There were many different people and events that influenced Nancy as a leader, but her mentors were one of the biggest factors. Sandy Boyd, the CEO of the Bell Museum of Natural History, was someone she emulated. She saw how he craved different opinions and actively brought in different ideas. He read voraciously. Nancy saw the value of differing perspectives through watching how Sandy Boyd sought them out. Scott Landon, someone she worked for at the Bell Museum, had this never ending curiosity and enthusiasm for his work. Nancy believes that part of leadership is being in the position to work with great leaders and to actively try to maneuver yourself into those positions. She did this when she applied for a job within the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She went to the CEO and requested to work for Bridget Cochlen. Nancy laid out why she wanted to work with Bridget Cochlen and got the position there. For her, being an active participant in who she worked with and being empowered to create those situations for herself is important. Even though her mentors were influential parts of how she developed into a leader, an important lesson for her was figuring out that her leadership style wasn’t …show more content…
She believes in the community and the museum 's role as a place that needs to be community centered and embedded in the community. She tries to listen to the staff and give them a voice because she knows that to be a leader she needs to be a facilitator and to communicate the vision of who they are and be as clear and direct about it. She believes that if “we hold our vision and values and beliefs at the center of all we do then we can 't go wrong.” Part of her role is to remind people of that and how they contribute to that. She is action oriented as well. The five practices of exemplary leadership are evident in her leadership style, especially model the way, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. She is a little bit reminiscent of WEB Du Bois because of her passion for learning and education. Although they are different because she was more focused on allowing everyone the ability to access the museum so they can experience the joy of learning, whereas Du Bois was more focused on learning as a means of advancement and equality. She also exhibited the ideas of Posner and Kouzes. Her belief that she must be true to herself and honest and authentic leads itself greatly to her credibility as a leader. She has the attributes that the authors listed, like honest, competent, and inspiring. Her enthusiasm and obvious love for her job make it clear that she is a credible