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Leadership Frederick Alum Shares What Makes a Good Leader

Ashleigh Kiggans Talks Community Leadership in Frederick County

Each year over 40 local professionals from across industries and professional backgrounds unite in a unique nine-month exploration of community leadership spearheaded by the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce called Leadership Frederick County.

For over 30 years, Leadership Frederick County has produced groups of creative, connected and compassionate leaders who exponentially strengthen our overall business community. Through both leadership skills and the vast network of like-minded leaders with whom to partner and mutually support, LFC greatly impacts our local and regional business community.

This is the first article in a four-part series by the Chamber of Commerce on leadership as envisioned by some of our Leadership Frederick County graduates.


Ashleigh Kiggans
Leadership Frederick County Graduate | Class of 2018

Ashleigh Kiggans is the Vice President of MacRo Commercial Real Estate. She plays a key role within the organization, assisting the leadership team across a wide range of initiatives, including market research, data analysis, client communications and marketing while assisting with the sales and leasing transactional process. Ashleigh has been a member of the Federated Charities board since 2016. She enjoys being involved in the Frederick community through volunteering and coaching volleyball at Frederick Volleyball Club.

Ashleigh graduated from the Leadership Frederick County Program in 2018 and sat down with us to share what she thinks makes a good leader in today’s business environment.

What Makes a Good Leader: 3 Qualities All Good Leaders Share

What makes a good leader

The ability to delegate.

Leadership is not about doing everything yourself, it’s about prioritizing the responsibilities that require your focus and sharing the ones that don’t with key people whose strengths lie in those area. Strong leaders are able to utilize their subordinates by giving them the resources and support they need to manage the tasks they’re assigned efficiently and effectively.

Never be too afraid to rely on others as a means of growing yourself.

Emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is, “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.” As a leader, this manifests itself in several ways including your ability to anticipate people’s reactions to various situations, predict ones’s ability to manage a task effectively, particularly if it requires interaction with others, and determining the best way to get people to perform consistently at the top of their abilities. Leaders require emotional intelligence to not only manage their own behavior and problem solve effectively, but to help others tap into that skill as well.

When you strat to get to know people on a personal level, they also want to do well for you.

The ability to inspire others.

As Ashleigh notes, good leaders are able to find ways to connect with their employees, find what motivates them, and inspire them to perform well. It’s not just about telling people what to do, it’s about telling them what to do to make them and the company successful.

For aspiring leaders, Ashleigh recommends the following to get a head start on your own leadership capabilities:

Books:

Podcasts:


Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website.

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