Last week, we had our monthly luncheon in Dallas. Although we call it <a title="Dallas Lead Change Meetup" href="http://leadchangegroup.com/dallas-lead-change-meetup/">Authentic Leadership Dallas</a>, Lead Change is the rallying and centering organization for our gathering.  It is the principles of character-based leadership that bring us together, and it is the efforts of Mike Henry and others joining together to make things work in local communities.

Social media communities deliver a lot of value in learning, connecting, and sharing. It is a whole new experience to sit across from other individuals and share stories of challenge, opportunity, and success. Leadership is real and situations stare back at us as we listen and offer ideas. It is in our leadership stories we learn, coach, and grow.

During our last meeting, we had a new mix of people, and I believe we have a core of eight people now. It is exciting to see the momentum gain with this group. While it has not been an immediate success, many things are not. It takes time to build relationships and consistency to put a foundation in place.

Our meeting flow was simple. Introductions are always a great place to begin, but we then went into a discussion of a core belief for each leader. In exchanging our core beliefs, we naturally went to how these work at work or how to make them work in our work. It was an engaging, thoughtful conversation and I believe each of us left with some new insights and appreciation for the challenges we lead through.

The last part of our meeting was spent discussing how to continue our conversations next month. The consensus was to focus on a single question for part of our exchanges and then share unique situations we are working through. The reality may be this group is a mutual mentoring community. Isn’t that how leaders get better after all?

As we move into our June meeting, we will explore one moment of authentic leadership we each experienced. We will also open time to share what is happening in our workplaces and looking for ideas on how to enhance what we do.

This is our Lead Change journey in Dallas. Real conversations. Real people. Real leadership stories and opportunities for growth.

If you are in Dallas, join us. Check out our <a title="Authentic Leadership Dallas" href="http://www.meetup.com/Authentic-Leadership-Dallas/" target="_blank">Authentic Leadership Meetup group and RSVP</a>!