Are you a leader? Do you know a leader? What qualities do they exude to shape their leadership style?
A question I hear often is “is a leader born, or can you develop a leader?” I have to say, I honestly believe both. I believe to a certain extent, leadership qualities are shaped at a young age, but I also feel that many leaders need cultivation and education to shape their potential and style.
The most important question is, what does your community do when it runs out of leaders? I can tell you, quite simply, the communities dries up and fails to function. Hamblen County is so fortunate to have a fully developed and functioning leadership program to educate current leaders and nurture future leaders. It is always fun at an event to ask the group who has participated in the chamber’s leadership program, and it never fails that a good portion of the room raises their hands.
The local leadership program opens every participant’s eyes to what is truly going on in Hamblen County and so many comment how eye-opening this program is. Many people participating in the program have lived here their entire lives yet they still comment how much is going on in their community that they never knew about. This enhanced knowledge provides our future leaders with the true and correct information about our community by hearing it directly from the people and agencies who provide services locally. With this knowledge, we are hopeful that our future leaders can make the best-informed decisions about the growth and development of our community.