Interview with Alec McGalliard, author of CARE to Lead

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a fireman but after attending fire fighting training while serving in the U.S. Navy I quickly realized that wasn’t for me. I have immense admiration for firefighters.  

What was home like?

I grew up in a small town in western North Carolina and absolutely loved it- still do today. I live in Texas now but I miss the mountains, the fall colors and the smell of the mountain air every day. I am the middle child of three boys and I grew up mainly with my father and my grandmother (Nana, more on her later). We always had plenty to eat, clothes on our backs and a warm place to sleep so I feel very fortunate.   

“CARE to Lead” was recently published. What inspired you to write?

I take my role as a leader personally and I strive to be a better leader every day. I spent some time thinking about leadership successes and failures that I have been a part of and thought I could pass on some lessons I have learned to others in an effort to help them be better leaders.

Who or what has influenced your writing?

Reading my book you will see that I am just a normal person just trying to be a better leader so this answer is probably going to be cliche’. I was inspired by my grandmother (Nana), the late Kathleen Clarke McGalliard. She lived in the same county her entire life, had an eighth grade education and is still one of the most insightful and inspirational people I have ever met. She shared many life lessons and hilarious colloquial sayings (some fit to print, some not) but the one thing she always insisted on was that we treat people like we want to be treated- the Golden Rule. I strive to live my life by the Golden Rule and it is the basis for my book and the CARE Leadership Tools because I believe most people want the people they work for to use the tools.

Is there a message in your book you want readers to grasp?

Yes- thanks for asking. 1. Living your life by the Golden Rule will lead to many more successes than failures, and you will feel good about how you treated people even in tough situations. 2. Leaders must set the example as there are few things more powerful than watching your organization’s leaders model the exact same behaviors they expect of you and few things more damaging when they don’t. 

Since this website is about sales & leadership, talk to us about some of your favorite blogs and websites you visit for information.

My favorite is the Leadership Freak because the messages are short and to the point. I wrote my book to be short and to the point as compared to other leadership books I have read. I also like Great Leadership- they recently had a really good article on the importance of organizational culture which is a passion of mine.   

Finally, any advice to writers just starting?

A couple of things: 1. I was so scared to put myself out there and doubted my ability to write a book. I overcame that (still a little scared) because of the passion and belief I have in the content of my book. 2. The most difficult part about writing the book was having to realize that there comes a point where you can’t make any more changes if you ever want to get the book published as I think of something every day I wish I would have added or changed. 

How can someone contact you for more information?

Website: mcgalliardconsulting.com

e-mail: mcgalliardconsulting@gmail.com

Facebook: @Mcgalliardconsulting

Twitter: @CARE_To_Lead