EDITORIAL: Be a leader

Widely regarded as one of history’s military great commanders, Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.”

Napoleon gave the French people hope. He is credited with establishing the Napoleanic code, which laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern French state.

He also gave them 17 years of wars, as many as 6 million Europeans dead, a bankrupt nation and France’s loss of overseas colonies. Not much of a leader, you say?

Unfortunately, leadership is often confused with management. Managers get things done, but they aren’t necessarily leaders. Napoleon got a lot of things done, but with disastrous consequences.

During the past 20 years, more than 600 Hutchinson-area residents have been part of a leadership journey that has trained them to be not only great managers but great leaders as well.

The Hutchinson Leadership Institute, sponsored by the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, is now accepting applications for its 2008-2009 program. Participants will attend monthly, full-day sessions where they’ll learn about personal, team and civic leadership. They’ll learn about the mechanics of leadership and leading for outcomes. And they’ll learn more.

They’ll learn all this through classroom experiences, hands-on activities and a variety of assessment tools. The goal is to turn knowledge into action.

Something new this year
Megan Peterson of the Hutchinson Chamber CVB told us this year’s institute will feature one dimension different from previous years.

“In past years it’s been training and community interaction, and we’ll continue to do those things, but this year they’ll be doing a community-based project,” she said. Participants will work on projects in teams of four or five people. During the last of the 10 sessions, they’ll explain the outcomes of their projects not only to other participants, but to alumni from the institute’s 20 years, at an anniversary celebration banquet.

The institute’s tuition is $475 for chamber members, or $600 for non-members. In most cases, employers will cover participants’ costs. Scholarships also are available to those with limited means. This year’s institute is expected to involve 30 participants. More information can be obtained by calling Ms. Peterson at (320) 234-4752.

We believe the Leadership Institute is a valuable resource not only to the chamber and its members, but to Hutchinson as a whole. Informal surveys completed by citizens last year and returned to the Leader suggested a leadership vacuum in the city. The Leadership Institute has the potential to change that perception.

The institute will be worthwhile for those who want to sharpen their leadership skills, understand Hutchinson better, learn more about community opportunities, and engage in a broader exchange of ideas.

Napoleon might have been a great conquerer, visionary and manager, but he didn’t demonstrate today’s version of leadership. Hutchinson is turning out great leaders. Great leaders get things done in a much more effective, less catastrophic way. Check out the Hutchinson Leadership Institute if you want to learn more.

Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com, or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com.