A seventh-generation Florence native, Celeste Padgett Kahn serves as executive director of Pee Dee Hearing Center, where she unites her background in marketing, publishing, entrepreneurship, and ministry. Guided by her faith and passion for service, she has earned national recognition for innovation while working to uplift the community she deeply cherishes.
When I first became executive director of Pee Dee Hearing Center, I didn’t have a leadership strategy. I had never led an organization, so I paid attention to other leaders — leaders I knew, leaders I became exposed to — even fictional leaders in movies and on television. I watched how effective leaders interacted with the people in their organizations.
What I saw was that good leaders have a clear idea of where the organization needs to go. They have goals, and develop relationships that lead to understanding, so people feel heard and appreciated. Those leaders bring people along by connecting with them, attaching to them, and adapting their goals in ways that allow individuals to contribute meaningfully.
Giving people tasks that make them feel fulfilled and part of something important — while also seeing their potential and gifts and providing ways for them to grow — benefits everyone. What you end up with is an organization with a positive culture and a closely knit group of people who believe and share in THE mission.
I think one of my greatest strengths is that I listen and try to put myself in others’ shoes. I work to understand not just the words they’re saying, but the emotion and the message behind the words. Sometimes learning what they may not realize they've been trying to communicate. When you connect with someone on that level and make them feel truly heard, then nine times out of 10 (if they’re aligned with your mission) they’ll follow you.
It's also important to stay humble by sharing credit for every accomplishment. Odds are, there's very little you've accomplished on your own. Humility goes further than self-promotion every time.
Let the team own the win. Sharing strengthens: your staff and everyone feels “the pride.” And if, on the off chance, you did accomplish something all by yourself, share the credit anyway.
The parable of the talents makes me wake up and want to try harder. At the end of my life, I want to say I did everything I could with everything I was given. I never want to say, “I’m too tired,” or “I don’t want to work that hard.” If I’m given a challenge, I believe it’s presented for a reason — certainly for my personal growth, but perhaps also for the advancement of the people around me.
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