YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Rod Wilt says keeping his home base solid is the key component of his leadership philosophy.
“It’s 100% relationship-based,” Wilt says of his leadership style.
Wilt, a former businessman and Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is approaching one year leading the Penn-Northwest Development Corp., based in Hermitage, Pa.
“One of the things that’s important for me is building our home team in our office and having us be a unified voice for the organization,” he says.
Throughout his professional career, he’s had little turnover with employees. The main reason, he says, is that he’s always given his employees the freedom to deal with situations that arise in their personal lives. By helping employees take care of their home base, it brings stability to his professional home base.
“Sooner or later you’re going to be faced with some adversity and you’re going to need that support from your peers in the workplace,” he says.
“Sometimes you just need to be flexible enough to give people that mental health day to go deal with what they need to deal with.”
Wilt was interviewed by Jeff Leo Herrmann as part of the Brain Gain Youngstown Leadership Podcast.
Here are some key takeaways:
When you see a problem, communicate directly and transparently.
Be willing to point the finger at yourself.
Let employees handle home base. They’ll return clear-headed, more productive.
The Brain Gain Youngstown Leadership Podcast is published every Wednesday at BusinessJournalDaily.com and on Spotify. All are available by scanning the QR code at right.