Leadership Q&A with James McGovern

How did you become a leader?

I fell into it. When I was 15, I had a summer job at Channel 3 Country Camp. An older counselor got sick and I took over. What gave it away was that the kids followed me without struggle.

What does leadership look like to you?

There are many technical answers to this question, but I believe leadership looks like serving people to become who God wants them to become or at least becoming a better version of themselves for those who are not pious.

Could you share a leadership difficulty that you've faced?

There's been a few problematic leadership situations I've faced.

I had a few talented IT Architects reporting to me in one of my roles. A project manager to save face asked my boss to have me throw them under the bus and punish them for late delivery when the real challenge was inadequate resourcing and overreliance on a particular consulting firm.

I could have gone with the flow and ruined their careers, but as an individual with #RespectForPeople, I decided to take an otherwise unnecessary beating.

What can leaders do to improve their character if they struggle with character flaws?

There's a bunch of things you can do. A great thing to do is to get a mirror and conduct a retrospective analysis with others.

This is finding someone who can reflect on who you indeed are. You can ask them what they see in your life and what needs to be improved.

Do you have any suggestions for helping us find someone who could serve as our mirror?

Everybody has those people they admire or respect. It is worth the ask. Even if it's someone you rub shoulders with through reading LinkedIn articles or Blog Posts.

Another thing is to read books about spiritual development. Reading holy books from faiths other than your own or how you grew up can be very enlightening. You will often find that leadership principles are wildly consistent across faiths.