Leadership Rockford 2024: Reflections

Over the past year Ihad the opportunity to take part in Leadership Rockford, a 9 month program hosted by the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

What is Leadership Rockford?

Leadership Rockford is a program designed to help develop and connect the future generations of leaders in our area. Throughout the year we visited various site in the Rockford area to learn how the community functions in a variety of ways. The program is also an introduction to leaders and key organizations that are impacting the greater Rockford area.

What Did I Learn?

One of the biggest takeaways for me was realizing the impact that an individual can make in the community. This was a theme I noticed throughout the year, whether implied or explicitly stated by various leaders. For example, it was mentioned several times during the session on local government. I didn't know how easy it is to get involved and how much of a different someone can make, even if it is just writing an email to a board member.

Another example was learning how much non-profits need board members and that this is accessible to people who want to help. I thought that to sit on a board you needed decades of experience in the relevant field and go through some kind of intense application process. Of course they are looking for people who have some experience and skill to offer but the main need is for people willing to engage and be active with supporting the organization.

We have a tendency to sit back and wait for someone else to solve a problem. It is easy to complain and do nothing. But being a leader means you jump in and participate in making a difference. This could be on many levels, from solving a crisis at work to supporting a community improvement effort. On a daily basis we have a choice to make things worse, to do nothing, or to take action to move the needle.

I also found it fascinating to learn how all these various functions and industries work behind the scenes. Until joining Leadership Rockford I never thought about all the elements necessary to have a healthy community, from education to medical care to water reclamation. It was impressive to get a glimpse into the infrastructure and networks that exist to support the city.

Favorite Sessions

I really enjoyed touring the airport and learning more about how transportation in the area functions. I was astounded to find out that there are committees looking forward 20-30 years and planning infrastructure that will be needed in the coming decades. Visiting the airport was especially impactful since my career is in the aerospace industry; I enjoyed being able to see how all these parts come together .

The session on non-profits was really interesting because I didn't know there was such a structure and synergy to how non-profits are funded and remain sustainable. It was surprising to learn how many non-profits exist in the Rockford area, we apparently have a higher than average number of philanthropical organizations.

Another favorite was the downtown bus tour. Learning more about the history of the city itself was fascinating. I knew that Rockford has been a center of manufacturing, but seeing the buildings and learning more about the people who were involved definitely gave me a stronger sense of pride in our community.

 The other session I found especially thought-provoking was the panel discussion on media. I appreciated the wide range of panelists who gave a really balanced perspective. There was a lot of interaction with participants; the panel felt more like an informal conversation and I learned a lot from it about how information flows and what happens behind the scenes.

What Could Be Improved?

The energy of the program changed after the departure of Andrew Wright around the end of 2023. His enthusiasm and passion really inspired everyone to come together. After he was let go from the Chamber, it felt like the program struggled.

I was surprised at how the program focused on Rockford and not as much on Leadership. One of my main objectives was to learn how to be a stronger leader and develop my professional career. However, this aspect seemed to take a backseat, especially in the absence of Mr. Wright. Early on we spent some time discussing qualities of good leaders and doing some group activities that helped expand our conception of leadership. I found these to be extremely helpful, but they were unfortunately infrequent.

During each of our sessions it would have been interesting to have the moderators ask the panelists specific questions about leadership. All the questions that came up were very much based around the topic or issue at hand. But not stepping back to ask the leaders about their lesson and experiences. Questions like:

• What was one of the greatest challenges you faced as you stepped into your current role? How did you overcome this challenge?

• Who has been influential on you as a leader, and why?

• How would you define your leadership style?

• What is a undervalued quality of leadership?

Could we have done this as participants? Of course. And I take some responsibility because I never spoke up and asked questions like this. However, I don't know that we knew the right questions to ask. I've spent a lot of time developing this list. It doesn't seem realistic that the participants would naturally jump in and ask these type of questions without any prompting. Especially early in the program it would have been nice to see this type of conversation modeled by our leaders.

At the beginning of the program we were introduced to a group of moderators/mentors who were going to work with us throughout the year (or so I thought). But, we never had a mentor reach out to our small group or check in periodically. Maybe I misunderstood the original plan, but if I did, I think this would have been a great enhancement for the program. With so many participants, even a leader like Mr. Wright would have a difficult time connecting regularly with each person. Having a few mentors checking in would have made me feel a lot more connected and engaged.

All of the sessions were very informative but I would have appreciated one centered on the environment and natural spaces in Rockford. We had participants from local conservancy and nature organizations, so maybe that's why this came to mind. But I would be interested to learn how all the different groups coordinate and what the strategy is for maintaining and developing nature preserves in the Rockford area. We are so fortunate to have many parks and forest preserves here and I'd like to know more about how that happened. And what is being done currently to develop this for decades to come.

What Would I Do Differently Next Time? 

Or, what would I tell someone who is joining Leadership Rockford?

Take notes during the sessions. I have to go back and look at the agenda for each session to remember who spoke and what organizations were discussed. There were so many ideas that came up for future projects and endeavors, but now I'm struggling to remember it and pull everything together. A few times I jotted some notes down on my phone but I hate doing that because it just looks like I'm texting. Being intentional (and disciplined) about taking notes would have really helped me.

Be proactive at making connections. I don't want to call this networking because I dislike the connotations of that. I wanted to use Leadership Rockford to build connections with likeminded human beings, not in a transactional ladder-climbing way. What I've discovered that developing connections doesn't occur spontaneously. This seems incredibly obvious now, but is still a difficult lesson to learn. The official sessions were not enough to create the momentum for connections or friendship. It takes very specific and intentional efforts on an individual level.

Engage with the topics. During the panel discussions, I never spoke up to ask a question. This was primarily because I felt inundated by so much information at once that I didn't know what questions to ask. I think I could have gotten more out of the program if I had taken time in advance to do a little research and think more critically about the topic.

What Now?

I think I went into the program thinking it would magically change everything for me. I thought I'd come out of it with all these connections and having this whole new community. It didn't happen that way. Instead, I'm shifting my mindset from Leadership Rockford being "it" to seeing it as simply the first step—the beginning, not the end.

I am starting to follow a lot of the organizations and people from Leadership Rockford online so that I can keep up on future events and activities. My plan is to continue reaching out to other participants and trying to build connections over time. There are alumni and networking events scheduled already so I will make an effort to attend those and keep developing my connections.

The program also helped me feel more equipped to help others. For example, there was a lot of emphasis during the year on mental health in our community. I learned about some of the resources and programs available to support mental health and those in crisis. Going forward I feel more confident that I could connect a coworker, friend, or family member with the best resources in the area. Or if there's a space where I want to volunteer and get more involved, I have the contacts now to do that.

Overall, I am glad I participated in the program and would certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested. It has given me a stronger sense of belonging and community here in the community. I look forward to seeing the many ways that Leadership Rockford will impact my life in the years to come.