Landscape Leader: Bill Silverman

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The last 10 years for Bill Silverman, owner of Springboard Business Coaching, have been a time of change as he completely reinvented himself to start living his life the way he wanted to. He is a frequent webinar and meeting speaker for NALP and uses his experience to help contractors find their true strengths and make changes that will not only benefit their businesses and their roles as leaders and managers, but also their lives outside of their offices.

How would you describe your style of leadership?

When things get tough, I’m a good instigator to challenge, cheerlead and hold people accountable to keep them working toward their goals and visions.

How do you work at consistently becoming a better leader?

I read constantly to find new ideas. But the one thing that stretches me the most as a leader is what I call my “annual game changer project.” Each year, I take on one yearlong project that can make a significant difference in my business or life. My game changer is always something that I don’t know how to do and that’s well beyond my comfort zone. That’s what grows me most as a leader. As the saying goes, “If you want something you’ve never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.”

Who are your leadership role models and why?

The leadership role models I admire and respect most are the ones who have the ability to inspire people with a compelling vision and a plan and move them willingly into action to achieve a positive result. Leaders like Gandhi or Martin Luther King or even Albert Einstein are great examples.

What leadership book(s) inspire you and why?

“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is my all-time favorite. It laid out a clear road map for how I could take personal responsibility for my life and create it the way I want it to be.

What have you done in a leadership capacity that you are most proud of and why?

The entire last 10 years have been a time of complete reinvention for me. I went from a miserable, stiff, gray, lifeless corporate guy who hated his job to a happy, energized business coach doing work I really love. I left my high-paying, 25-year corporate career because I wanted to make a more meaningful impact with my life and be a good role model for my kids, showing them they should never stop going after their dreams.

If you were to give young leaders one piece of advice, what would that be?

Think about where you’re going, plan your path, but be open to new possibilities, regularly question if the direction you’re heading is really right for you, put your creative mark on whatever you do, be persistent in pursuing what you want, have fun and take a moment now and then to really appreciate all you have and the wonders around you. That’s my personal recipe for a happy life.

What leadership words or quote inspire you most?

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”