Leadership at the Mob Museum!

A few Mondays ago, my wife and I were honored to sponsor about 20 young people to a morning tour of the Mob Museum here in Las Vegas. The group belongs to a charity called Club Christ. Club Christ has four locations in the greater Las Vegas area and they provide after school activities, Bible study and food for underprivileged youth. The club gives these kids a safe and fun place to go after school, especially if their parents are still at work. We have been working with Club Christ for a few years and the opportunity presented itself to have the Mob Museum host a tour of their wonderful facility. If you have never been to the Mob Museum, you must visit. It has world class exhibits about the history of organized crime in the US and Las Vegas. There are hands on experiences with police simulators and a crime lab. It is one of our favorite things to do in Las Vegas. Here is their website:

https://themobmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/purchase-tickets/tickets/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrcWYse_y_AIVAgWtBh2Bfg-BEAAYASAAEgKSv_D_BwE

The kids were a bit shy but you could tell they were excited about the tour. They ranged in age from 11-17 and were from each of the four Club Christ entities in the valley. We all gathered at the museum around 11 am with the kids and their chaperones who are Club Christ staff. We were greeted by a woman named Gillian who is the Manager of Giving and Strategic Partnerships for the museum. Gillian had made all of the arrangements including parking, entry to the museum and setting us up with two wonderful tour guides. After an introduction, the group was divided up in two. The two tour guides, Brian and Kris, were excellent.

We were in Brian's group and as he took us through the three floors of the museum, you knew we were in great hands. This was not just a job for him, but a passion. He worked with the kids, who, as I said, were a bit shy, to come out of their shells and engage. Which they did! In the process, he taught them about crime, criminals and the history of Las Vegas. One of the funniest moments of the morning was when Brian showed us a phone booth owned by Al Capone! Now none of these kids had ever been in a phone booth and I dare say, most had never seen one. We got a kick watching them all wanting to take pictures of them in the booth. Made a lot of us adults feel old!

About half way through the tour, the CEO of the Mob Museum, Jonathan Ullman, stopped by to greet the group. He had just returned from a meeting with the City Manager of Las Vegas and undoubtedly had a full schedule on his plate. But he cared enough about the students and their experience, that he made sure to stop by and say hi. He also spent time with Brian and it was apparent that Brian held Jonathan in high esteem as a leader. Jonathan gave all the credit to the museum's success to people like Brian. It was good to see the students observing this exchange of mutual respect and friendship between employer and employee.

The tour lasted about three hours. The picture you see above is us right after the tour. The kids and the staff with them all had a wonderful experience and so did I. Unfortunately my spouse wasn't feeling well that morning due to a bug so I flew solo. Even though my wife and I have been to the museum several times, it never ceases to amaze us and educate us. But as I was driving home from the tour, I was struck by the leadership I had observed that morning from all fronts.

The three chaperones from Club Christ were amazing. They love those kids and their mentoring and interaction with them was truly heartwarming. Mentoring and caring are two traits of great leaders. The way Brian and Kris, the tour guides, gave their all in their work was also wonderful to observe. They were not just "going through the motions." They took pride in their work, cared about the experience and learning the kids were going through. They gave the kids great examples of teamwork and pride. Leaders are team players and take pride in their work. Jonathan showing up to spend time with the group was amazing. He's not too busy or feels himself too big to spend time with these kids and us to make sure we are having a wonderful experience. Real leaders are present. They care. They make sure their operations are working well and they make sure to give praise to their troops when it is warranted. Seeing Jonathan interface with Brian told me everything I wanted to know about Jonathan's leadership style. He is a servant leader for sure!

Gillian, who set up the logistics for this event is another example of a great leader. She was the first face to greet us at the museum and the last one to say goodbye. Yes, she did her job excellently but she made sure that everything went well. She followed up to get feedback. Real leaders seek feedback to make them, their teams and their operations better and better. Continuous Improvement! Hmm. Where have you heard that before - smile.

I am hopeful that this experience for the kids at Club Christ left a positive impression. Not only did they get a first class tour of one of the main attractions in Las Vegas, but they learned something. Yes, they certainly learned a lot about the history of crime in the US and Las Vegas. They were able to see some interesting exhibits in a personalized way. But, they also had the opportunity to see examples of leadership, teamwork, caring, pride and dedication to duty from the people they met that day. I too am hopeful that these wonderful young people will grow up to be leaders in their own right. No, I am certain of it!