Submitted by Bill Petropoulos
Project Manager
Loss Prevention Foundation

Recently, I was asked an intriguing question, "What does courageous leadership mean to you?" To be honest I was surprised by this question. It is not often this question comes up in a conversation, but it should. Our industry is known for having courageous leaders, and there are many. Think about the LP professionals that have made a difference in our industry. Recently an industry leader left us. Fred Wilson was known for his leadership, innovative thinking, and people development style. Think about the LP leaders fighting ORC today; law enforcement partners, LP professionals, solutions providers, industry associations. Think of the leaders in our industry that innovate; Target and their state of the art forensic lab, Ebay and their fraud programs and teams, industry certifications LPQ, LPC, CFI, and CFE, and all the leaders that make a positive difference in their organizations, the industry, and in the lives of their teams. For all of these reasons I decided to submit my perception of what courageous leadership is.

1. Stay Hungry. In the words of non-other than Steve Jobs, "Stay Hungry". Never get comfortable with the current status of the business or personal accomplishments. Before you get comfortable is time to push to the next level.
2. Share the vision. Leadership is having a vision and being able to share that vision in a way that will inspire the team. What is your vision for your area of responsibility? Have you shared the vision in a way that gets your team is excited about the possibilities? Is the team on board? Is it the right vision?
3. Get down to the trenches. More often as we grow and advance in our career, we start to get complacent. We quickly forget how things were in the front lines. A courageous leader in my view will step down in the trenches and stay connected with the reality of the business. Connect with the team, understand the daily challenges, and stay close to the action if you will.
4. Humble. Courageous leadership is not about "I" but it is about "We". Leaders that are not afraid to recognize their team, and put the team first and not themselves.
5. I am wrong. Leaders that are not afraid to say they are wrong or made a mistake, and apologize.
6. Challenge. Leaders that are not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom in a professional and productive way.
7. Passion. Leaders that have passion for the business and expect the best from and for their team.
8. Integrity. Leaders that demonstrate integrity in their daily lives, and pass that strength on to their team.
9. Honesty. Leaders that value honesty and influence the teams to do the same.
10. Being the best. Leaders that develop and train their teams to excel and drive to be number one with the end result in mind.

In the words of Peter F Drucker, "Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people", that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations."
 

Bill Petropoulos is an executive with 20 years of progressive experience in loss prevention management. Petropoulos is currently with the Loss Prevention Foundation as a Project Manager where he manages various strategies including the newly created "Career Development" project. The Career Development project is a leading concept where Executive Loss Prevention Professionals share their success and career mile stones in order to benefit loss prevention professionals interested in advancing in the industry. Petropoulos has held various executive positions in loss prevention and asset protection, including; store, district, regional and corporate positions. Petropoulos has an Associate’s Degree in Administration of Justice, and is currently working on a Bachelor’s degree in business management. Petropoulos can be reached at billpetropoulos@gmail.com or (760) 508-5518.