Once a year, Lacy Leadership Association offers a course called Leadership Education and Development (LEAD), and this year I had the opportunity to attend. The class meets for six weeks on Fridays and includes other supervisors, managers and business owners who are interested in becoming more effective leaders. LEAD was an amazing experience for many reasons.

The first reason would be the facilitator, Len Mozzi. Len’s background combines 20 years of experience as a theater professional with an expertise in creativity to provide a unique perspective to the business world. Theater? I admit – I was struggling to see the connection. I didn’t want to pretend to be a better leader; I wanted to be the better leader. Len was beyond valuable in helping the group to be better presenters, to run interesting productive meetings, to tackle problems and to determine what it really means to have vision.

The second reason would be the fabulous people with whom I got to meet and interact. Of course, part of the experience is networking, yet I didn’t feel like anyone was trying to sell me anything. I met interesting people of all ages from a variety of backgrounds and businesses. We all had to get out of our comfort zones together and that is a fabulous bonding experience. Listening to others outside of your own industry offers new perspectives and an appreciation for individuality.

The third reason is that “our patterns can become a prison.”[i] The more we do things, the more rote they become, so much so, that often we aren’t sure why we take the steps we take – we just do. Taking a new approach or a different route can be difficult for some people. Yet, the gain outweighs the pain and gets the dormant parts of our minds active again.

Some of us are born leaders, others do their time and work their way into a leadership role while some may end up there by default. Regardless of the reason, as leaders or employees, the opportunity to step out of your day-to-day and examine your skills is probably not something we take the time to do on a regular basis. By going through LEAD, it has reawakened my desire to do things differently, to see things with new lenses, and to stretch beyond my comfort zone. If you get the chance to take LEAD, don’t let your patterns pass it by.

When given the chance to attend Lacy Leadership Association’s Opportunity Indianapolis, we have to admit, we thought it would be a couple days spent on a bus traveling around the city learning the height and year of construction for every building and monument. We were wrong. The opportunity for us native Hoosiers, was not to learn more trivia about our great city (though we did take in our fair share of fun facts as we traveled by bus across Indianapolis). It was to expose us to the deep potential found within Indianapolis and the efforts of civic and business leaders helping to unlock that potential and define the future of the city.

It’s easy to take these efforts for granted as we go about our busy lives. Most of us are aware of the need for a public transit system and education reform because these are big expensive issues that make headlines. But we wonder what we can do to change it. And have you thought about what makes our city beautiful or who feeds the many families in need? What about how our cultural opportunities stack up to those of other cities, or bring valuable tourism dollars into our local economy? Do you ever drive by abandoned homes and buildings and think, “when is that going to be taken care of?” Most of us are quick to comment on what needs to be done. But who is going to make it happen?

It was amazing and humbling to hear about the contributions of past and current leaders to help improve the city and keep it at or above its current caliber. To hear about what they have accomplished and still aspire to accomplish. Men and women who, like us, love Indianapolis, regardless of whether they were raised here or not, thinking about today and 30 years from now, figuring out what is best for the community.

This experience was a call to be a part of the city we take for granted and to get involved in the many great things happening every day making Indianapolis one of the best cities in the country. If you love Indianapolis, you need to embrace the good, the bad and the potential — and take ownership. Find what you are passionate about and pour yourself into it. As our presenter Scott Miller of Develop Indy said, “It’s a tough life to go through if you aren’t passionate about something.”

Last Saturday I attended the United Way Diversity Volunteer Recognition breakfast at the invitation of one of my fellow Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership (SKL) Series classmates, Sonia Chen. I was excited to go because I’d recently taken over our firm’s diversity initiative, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to connect with others and see what was going on in the community.

My experience turned out to be so much more. Sonia introduced me to a lot of great people, particularly some of her fellow board members from the Asian American Alliance. But what I realized later was just how much my SKL experience had prepared me a year earlier for my new-found interest in diversity in the workplace and marketplace.

I’ve had the privilege of working in some diverse environments, but SKL helped me bond with some of our community’s up-and-coming leaders who have exposed me to different points of view and new ways of thinking. My classmates have also connected me to new experiences and new resources, a perfect example of which was Sonia’s invitation to breakfast.

So while Saturday’s breakfast was a celebration of diversity and of volunteerism in Indianapolis, for me, it was also a celebration of true community and connection, because it brought me in touch with people and ideas that I hadn’t considered before. Thanks, Sonia, for opening a door for me to see something new, and for reminding me why SKL is truly an experience that lasts for a lifetime.

I recently enjoyed two milestones pertaining to my time living in Indianapolis—my fifth year living here and a two-day invitation to explore the city and meet its present and future leaders through a program called Opportunity Indianapolis (OI), coordinated by the Lacy Leadership Association. Those milestones seemed a bit contradictory at their surface, but OI actually debunked a few myths that may come to mind as you get more comfortable with your surroundings.

• Myth #1: Indianapolis is a ‘small’ city. As a public relations professional, I am fortunate to have many opportunities to network and often see familiar faces at events. I suspected OI may be similar in that regard, but was pleasantly surprised. With the exception of my two Borshoff colleagues who participated—Ryan Noel and Bob Schultz, who did a fantastic job moderating the event— I didn’t know a single attendee. Better yet, I was delighted by the diversity of the organizations they represented—The Mind Trust, Jewish Community Center, U.S. Synchronized Swimming and the list goes on. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more than 50 OI ‘classmates,’ as well as the exciting professional and community missions they support.
• Myth #2: The Super Bowl is the biggest thing ahead for Indianapolis. Hosting the 2012 Super Bowl will no doubt give Indianapolis a global stage and raise the city’s profile, as Allison Melangton of the Super Bowl Host Committee shared, yet the OI class had the privilege of hearing from other city leaders about the many more amazing things to come. To name just a few, Brian Payne of Central Indiana Community Foundation talked about the Cultural Trail and other urban developments that are putting Indianapolis on the map; David Harris of The Mind Trust and Dr. Eugene White of Indianapolis Public Schools discussed ideas and initiatives that will address the public education challenges we face; and Anne Shane of BioCrossroads, Mark Miles of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, and Ron Gifford of Indy Partnership assessed the city’s economic outlook and leading entrepreneurial endeavors.
• Myth #3: I’ve been to marquee Indianapolis arts and sporting events, so I’ve seen the sights. Another primary benefit of OI was that nearly every session was held at a different venue. I was once again introduced to new things, places I’ve passed countless times but never visited—from the Skyline Club and Obsidian Conference and Catering Center, offering amazing views of the city, to Arsenal Technical High School and Ivy Tech Community College, showcasing Indy’s diverse educational offerings. In particular, I had the most memorable experiences at the Indiana War Memorial and IndyFringe, proving that both elaborate and humble surroundings can offer rich cultural experiences.

As my colleague and fellow OI classmate Ryan Noel said, OI was chance to ‘deepen our roots’ for those who have lived in Indy, and I think it’s an unbeatable way to introduce the new residents to the city. I’m proud that Borshoff sponsored this year’s event and hope Hoosier companies and residents will continue to support Opportunity Indianapolis and the Lacy Leadership Association.

The 2009 Opportunity Indianapolis class