Leading A Remarkable Staff

As I pondered the concept of a leader of leaders, I realized it had brought me to an important “aha!” moment. It addresses many events that have taken place in my entrepreneurial life. Much of what follows you may already be aware of.

A small day camp I opened in Chicago in 1957 closed when I left Chicago for Los Angeles & UCLA. In 1948 I opened another small Day Camp in Malibu Canyon, which grew into a large organization. It closed when we left for Northern California and opened Camp Shasta. Later, we built complex children’s programs in Las Vegas, Colorado, and planned for others throughout the U.S., including Hawaii and Fiji. Major corporations employed us to create programs for them, and we did studies for our government—all this from 1947 to 1974.

Not a vestige of a single program remains—maybe buildings, but a legacy remains. Our staff for every program was made up of well-educated people, almost all of them headed toward professional life. During intensive training, we left no stone unturned via detailed discussions. Dialogue was always free and easy. It is what we sought from everyone. With few exceptions, many of these former staffers became leaders themselves, making remarkable achievements in their chosen fields. There’s no mystery as to why that happened.

It was our outstanding staff who actually helped me launch another chapter in my life by getting me invited to speak about resolving personnel problems in the workplace. I quickly became attracted to the idea that I could help professional offices, be paid a handsome fee, and prove that we knew what we were getting famous for.  My work with the best and brightest people changed my life. And in many cases, I changed theirs.

Dialogue, my way—How else do we speak to each—This is our best way

Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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