Being a Leader that Inspires: a Night with Anthony Lolli

About the Event

As a strategy intern for Christine Nielsen, the coordinator of this event, my role during the night was to ensure smooth operations, register the guests, and take care of the lighting and audio-visual components. Anthony Lolli and his business partner Carlos Angelucci discussed the success of their company Rapid Realty, and began teaching the crowd how to grow their businesses from the ground up. As a 19 year-old University student, I expected the event to consist of two speakers rambling on for hours about their company, and not providing real insight to the audience about how they can help them. However, I was truly astounded by how successful the event was and how helpful the speakers were to the audience.

The room was filled with entrepreneurs trying to grow and expand their businesses, and they were truly engaged in Mr. Lolli from the moment he walked in. Mr. Lolli proves that it takes a great leader to run a great company. Lolli showed signs of a powerful yet empathetic leader, who was more than willing to relay his wisdom to each member of the crowd. Leadership is more than just owning or running a business, but rather instilling a sense of passion in those around you, and Anthony Lolli surpassed my expectations of what it takes to be a good leader.

Perceptions: How they can shield us from great leaders

In any type of situation, it’s important to understand your previous perceptions. For example, I went into the event expecting Mr. Lolli to be a certain type of speaker. I expected a guy from New York that would be arrogant, talk down to the crowd, and assume superiority. However, this was the exact opposite of what occurred at the event. Anthony Lolli was a genuine and approachable leader, who was truly willing to share his wisdom to the audience without coming across as arrogant in any way. Our perceptions are often what guide us, and we go into situations based on our preconceived notions which will usually alter our reality. This is important component in understanding how humans function in social situations. We go into a situation expecting that we already know what will happen. We walk into an event with a perception that the speaker will act a certain way. By identifying these perceptions that we harbour, we are one step closer to removing these perceptions which will result in an entirely different and usually more positive experience.  Perceptions about leaders are important to eliminate going into a situation, because if we act only on what we believe inside our heads, we won’t really hear what the leader has to say. If I chose to stick to my preconceived notions, I would not have taken in the true wisdom that Mr. Lolli gave to me and the crowd at the event.

Real Leadership

The most inspiring portion of the evening was when Christine, Carlos and Anthony all answered the questions from the crowd on how to personally grow each of the audience member’s businesses. Tens of members would ask specific questions on how to increase sales, how to move to electronic platforms, and how to deal with client retention. This Q&A period resulted in members receiving valuable advice from these three business professionals. Anthony and Carlos gave their personal experience and tips regarding how they were able to succeed in real estate, and Christine was willing to give audience members hands on coaching on the spot with the audience. This section of the evening provided the audience with valuable information that would truly skyrocket their business. This was an example of proper leadership exemplified by our guest speakers Anthony and Carlos, and Christine Nielsen. Being a proper leader is about being able to inspire those around you to be their very best, and this is exactly what Christine, Anthony and Carlos provided to the audience.

In conclusion, the atmosphere of events similar to this, depend on the leaders that help orchestrate the event. With the collaboration of successful leaders such as Christine Nielsen, Anthony Lolli and Carlos Angelucci, there was an energy in the room that in itself was inspiring. The audience members and I were given a chance to pick the brains of established leaders. Leaders that inspire others, that share their knowledge on how to run a company, and leaders that want to make real connections with the audience.

Leadership is primarily based on how one treats others, and following a leader is highly dependent on our perceptions. If we perceive the leader to be inspiring, we will follow them. Negative perceptions of a leader can negate from the leader’s true message, and it is important to steer clear of these perceptions when walking into a situation. Perhaps steering clear of these perceptions can provide you with a valuable experience that will surpass your expectations. Personally, by letting go of my preconceived notions of the evening, I was able to take in true insight that was given by Anthony Lolli, Carlos Angelucci, and Christine Nielsen.