Chamber-initiated leadership programs have become extremely popular as more and more chambers reach out to educate and inspire potential difference-makers within their communities. For the students, these programs provide connections and give an up-close look at the issues facing their hometown, which opens doors to give back to the community and achieve personal goals. For chambers, it’s a chance to build a stronger and better connected team of advocates that can advance the community overall. In other words, a win-win scenario.

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina has provided their Leadership Durham program since 1972, successfully arming hundreds of graduates with the information and skills they need to make Durham a better place to live and work. We recently got the opportunity to learn more about this program from Janice Mrkonjic, Leadership Durham Coordinator for the Chamber and owner of Savvy Event Designs LLC®. With a master’s in adult education and a business specializing in local services, tours, and events that impact tourism and economic development, Janice is a good fit to lead the program. Here’s a quick Q&A with Janice about what makes Leadership Durham work for the community:

CL: What is the primary goal for Leadership Durham, and what are the major components that you use to accomplish that goal?

JM: The primary goal for Leadership Durham is to expose program participants to the major issues and unique challenges facing the Durham community by introducing them to local and state leaders through a series of face-to-face meetings, on-site visits, and tours to local institutions. Sessions are interactive and include in-depth discussions on topics spanning from Durham’s history and the role of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce to how quality education develops a strong workforce to support economic development. It is a sustainability chain of action and reaction that impacts human needs, local government, and the judicial system.

CL: Leadership Durham has a long history. How has the program evolved over the years?

JM: The program has matured by leveraging the leadership strengths of our Alumni, many of whom continue to sponsor our program by hosting the class on-site at their employment destination, serving as guest speakers on panel discussions, and financing scholarships for Chamber member non-profits. While keeping in stride with economic growth in Durham our topics have expanded to address current or new trends within the business community.

CL: What sort of adjustments are you continuing to make as you move forward?

JM: We are:

• Embracing various forms of technology like our Linkedin group coupled with usual email and celebratory events, thereby fostering relationships between current participants and alumni.
• Seeking opportunities to provide hands-on learning whether we’re visiting the Museum of Life and Science or a local hospital/community health care center.
• Constantly evaluating the relevance of our speakers and destinations with the topic and the learners’ desires. It’s important that we hit the mark with developing leaders considering today’s challenges to tomorrow’s opportunities.
• Introducing Chamber members and those who are not Chamber members to the benefits of the program.

CL: Class sizes in recent years seem to have run between 25 and 30 students. What do you see as an ideal class size, and why?

JM: The ideal class size is ~30 participants to maintain a level of intimacy throughout this learning experience, coupled with managing usual logistics like transportation, dialogue, and debate while addressing critical issues within the community. They are establishing life-long relationships with fellow classmates and with hundreds of alumni in small group settings.

CL: Each class is required to adopt a community service project as part of the curriculum. What are a couple of the more interesting projects that they’ve taken on recently?

JM: Here are two of the five class project examples from 2010:

• Five 2010 Leadership Durham participants were panelists at Durham’s The Hill Center. They shared personal career path “stories,” encouraged students in their educational pursuits, and answered questions from students and staff about jobs and careers.
• Eight 2010 Leadership Durham participants delivered a ‘Strategic Plan for Operational Enhancement’ for a local non- profit organization known as The Caring House.

CL: Finally, what portion or facet of the program really seems to engage the group and get them excited about the class and the community?

JM: There are numerous examples. The top three are:

• Participants enjoy meeting the beneficiaries of leadership decisions made within Durham. This is a usual occurrence when we meet at outreach centers serving the homeless, those in need of health care, and those in recovery programs.
• Understanding where opportunities and needs are for participants to serve on boards or committees ,thereby lending their knowledge and experience, while learning a thing or two along the way, in further developing their local community of interests. Many Leadership Durham participants are recruited to or provided with such opportunities during the program and after graduating from it.
• Simply discovering the Durham they thought they knew but did not. Because we go behind the scenes, they are exposed to more than what meets the eye. Many are “wow’d.”

What unique insight does your chamber have concerning successful leadership programs? Let us know with a comment.

leadership development, Leadership program