Madison Mayor Paul Soglin and Monona Mayor Bob Miller used their experiences as city officials to give leadership advice at the Young Professionals Talks on Leadership Tuesday.
The YP Talks, framed like TED Talks, are meant to be “thought-provoking” for YP members and community attendees as well, according to event organizers. The Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals sponsored the Tuesday event at The Brink Lounge.
Soglin highlighted certain factors that led to his success, including the support he received from his parents.
“A great deal of my drive in terms of wanting to be involved, and realizing that we can all be involved, in making a better community [and] a better world, comes from my parents,” Soglin said.
He further addressed the importance of having hobbies, mentioning having his own in biking and fantasy baseball, to balance the stresses of life as a city leader. Having someone to confide in is also important, according to Soglin.
“Trust is critical. [It is important] to have someone … where you’re able to share the weight of work, what’s going right and what’s going wrong,” Soglin said. “Otherwise, when you return to work the next day, its going to be explosive.”
Soglin emphasized awareness of one’s own intelligence, and using brainpower to better the community ahead of personal interests. He referred to the community as “aligned,” meaning every member had the same goal of making Madison a better city.
“Even though you’re [told that you’re] not the brightest bulb, never doubt that you aren’t the brightest bulb,” Soglin said.
Miller also shared his thoughts about how he got to his position, stressing networking and communication.
“I’m not a big reader of self-help books. We are who we are,” Miller said in his speech. “But the one take away that I live and die by ... [is that] you will never see eye-to-eye if you never meet face-to-face.”
Communication in leadership, however, has two parts, Miller said, citing the importance of hearing others’ responses.
“We only have one mouth but we have two ears … communication is also listening,” Miller said.
Referencing his childhood, the Monona mayor emphasized the value of giving back to the community, which he believes he accomplishes through his mayorship, a position of city leadership.
“You can [make a change] as a mayor … in a way unlike a regular citizen can,” Miller said.
