Héctor Colón - Listening is more important than providing feedback

                                           

Héctor Colón is a Servant-CEO and shares his lessons about how "Humility is at the core of serving others", why "Perseverance is about not giving up" and "Listening is more important than providing feedback" along with other great lessons. Hosted by Siebe Van Der Zee. 

About Héctor Colón

Servant-CEO, Héctor Colón is the President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (LSS). Under his visionary and Servant-Leadership approach, Colón has positioned LSS for greatness - adapting new models and business strategies to increase impact and viability for staff, clients and the organization. Before the start of Colón’s tenure in 2017, the organization had not met its budget for four consecutive years. During Colón’s first three years, LSS grew from over $4 million in losses to $8 million in gains resulting in a $17.6 million financial turnaround.

No stranger to financial turnarounds, Colón worked with his team to turn multi-million dollar deficits into multi-million dollar surpluses while serving as Executive Director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, he led several countywide initiatives, including efforts to reform the juvenile justice system, end chronic homelessness, transform mental health care, and end a 30-year waitlist for disabilities services.

Héctor will say that his own personal and professional turnaround began in boxing. As a member and champion of the national USA Boxing team, he won seven national titles and competed in the 1992 Olympic trials. At the height of his boxing career, Colón stepped away from a lucrative boxing career to serve God. Today, he is the USA Boxing Board Vice President where he and the organization focus on inspiring athletes to discover their own path towards personal and professional greatness. He also serves on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, and the Board of Directors for M3 Insurance, as well as Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ; NCBS), the holding company for Nicolet National Bank.

Colón’s life experiences and success prepared him to answer the call of Servant-CEO. He is working to inspire a Servant-CEO collective to revolutionize the social services sector as we know it today in the following ways: • Position the nonprofit industry as the employer of choice • Fully commit to the growth and development of all clients and their potential for greatness • Reimagine a Servant-Led sector that will thrive well beyond the next century Colón was named a 2021 Notable Minority Leader and the 2019 Nonprofit Executive of the Year by BizTimes Media. He also was chosen as Hispanic Man of the year by United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS). His first book, “From Boxing Ring to Boardroom: Five Virtues For Life and Leadership” is available for purchase on amazon.com. He launched LSS' first podcast, "In the Ring with Héctor Colón" on March 16th.

Episode Notes

Lesson 1. Courage is about facing your fears 04:47

Lesson 2. Humility at its core is about serving others 07:21

Lesson 3. Temperance is about self-control and restraint 11:19

Lesson 4. Magnanimity is about striving for excellence 14:18

Lesson 5. Perseverance is about not giving up 16:56

Lesson 6. Listening is more important than providing feedback 20:51

Lesson 7. Empathy is about your willingness to walk in some else’s shoes 26:06

Lesson 8. Stewardship is about paying it forward 30:59

Lesson 9. Commitment to growth of people is a great way to give back 35:01

Lesson 10. Building community is about equity diversity and inclusion. 39:06