#91 – Leadership Charlotte Reflections

This past year, I had the opportunity to participate in Leadership Charlotte’s Class 44. The experience has life-changing, as it pushed me to think about additional ways where I could develop, both professionally and personally. According to their website, Leadership Charlotte is focused on building Charlotte community leaders through inclusive leadership development. 

I’ve had quite a few opportunities to develop professionally since joining the SchermCo team full-time, such as monthly book clubs and attending conferences. Looking back, these were related to various aspects of my day-to-day work supporting our partner schools with their family engagement and empowerment efforts and the general operations of a growing team. Leadership Charlotte was more than I could have ever imagined and anticipated. It was a transformative educational experience in every aspect of my life and for those around me.

Key Takeaways

• I remember vividly, during Orientation, a quote on being comfortable getting uncomfortable. This resonated with me at the time as I started my journey with so many great leaders in the room. It set the tone that we were ready to dive into our program year together.
• I’ve always thought of Leadership Charlotte as a professional program. But it is in every way professional and personal. I’ve grown personally in more ways than I can count on by learning more about my strengths and areas of growth, how I can better contribute to a team, and how I perform and lead under pressure.
• This experience allowed me to learn more about our city and surrounding communities that I would have never considered interacting with. It also pushed me to work with leaders in other industries. The insights and perspectives that Class 44 members brought to the room were priceless. 
• Widening my network with diverse leaders in my class allowed me to build personal relationships. I’ve gotten to know a few of my classmates on a personal level, I was not expecting this as part of the program because I’ve always thought of Leadership Charlotte as an educational program. 
• I could fully participate and engage with each program day at Leadership Charlotte with the support of the SchermCo team. Loads of appreciation for Greg and Mathu for all their support while I was out of the office each month. 

What I’m Looking Forward To

• I’m coming out of the formal program year with action steps to improve my leadership skills and ideas on how I could be a servant leader in the Charlotte community.
• I have scheduled time with classmates to catch up, and I can’t wait! 
• I look forward to meeting fellow alumni (from other classes) and learning more about them.

Action Item

Please check out Leadership Charlotte and consider applying for Class 46!