Todd Emmons is the Director for Innovative Builders, Inc., located in Alexandria. Innovative provides professional, commercial contracting from the early planning stages through project completion. It believes in maintaining the highest ethical standards to assure customers are getting the best value for their investment.

Do you know what makes some leaders more successful than others?

If you think attitude, drive, passion, commitment, empathy, or other similar descriptions, you’re right. But there’s something even more strategic that great leaders do. They realize the importance of investing time and money to ensure that they themselves – and all leaders within their organization – are constantly learning, growing and improving.

In today’s world, many business leaders are regularly operating at a frenzied pace and believe they are simply “too busy” to attend a class/seminar/training/workshop, to read an educational report or book, to watch training videos, etc.

But smart leaders realize they can’t afford not to do those things. These leaders realize that being a well-rounded leader who is always seeking to grow and improve will save them considerable time and money by:

• Increased engagement and productivity from their team members. People are more engaged and more productive when they are managed effectively.
• Less turnover. Studies show the main reason most people leave a job is because of poor leadership. Lead them effectively, and you will build loyalty and longevity.
• Greater confidence and increased knowledge, which build trust. As leaders learn and grow, they become smarter and more confident, in turn earning more trust and buy-in from team members.

All of the above build stronger teams, which sets the foundation for stronger, more successful companies and organizations.
Investing in leadership training of any kind is always a wise investment unless... the leaders don’t buy in to it. You might be throwing money out the window if you force someone to attend a training they aren’t interested in. If that happens, it could be a sign they simply aren’t interested in becoming a better leader (in which case it might be time to let them go lead someone else’s team), or, you aren’t asking them what they want or where they feel they need to grow.

That’s another secret of great leaders – they openly communicate with their people and aren’t afraid to ask, “What can I do to help you be more successful?” You may think you are doing a good thing by suggesting a couple of your leaders head off to a retreat center hours away for several days of training on a variety of topics. While one of those leaders may be excited and energized by that opportunity and come back a better leader, the other may dread it and spend the training time wishing he was anywhere else, like back in his office taking part in an online training opportunity that targets a particular leadership skill he feels he is lacking in. It’s tough to get buy-in on a training opportunity that is “mandated.”

Talk to your people – ask what they feel would make them better leaders, and offer them those opportunities. They, in turn, will be more loyal to you, because that’s what happens when a leader takes a genuine interest in developing their team members.
But don’t forget about yourself in the process. You are sending a strong message when you are constantly encouraging your team to learn, train and grow, yet you yourself don’t take time to do that. The message you are sending by your actions can quickly overshadow the opportunities you are offering!

The Alexandria Chamber graduated 15 more leaders from its Leadership Alexandria 2.0 class on March 6. Leadership Alexandria 2.0 was designed as a follow up to the Chamber’s popular Leadership Alexandria program, which has been running for 27 years. Graduates of Leadership Alexandria have the opportunity to participate in this five-month program that delves deeper into the “5 Voices” of leadership styles and how that leadership can impact the future of the entire community. The Chamber partners with Scott and Michelle Wiethoff of GiANT Worldwide for this program.
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For more information on Leadership Alexandria 2.0 or Leadership Alexandria, contact the Alexandria Chamber at 320-763-3161 or info@alexandriamn.org.

Jen Jabas is the Executive Director of United Way of Douglas & Pope Counties; an organization that fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in the community. It does this by making grants to local non-profits and filling identified gaps within the community through its own programs. 

    Noontime Knowledge is a fantastic opportunity for you to gather some valuable information and learn something new over a single lunch hour.
    This one-hour informative lunch is held the third Monday of each month from 12 - 1 pm at Broadway Ballroom. Each month features a different topic and speaker. Cost is only $10 and that includes lunch and the speaker. No RSVPs needed – just pay at the door.
     The Chamber’s goal when creating these luncheons was to keep them quick and easy, yet valuable and informative.
    The topics vary widely so as to appeal to a different audience each month. For example, past luncheons have included the topics of branding, stress and empowerment. Upcoming, we have the following topics and speakers planned:
     March 18 – Social Engineering: The Art of Hacking Human Trust and How to Avoid It, by Jim Nash of FRSecure.
    April 19 – What You Need to Know about the State Labor Standards Laws, by David Skovholt, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
     May 19 – Alcoholics Anonymous – What It Is and What It Isn’t.
     June 19 – Service Animal Etiquette, by Deb Vikander, Helping Paws.
     July 19 – Being Found in Google, by Tyler Golberg, CYBERsprout.
   As you can see, the topics vary greatly. Our goal is to offer inexpensive educational opportunities on a wide variety of topics as a benefit to our members as well as to the general public. Everyone is welcome to attend. Bring a guest!
    If you have a topic you’d like presented, please call 320-763-3161 or email tbitzan@alexandriamn.org and we will do our best to honor that request!