Lonehill: When SMOKE Gets In Your Eyes

Aaaaah shame... I couldn't stay to the end of the Lonehill feedback meeting as I couldn't breathe given the smoke engulfing the room, so I don't know how it ended.

Travelling home I wondered if the tears in my eyes were as a result of the smoke, or for being thankful that some basic management structure had at least been returned to restore our initiative, or for the opportunity once-again lost to show the required sensitivity for community strategic leadership that inspires us on to bigger things.

First, what was good.

+-150 to 200 people in the room to show that communication makes a difference. It's a start.

The announced return of Col. Mickey Ferreira to reinvigorate visibility and disciplines into our security personnel.

An attempt to make something happen to bolster the Environment Fund. The proof of this pudding will be in the eating.

'Come Home To Quality' as a byline has a neat ring to it.

Am I thankful for these efforts? YES.

My compliments again to LRA Chairman Rob Gillespie and his team for getting us back to where we were some 3 years ago.

Am I impressed with what I saw and experienced last night? NO!

To be fair, I am clearly of a very different mind-set to what makes for the type of leadership, quality of project, and passionate commitment to excellence that I'd like to see in Lonehill.

My biggest disappointment is that I last night witnessed a primarily prescriptive leadership attitude based on the apparent ASSUMPTIONS of a few (the very same attitude that led to last year's first AGM debacle) with very little sensitivity for open participative or consultative processess to include the input of interested, committed, passionate community stakeholders.

I believe that this community has so much collective intellectual property at its disposal that is so much bigger than any overly authoritarian ego needs of the few to prove themselves. This, sadly, was highlighted in the handling of the Shopping Centre issue. What we heard was one person's opinion and assumptions attempting to over-ride the mandate sought by passionately involved stakeholders. For me, it spoilt the promising potential of the evening.

Leadership should have no fear of allowing two antagonistic positions of clear community importance to be openly declared, debated and decided upon by consensus. It IS a community problem, and the community SHOULD have a very real say.

Perhaps it's just the arrogant nature of us as South Africans that has us each believing that we know what's good for others.

Despite this, it's not my aim to overly criticise those that are cleary trying and who need to be encouraged to continue their progress (see the complimentary comments letter below), and what I am going to do is recommend that the board follow-up on an advert running on 702 right now to attend a program by Dr. John Maxwell: 'Leadership Is Influence: Nothing More, Nothing Less'.

Maxwell clearly understands the critical difference between voluntary association leaders (being close friends with one of the best - Bill Hybels) and commercial enterprise leaders. He will probably quote Harry A. Overstreet who observed, "The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate."

I believe this will be money well spent by this community to have our core leaders (those intending to remain on the Board for next year) attend this program.

This in from Laurette Jones (copied to myself), from a family I value highly in this community for courageously standing up to help stimulate last year's change of our disturbing decline, and who leaves the type of encouragement that the current Board will obviously like to hear:

Dear Rob,

Just wanted to congratulate you with an excellent feedback meeting.I am feeling advantaged having you as Chairman. Thank you for everything you have done so far and for everything you are still going to do. Please also know that my time and expertise is at your disposal should you require my help with whatever.

Our household will definitely support the ‘Environment Fund Campaign’ = R60 p.m. as we have done for the last 5 years and we also definitely support the Lonehill Shopping Centre ‘Stop The Noise Campaign’ = R60 p.m.

Thank you for committing the LRA to both campaigns equally in effort and energy. I look forward to read the reports on both campaigns.

Best regards, Laurette Jones

I can't end this post with better encouragement than that!

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 705-2790
Lonehill Resident