The Charlotte Junior Chamber Blog
By Joe Margolis
Webmaster
It’s interesting to me, but why I joined is not why I’m still a member. I joined looking for the chance to get some writing experience. Thankfully I’ve had many chances to write and have even gotten some recognition. But I could have found the same result through other opportunities to work for free. I’m here today because I want to learn how to lead people. I know of quite a few groups that will let me volunteer to help with their ready-made projects. But I’ve found none besides this group which teach me to lead my own ideas from the depths of my imagination to the formation of a manageable business plan to actual execution.
In contrast, my story prior to joining speaks of self-induced defeat. For years, I was “stuck” working in a “thankless” call center job with very little opportunity to grow as a person. All this time, I allowed myself to languish, even though I wanted more and even though, financially, it didn’t allow me to do much more than just get by. All my jobs were very corporate and I was always at the bottom of the pile, feeling very talented and highly undervalued. None of my managers were going to help me innovate new ways to use my talent. Even if they’d known the first thing about leading others to be innovative and creative, they were too busy covering their own butts to care about mine. I get that. They were at the bottom of the pile too, getting paid to comply with orders from on high they secretly thought were pretty dumb, just like me. Unfortunately, the status quo often prevailed as much as possible as the common denominator that held everything together. I worked these terrible jobs for so long because I needed to pay my rent and eat. But I knew I needed something different. Fortunately, the Charlotte Junior Chamber has provided me the difference I’ve needed in two major ways.
The first way has been through great peers. To paraphrase Tony Robbins, if you want to get better, get better friends. Through the years, when I’ve needed some inspiration, I’ve always found great friends within the group, like Rocky Norkum and Noah Rickun, friends who’ve cared enough to generously give me their time and counsel. Having access to such people who challenge my character, offer good advice, and challenge me upwards in my own development has been priceless.
The second reason is opportunity. I recently had the chance to hear Rye Barcott, a fellow UNC alumnus, speak about the plight of the impoverished in Nairobi, Kenya. “Talent is universal,” he said. “Opportunity is not.” I believe that, even in here, the land of opportunity, there is scarcity of opportunities to succeed. Sure we have far more chances to rise up from our plights than those living in the slums of Nairobi. The difference is that so many of us are lulled into complacence. How many young people from the USA do you think are educated in effective leadership? The unfortunate truth is most of us can only imagine ourselves as great leaders under the most mythical of circumstances. Worse, so many of us are taught to believe that it’s too risky to even try, that it’s safer to wait for our elected leaders, CEOs and supervisors to always tell us the right answers. Otherwise, we risk getting fired. And just look where that fearful, complacent outlook has gotten our society!
In contrast, the Charlotte Junior Chamber has always encouraged me to take opportunity after opportunity to succeed and fail at leadership. In the process, I’ve sometimes let myself and others down. But no matter what, I’ve been able to grow exponentially because I was given the chance to try. This is an important distinction.
Plenty of groups may allow me the title of "leader" but will only view me as a success based on results of the project itself. The Charlotte Junior Chamber wants all projects it endorses to succeed, but measures its success by how well I do in the work of creating, planning and leading. Along with better the peer relationships, this is why I’m still a member and why there’s no bigger advocate for the Charlotte Junior Chamber than me!
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