What qualities do you expect to see in a highly effective leader?
Well, I think about leadership and entrepretreneurship very much, they’re kind of interwoven. And I think you have to be a good listener. I think you have to understand what it is that you’re dealing with before you can ever have an opinion about it. Sometimes we expect leaders to just have opinions about things, but if they haven’t thought about it, if they haven’t gathered information, it’s just a stream of consciousness and it’s not thoughtful as it should be. I think leaders should inspire. I think they should have beliefs. Usually a really effective leader has some set of principles that that person is guided by. I think your faith is very important, and I think humility comes in and caring. I know we seem to admire a lot of bullheaded leadership examples, but that seems to be running its course and I think this idea of the servant leader is something that is gaining a lot of ground, and that’s a leader who is willing to step aside and credit everybody else and not draw the attention so much to him or herself.-Gene Mackey (1min.)
Gene Mackey, Chairman,
Mackey Mitchell Architects
LSL Class of 2006-07
Eugene Mackey, Chairman of Mackey Mitchell Architects, the firm he founded in 1968, Gene studied liberal arts at St. John’s University in Minnesota. A leader of St. Louis’s architectural community, Mackey’s expertise and presence are sought after by other professionals throughout the Midwest and nationally as an advocate of design. His strong leadership and persistent campaign to educate St. Louisans on the relationship of good design to their well being led AIA St. Louis to retain Mackey as president for two consecutive terms. In 1991, he was invested into the College of Fellows. He has served on an impressive list of organizations in the St. Louis community and recently received the AIA St. Louis Chapter Gold Honor Award for distinguished years of exemplary dedication and contributions to the architectural profession. The award is given to a member whose achievements have served to enlighten, strengthen, and enhance the St. Louis Chapter and the greater St. Louis community. Since the inauguration of the Gold Honor Award 25 years ago, only 12 have received the award. Mackey is the 13th recipient.
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