We continue the exploration of the meaning of leadership with the leaders from different areas of work. This time my guest is Lisi Brizuela. Lisi is the founder of Leb Bunt e.V. a non-profit organization that runs the award-winning project “Das Hallo Projekt”.
Das Hallo Projekt brings the elderly and immigrants who want to learn German together so that the elderly don’t feel alone anymore and the immigrants also feel at home with their new friends and improve their German.
I asked Lisi about how she started the association, how it was to lead a project and a team of volunteers, what she learned in the process regarding leadership.
You can listen our conversation below.
Lisi is an example of personal leadership. She started the association through the need that she saw and persevered when the first attempts did not lead to success.
Even though she lacked the language skills, and knowledge of the German laws and regulations regarding associations, she did not let it stop her. She kept on communicating her idea and people hearing her vision joined her to develop the project further.
As a leader, her priority is to create a team and make everyone’s voice heard. When somebody wants to join the team she takes her time to learn about the person’s values, needs and vision so that she serves the person in the way they want.
Lisi learned from her experience that leading is being positive, asking for opinions, being the last to talk, and listening fully.
She sees the biggest gift of leadership as people feeling good and people starting to say “We” instead of I.
I thank Lisi for sharing her experience and wisdom with us. If you’d like to support Leb Bunt e.V financially or physically as a volunteer, you can get in touch with Lisi on Linkedin, check the website of Das Hallo Projekt, or check their Facebook page.
If you like to become a leadership coach, check our Leadership Coaching Programme.