Leadership QC forges a path to strengthen our region

Leadership QC is a program anchored in corporate social responsibility and when we launched it eight months ago, we challenged 23 business, nonprofit and community leaders to approach the region’s most pressing issues in a comprehensive and collaborative manner. The group heard from a variety of government and nonprofit organizations, learning more about the QC as well as strengthening their leadership skills. This is the path to advancing and growing our region, and many participants arrived at the first session in January already dedicated to that mission.

“The Quad Cities is very important to me and I wanted to meet new leaders who have the same passion for the region as I do,” said Amy Simler, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Bush Construction.

Leadership QC was an opportunity to meet and work with key players she may never have met otherwise. “You get to know them on a different and deeper level. When you gather a group of great and solid leaders from a number of industries into one room who are there to tackle issues, the discussions are phenomenal,” she said.

The discussions were spurred, in part, from information nonprofit and community leaders presented at each session, describing the work they do and the change they are striving to create. Listening to panel discussions on issues including racial equity and economic empowerment, broadened Simler’s perspective and fired a drive to do more.

“That change in perspective, no matter what that is, just makes you a better person and I appreciate the Chamber for providing us that opportunity,” Simler added.

For Kate Jennings, Director, Q2030, the program provided invaluable connections. Q2030 is focused on building regional collaboration to make the QC a cool, creative, connected and prosperous region. “The most important piece of that is I want to make sure all of our neighbors, all of our community members, can experience the community and the great things the region holds the same way that I feel I can experience those things. Really focusing on that equity and inclusion piece of corporate social responsibility is very important to me personally and within my organization,” she said. 

“When I reflect on the change I want to create in the community, this program has helped strengthen partnerships and opened me to other ideas and different ways of approaching things. I've already been able to use what I've learned to build a greater impact or take a more direct route to action,” Jennings said.

“I think of this program as almost as a partnership-building organization. I now know a lot of people that I can work with, and they are our region’s future leaders. Building these relationships now will only help the efforts that we all will get involved in as we move forward,” she said. 

Cohort members were also placed into groups, each focusing on a real and immediate issue challenging our region. Through the knowledge, insight and perspective they gained in each session, and leaning into their own experiences and leadership, each group created three potential solutions. On Sept. 22, the groups will formally present those during the culminating Leadership QC session.

Mental health was the group project Michael Beane, Dean of Students, Scott Community College, was addressing. His entire career has focused on supporting students, helping them realize their potential and achieve their goals. The information he gained, the discussions the group had and the solutions they created are tools he will use going forward. “I have a social responsibility to students and how the institution provides services to them. We are an open access institution so we must provide an open door and an equitable education to all,” he said.

“Looking at the program from a big-picture standpoint, it is really about how involved you want to be in the community and what change you want to make happen. Through Leadership QC, you get to know the players, the organizations and how you can help advance the region,” Beane said.

Mark Holloway, the Chamber’s Vice President, Talent & Inclusion, was inspired by the energy and initiative demonstrated by the first cohort and can’t wait to witness the impact they will have on the region moving forward. “Leadership QC was designed to bring together experienced community leaders and innovative thinkers who have the drive to move their organizations and our community forward in a comprehensive and collaborative manner.”

Applications for the next Leadership QC cohort will be accepted in October.