4: NEOs as Leaders

Overview

NEOs thrive in leadership roles, initiating projects that inspire collective action and solve pressing challenges. But they are not only socially motivated, they are also commercially and self-motivated. Let’s examine their role as connectors and visionaries.

Key Points

Philanthropic Leadership:

NEOs support community initiatives, such as funding libraries, sponsoring local festivals, or donating to educational programmes.

Building Collaborative Spaces:

They create environments where diverse groups can come together to share ideas, from coworking hubs to cultural centres.

Commercial Leadership

They start something new where before there was nothing. In a local neighbourhood, a NEO will open a high-quality café simply because they can’t get a decent coffee and croissant nearby. Or a bakery that goes on to be a city-wide collection of local stores. Or an indie bookstore group. Or Patagonia. Or Apple.

Activity:

Think about a brand or a project that reflects NEO leadership. Outline its goals, how it engages stakeholders and the benefits it seeks.