Each summer, the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (GACCE) hosts their Executive Leadership Conference, a meeting of more than 70 Presidents & CEOs from Chambers across the state. It is an opportunity for Chamber of Commerce leaders to gather and share ideas, inspire one another, and grow their individual organizations. The Cherokee County Chamber’s President and CEO, Pam Carnes, attended again this year to bring back new insights to continue the success of our organization.
The Executive Leadership Conference features four days of workshops and sessions on topics related to Chamber programs, initiatives, and professional development. Some session topics included: Executive Presence Workshop: You Belong in the Room, Trends in Workforce Development, and Fortify Your Future: How to Navigate Challenges and Crisis to Dominate your Position in Life and Business. Included in the itinerary are also several opportunities to network with fellow Chamber executives. Often, it’s through conversation with others in our industry that we gain insights into what programs or resources are leading a Chamber to succeed.
Through the sessions, Pam came away with several takeaways that can be applied to your professional life, no matter what industry you work in.
- Create A “To Be List”
We often get bogged down by the items on our ever-growing “To Do” list. When you’re approaching a challenge, you may create a list of tasks to reach that goal. The session speaker encouraged attendees to change their perspective inward and ask instead, “Who do you need to be to get on the other side of this challenge?” Try creating a “To Be” list that answers what qualities you need to overcome your challenge or to reach your goal. Who we are ultimately drives what we do and the two work together to foster our accomplishments and successes.
- Know yourself to lead yourself.
Leadership is a skill that starts within. Leading yourself can look like understanding your strengths and your weaknesses, knowing when to lean on others to take charge versus taking the lead yourself, or taking accountability for your part in a larger team. Leadership is doing the small things that need to be done, even when no one sees you do them, but it’s also stepping up to the plate when big decisions need to be made. A key leadership trait is knowing yourself well enough to understand when you’re the best person for the task and when the task might be in better hands with someone else.
- “Repetition is the mother of skill.” – Tony Robbins
It’s scientifically proven that repetition helps us learn, adapt, and build habits. Repetition of positive thoughts and actions can help us build stronger skills – which can always be helpful in business (and in life!). Repetition is the way to hone and improve skills, including learning by failure. Think back to when you first tried to ride a bike – falling off and getting back up over and over helped you learn that skill! If you’re trying to improve your networking skills, attending multiple Chamber events will help you familiarize yourself, get comfortable, and improve each time. No matter what skill you’re trying to improve, repetition can help get you there. Building on the idea above, Zig Ziglar once said, “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
- “Knowledge is not power, action is power.”
If we wait until we know it all to get started, we will never move an inch. Feeling knowledgeable and prepared is a good way to approach most life circumstances, but sometimes we must move in the direction we want to go and learn along the way. If we are filled with knowledge, yet do nothing with it, it is useless. Similarly, if we act without knowledge, our actions will be ineffective and may fall flat. A delicate balance of the two is needed, yet actively taking steps toward a goal or a challenge will lead to knowledge that can be used in the future. To use an example from above, you were never going to learn to ride a bike simply by knowing and not doing!
- Build Your Inner Armory
Suit up for the challenges life and business will throw your way. We’ve all faced trials and challenges professionally and have needed to pull from qualities within ourselves to overcome them. So, make sure you have a strong inner armory to face life’s battles! Here are three steps this session encouraged:
- Break the Pattern
What are your patterns of behavior when facing a challenge or stressor? When you examine them, are they positive behaviors or negative behaviors? Your behaviors should build you up and energize you to face the challenges ahead – not make you feel like the battle has already been lost. Break the patterns that aren’t serving you when facing obstacles.
- Build the Armory
Work on your mindset and your skillset to build your inner armory. A positive mindset can be half the battle at times! It’s possible that a new skill or two could help you in an upcoming challenge, so decide what actions you can take to make yourself stronger in advance.
- Battle the War
Challenges will come, but it’s how you face them that matters. Building your inner armory will help prepare you to defeat the beast when it arises! Remember, you’ve gotten through everything you’ve faced up to this point – now, go tackle this challenge!
The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce is proud to be a member of the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives for the professional development and leadership opportunities that are presented to our industry. It’s a pleasure to get to know our counterparts from other communities and collectively work to learn, grow, and improve our home counties. We look forward to programming at future conferences and more chances to learn about all things Chamber life!
