Office Hours: Leadership Berks Has Heart
This column was first published in the Reading Eagle on September 24, 2024
Today’s column is the first in a series of stories from the heart … of business. We hear a lot about bad businesses that gouge customers to earn excessive profits or ignore employee needs for work-life balance. We don’t hear enough about businesses that “do good” for their company and the community. That’s what we’ll be talking about today and in the next few columns.
Hard to believe that it’s already September, and September is always back to school for many people. It’s also “back to school” for emerging leaders, like the individuals who participate in the United Way’s Leadership Berks. Founded in 1985 by the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce (today, the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance), the Junior League of Reading and the United Labor Council, the mission of Leadership Berks is to “Train and develop individuals to serve in nonprofit leadership roles within Berks County.” Since that time, the program has trained about 1,200 individuals from local businesses and not-for-profit organizations. These graduates have then gone on to serve on boards and committees of more than 75 not-for-profit organizations.
In 2020, Leadership Berks began operating as a program of the United Way of Berks County. The program has changed and developed, but its founding principles have not. It continues to feature three cornerstone components: Education sessions on leadership and the community; service projects that participants work on for local not-for-profits; and, placement of program graduates on committees and boards of directors of local not-for-profit organizations.
A new program focus is developing a mindset of servant leadership among the participants. An approach to leadership first developed by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay, “The Servant as Leader.” Greenleaf wrote, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead, in servant leadership one aspires to serve.” One of my favorite ways to look at leadership because it dispels the myth of leadership being about the leader, and puts the emphasis where it should be — on service.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Jean Morrow, senior vice president of Leadership United, at the United Way, who oversees Leadership Berks. I asked her about the “heart” of Leadership Berks. Morrow says it is “allowing people to realize their potential, grow in ways they didn’t believe they could, and see the community in ways they have not seen.” Lifting people up and helping them really understand their community.
Add in a third component, that 2023 graduate, Ann Marie Haus, Penn State Health, St. Joseph Medical Center, describes as “preparing you to be a change maker.” She believes her participation in the program has “elevated my passion for helping others and has provided opportunities to truly make a difference.”
Not-for-profit organizations in Berks County play a particularly important role in providing the “heart” for Leadership Berks as a project sponsor or a placement. Each year, Leadership Berks participants work with not-for-profit organizations on a service project. It’s a popular component. In preparing for this year’s class, 17 organizations submitted project proposals that the Leadership Berks team will have to whittle down to a management number — usually four to six projects.
One of the most notable in recent times was the project for Rock Hollow Woods, a learning center that “provides children with outdoor opportunities to discover and learn about the natural world and empower them to protect their environment,” which as a newer organization relied heavily on word-of-mouth. According to Michelle Zeitz, executive director, the Leadership Berks project team “created a ‘Field Trip Showcase’ to bring awareness of our mission and what we offer, specifically field trips, to local school districts.”
As a result, Rock Hollow Woods’ field trips quadrupled in numbers since the initial project. In addition, two Leadership Berks graduates remained active with the organization after the project completion. “Leadership Berks does an excellent job of connecting like-minded individuals within the community that are ready with helping hands and giving hearts.” There’s that heart thing, again!
At the end of each year, graduates of the program are placed on a committee or board of directors of one of the local organizations. Those who have served “life terms” on their pet organizations’ board know too well the importance of having trained and committed individuals ready to step up and serve. Leadership Berks has served this need for regenerating community leadership well since its inception. Easily more than seventy-five local organizations have repeatedly been the beneficiary of the influx of quality and caring leaders.
Growing people, inspiring their commitment to give back, helping others. If that’s not heart, I don’t know what is.
Oh, and if you detected a little bit of Leadership Berks in my heart — you’d be right. I was the first executive director of Leadership Berks, from 1985-1997. I’m over-the-moon ecstatic to see the program continue to flourish and make a positive impact in our community. I was a young, eager, go-getter, with several rough edges that needed smoothing. I learned so much from the board and volunteers who mentored me. I am forever grateful to them.
If you have a story from the heart of business that you would like to share, let me know: Info@ThePracticalProf.com. I’d be happy to feature it in an upcoming column.
Next Column: More Stories from the “Heart” of Business!
Dr. Santo D. Marabella, The Practical Prof, is a professor emeritus of management at Moravian University and hosts the podcast “Office Hours with The Practical Prof … and Friends.” His latest book, “The Lessons of Caring” is written to inspire and support caregivers (available in paperback and eBook). Website: ThePracticalProf.com; Twitter: @PracticalProf; Facebook: ThePracticalProf.
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