we really focus on is the fact that we have to be healthy.

And if we can remain positive and show our our teammates, our colleagues, that we can remain positive and supportive throughout this time that's going to help us all get through it.

And that message also goes out to our kids.

You know what we did is we've launched a virtual platform where we can continue to connect with our kids and our families to help them remain positive and strong when we're all facing this and in our own way, you know?

So that way we get through it together - It is all about being together but it's so difficult for those people.

And sometimes it's more of our type B personalities, that don't see themselves, as a leader.

Lesley, how have you been able to help those a little more quiet perhaps, but they have such important skills to bring to our organizations.

How do we help them see themselves as leaders?

- I think the way that we do that is what we currently do at WTVP.

We, listen, we look at a lot of data and I like to get out there.

Our whole team likes to get out there and talk to people, meet people, find out what they're interested what do they want, see what they want to know about.

So, I think being a leader in any field you have to be a good listener and you have to be able to pivot and really dig deep with people and find out what they want.

- It is hard to understand, because many times I always say there are two different kinds of leaders.

There are leaders who go into it for power and prestige.

And there are leaders who go into leadership, because they have a passion for people.

And I can see that we have a group of leaders who care about people and that's such an exciting thing, but how do we get even when we're dealing with people on our teams, whether it's young people or not how do we help set the groundwork in them that it shouldn't be about power prestige or not in leadership because you want more money.

You're in leadership because it's it's about service to others.

- I really believe it starts with actions.

So you have to model shared leadership, so we can talk about it, but we have to put it into action.

And as Tony mentioned that positive energy we talk a lot about that every day just surrounding all of our employees, our kids and our community with positive energy and modeling that.

But also going back to what Lesley was referring to as just giving everybody a voice.

So even though if you don't think you're a leader if you provide that voice in that platform where everybody has input.

Then, you can start developing that trust in that leadership - You know, many times others see leadership characteristics in us, before we do.

Tony, talk to us a little bit about what you see in your students, how you're able to identify it for them.

- Absolutely.

I think just those vulnerable conversations you know, there, there are many things that kids, adults go through that we can never imagine what specific, you know, effect that has on them.

And until we can open up our ears and listen and allow them that platform or that environment to be vulnerable and to come to us for advice for a shoulder or just for that, that open ear, you know, we, we can't we can't help them develop us as leaders.

So just being open and providing that vulnerable environment for them to, to feel free, to speak their voice.

- That's great.

Lesley, tell us, when did you know you were a leader?

- I really don't think of myself as a leader.

I think of myself more as a cheerleader and someone that is behind the team moving the team forward whether that's in my work at here, at WTVP or some of my favorite volunteer work with honor flight, working with veterans, I love people and I like to get out and listen to people and talk to people.

I'm never at a loss for words.

And I think the folks that I learned the most from and that I look to as leaders are in positions that they may not think are leadership positions, but they've been inspirational to me, to our viewers, to our staff, to our friends, to our family, everybody that goes through our church.

So it's getting out and it's spending time with people and really caring and listening to what they have to say.

- I love it.

It's so exciting.

You know, John Quincy Adams said, If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more then your, a leader.

So how do each of you do that?

How do you inspire?

I'm going to start with Lesley this time.

We're going to go backwards.

- Well, okay.

So at home I have children, my children are grown.

My husband, I have two kids.

They inspire me all the time.

They keep me fresh.

They keep me young, a young at heart, but it's the environment that I put myself in.

I always want to be challenged.

This is our community.

WTVP, this is our home too.

So I'm out there.

I'm looking, I think it's energy.

And I think it's being engaged in your community or being in, even if you're home bound it's being engaged in something, it's sharing your views, it's sharing your thoughts with people.

It's even picking up a phone and checking on somebody, writing a note.

You're, you're leading, you're helping you're you're engaging people.

I think that's what it's all about.

- I like it.

Tony, talk to us.

How do you do it with those young people you get to work with every day?

- Yeah.

I think that the, the most important thing is to allow them again that opportunity to share their voice and then to be innovative, you know?

Yes, they can look up to a leader, but unless they see their own way and have confidence and hope that they can accomplish those goals.

Then that's really what, what allows them that opportunity to explore who they are and how they're going to become a leader.

- I like it, Brett your thoughts.

- Well, I think it's, it goes back to the energy piece in in we're, we're in education, we're in the kid business and sometimes it's easy as leaders to forget and suddenly students can become a data point.

It becomes about the adults and that's what we - [Amy] About the tests?

- Absolutely.

And in Stark County, we take great pride in making sure it's always about the kids.

Every decision is what's best for the kid.

And sometimes that's a tough pill to swallow for the adults, but we have to surround them again with that positive energy, validate their worth and make sure they feel special.

And something we talk about is, finding something to celebrate every single day in that positivity just surrounds everybody and energizes them to want to be a part of something special.

- And those are definitely encouraging words.

Well, here are five signs.

Someone is a true leader from Inc com.

Number one leaders pay attention to their people.

Our group has confirmed that this evening, leaders provide their people with purpose and a sense of belonging.

Leaders model radical transparency.

Now we're going to try we're going to pause there just for one moment and talk to our guests about radical transparency.

How do we do it so many times leaders don't want to show their vulnerability.

So, talk to us a little bit, uh, Tony about how do you show that vulnerability?

- Absolutely.

I think especially during this time, it's important that your, those that you work with or work along the side of you, know that it is difficult.

You know, you have to model the way, you have to come up and you have to, you have to show up and be positive anytime you're with your team.

But during that time, they also have to understand that you too are being impacted by everything that's going on and to share that and to provide that assistance and that knowledge to them, it helps them it reassures them that, okay, you know, the he is or they are, or we are going through this together.

- Awesome.

Back to our list of tips, leaders ask: Is there anything I can do for you?

It's not all about the leader, it's about what the leader can do for others.

And our final tip is leaders create psychological safety.

Now, this was really interesting to me that term psychological safety was a coined by a Harvard professor who says you have to be safe for interpersonal risk taking.

So Brett, how do you make things safer interpersonal risk taking in general?

I think humans are risk averse.

- Well, we, I'm glad you brought up risk taker, because that's a big part of our philosophy.

And again, not, not, not to beat the horse, but uh, you know, relationships are everything.

So, uh, you know, checking in on people.

So whether you're the superintendent, the principal, a teacher, being out front of school every day, greeting students, as they come in, visiting classrooms, just to see how, asking the teachers how are you doing and creating that relationship.

So when you get into the tough decisions you already have a connection and you have that trust where they feel that they can approach you.

And that's from our students, through our staff and our community.

And I think it's very important.

- Transparency is just sometimes easier to talk about than to do, but once you do it, then sometimes you're like, okay, I can't be too transparent.

How can I, but yet that allows the connection.

And you've all shared about how important it is to connect and to listen and to learn from others.

And so it's always exciting to learn from other leaders.

Well, General Colin Powell said, Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through arguments, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.

So how do we cut through the clutter sometimes?

And again, in this COVID-19 world of crazy town time.

You know, you're working, many of you are working with students and, and young people.

And so Tony talked to us, how do you do it?

- Yeah, again, I'm, you know, open up that environment for us to have those conversations.

And, you know, when you see that internal conflict to help you know, establish that uhm, opportunity.

So that way we can work together to find a solution.

You know, if I were to come in or a leader were to come in and provide that solution, it's a solution from somebody higher up, but really it's a joint effort in collabora... collaboratively finding a solution to that challenge, that conflict, whatever it may be.

- And that's what leaders do so well.

Lesley talked to us about it in these challenging times where, it's got to be difficult financially.

It's gotta be difficult, just human resource wise.

How do you cut through the clutter with your team?

- Well, first of all, I just ignore it.

I just go, I think being, being a leader of this team and I surround myself with good people, good audience, good executive committee, good board of directors.

We just go, I think, stay ahead of the pack.

If you've made a mistake, fix it, fix it along the way.

If you wait until everything is safe, safe, safe you're behind.

So we want to be ahead.

We want to take people, move people forward, transform them their thoughts, their visions, and be part of them.

So we're just, we just roll with it.

There's uhm, where technically...

I'm not afraid to take a risk.

My board is not afraid to take risks.

Our viewers are not afraid to take a risk.

We hear from them.

We listen to them and we just move forward.

And again, if we have to pivot or change our direction, so be it just lick your wounds and keep going.

- (laughs) I Like it, you know, Brett talk to us in the school district, you know sometimes school districts are known for some bureaucracy.

How do you help cut through that to really get to helping the students?

- Well, and again, the, the most simple way to go about it is what is best for kids.

And I think that's so important to understand the why, why what is the why of your decision?

And we have a couple of phrases, results, not excuses and bring a problem, bring a solution.

Those are just easy ways to cut through.

We talk a lot about streamlining for efficiency and effectiveness.

So you kind of cut through the clutter and make sure you're focusing on the task at hand.

And that allows everybody to really make a decision on what's best for kids.

- Oh my gosh.

I've got to spend a little more time with bring a problem, bring a solution.

I mean, that's growing their leadership in that process.

Plus it takes a little bit of the burden off of you as the absolute top decision maker.

- Absolutely.

One of my mentors when I first got into education, he talked about, uh, you know just a fun phrase called a blue bird and a blue bird is just that person who who just brings that negativity and all the reasons why you can't achieve something.

So we talk a lot about that making sure we're really focusing on the positive and what is the result we want to achieve?

Not all the reasons why we can't achieve that goal.

- I love it.

And that is growing leadership in everyone, everywhere.

Well, everyone knows a leader former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, and he said, before you're a leader, Success is all about growing yourself.

When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

And so this group of panelists that we have with us tonight are all about growing others, whether you're growing young people or whether you're growing an audience who is watching their local public television station we're all growing, no matter what age we are.

So I want to give some conversation and we're going to go back to Tony for a moment.

How do you do that?

- Absolutely.

Uhm, I think that you have to, as much as you provide that environment, that opportunity for others to grow, you can't forget about yourself.

Uhm, you know, personal, professional growth is important and you can't stop learning.

Uhm, you know, as Lesley said earlier, you know if you stop learning or if you stop picking up that book or continuing to grow personally or professionally then you're behind.

And so, you know, investing that time to read to get to know different organizations to build a mentorship, uhm, a team or somebody who you can rely on.

I think everything that you do has to continue to advance you personally and professionally, professionally.

- Great.

You know, Brett, let's talk about that advancing you, but you can't give what you don't have.

So you do have to continue to grow.

As he said, being a lifelong learner is something public television is all about.

And I know it's important for you and the leaders around you in the school district, but how do you really apply that?

- Yeah, I think, I think the biggest uh, aspect of leadership that sometime is missed is humility knowing that, you know that relentless pursuit of excellence never ends.

So once you achieve one level, you continue to push yourself to continue to grow as Tony mentioned, but staying humble to know and letting everybody know we don't have all the answers, but collectively as a shared partnership we can find those answers.

So, taking risks back to taking risk, but always staying humble to know that there's there's room for growth and there's there's answers in the in the group rather than just in the individual.

- You know, it's been said that humbleness isn't thinking less of yourself.

It's thinking of yourself less.

So let's talk about that how we, as leaders can show humbleness.

What do you think?

Lesley.

- I make so many mistakes.

I am probably the most humble person on the planet, but because of the team, because I think great leaders put surround themselves with great team members or friends or family support system.

And it's, I like folks to, I like to put my team into situations that they might not feel they're ready for, because I think they grow and prosper.

And from that, the best ideas come that innovations come.

There is a sense of, Wow!

we accomplished this and that's growing a leader.

Sometimes people don't realize their strengths and their successes until they're forced to, well, you got to do it.

And they get in there and they show leadership and others learn from them.

And I learned them, but I'm, I'm a lifelong learner.

I, I think my Mother is 94 and she still takes classes.

The key is being active, staying engaged, staying in tune, challenging yourself, but challenging the other team members and giving people the opportunity to explore.

And when a mistake is made or a direction is taken that might not be the wrong directions.

Okay.

Just get back on track and fix it.

Move forward.

Instead of Whoa, this didn't work, it'll work.

You'll find a way, charge through it.

Keep going.

- I love keep going.

Cause I always say, when we talk about failure, which so many people are afraid of.

The only real failure is when you quit and give up.

So Tony talked to us about, before we're running out of time how do you wrap this all up to help people realize that they are a leader?

- Yeah, I, I think it's honesty, you know, just being honest and open and allowing your team to see that.

You know as a leader, you make mistakes as well, but we're not going to let those mistakes stop us.

or prevent us from moving forward.

And then also positivity, you know during this time, we have to remain positive.

There's so much out in our world today that, that push us towards being negative or being divisive or divided.

Um, so that positivity will go a long way and trust and uhm, openness.

- I love it.

Brett, we've already learned, you are definitely a leader, sir.

And it's great to sh... to share, but how are we helping those that we come in contact with not just your staff, but those young people that you get to spend time with?

Well, when we used to be able to spend time with people.

- Absolutely.

And I think what we've talked about today is simply you put all the pieces together with relationships, trust, humility, energy, um, taking risks and, and the last key component that Lesley touched on is adversity.

That that's where the growth comes from.

It's, it's all of the other things that are positive and, and exciting part of leadership.

But truthfully, the adversity, those challenges is what allows us to grow.

And you put all those pieces together and that's your culture.

So if you have a positive culture that encourages risk-taking, positive energy, relationships and trust, that promotes and pursues adversity then you have, you have something pretty special.

- I love it.

Well, we are running out of time.

So we're going to have some final thoughts from each of our panelists.

And I want to hear the conversation was, are you a leader?

And I'm going to start with Tony, how do we help others see that they're a leader on final thoughts that I haven't given you a chance to share?

- Oh yeah.

Uhm.

So I think also allowing them an opportunity to explore those tools, those resources, bringing those tools and resources to them and encourage them to go out and grow.

You know, as we do, you know, find a book and if you read a book or come across something that helps you grow as a leader, share that with your team.

Share those that you work along the side with.

It may not apply to them directly, but if it doesn't apply to them, they'll know somebody who it would apply to and then just sharing that knowledge and those resources will help us all continue to grow as leaders.

- Thank you so much.

Lesley, I want to talk about the fact that you have such a powerful medium, that you are responsible for the airwaves, and how everyone watching this evening, who may be like I don't care how old you are.

I don't care how young you are.

There are leaders watching us this evening.

What words of encouragement do you have for them to start to see themselves that way?

I think this audience sees themselves as leaders.

I mean, come on, they're watching PBS.

- [Amy] That's true.

- But here's the thing by communicating back and forth with us and our staff and they, people call, people write letters, people, text people, people you know emails, they've taken a leadership role.

They've shared their voice.

They have told a neighbor, somebody in their sewing group, somebody in their four H group, they've said, Hey, I watched something on PBS.

They've shared that they, they are opinion generators.

They've taken people down a path where someone might say, Well, you know, I've never watched that.

I've never thought I would be interested in something.

So with that, that alone, they've shared, they've encouraged people to learn, to do, to do more.

So, you know, and we talk about being humble.

One, one thing, I... it's a little selfish.

it's not humble, but when my team is out there my viewers are out there and they say, you know what?

I did this, I learned this.

That is the greatest feeling in the world.

And, and I like that feeling.

So selfishly, when I'm connecting with people that watch the station or people work here and I see they've pushed themselves, they've gone forward.

That just tells me, Hey, we're on the right track.

- Love it.

In about 15 seconds, spread out.

I'm going to let you have the last word, please.

- Well, um (Brett laughs) - [Amy] It's too hard to do in 15 seconds, but I know you can.

- Yeah.

I just think uh, making sure that everybody feels special and we're in the kid business and education and every kid should have that relationship with at least one adult and they should feel special.

And that's what leaders do.

They make sure they find the strengths and all of their people that they serve.

- Fantastic.

Well, thank you to each of our panelists for sharing their time and leadership experience with us tonight.

You won't want to miss next week when we talk about the dirty little F word failure and the powerful lessons we learned from it.

Good night, my friends (upbeat music)