Leadership in Changing Times

Good management involves working with people, navigating change and being proactive to keep pace with advancements. It’s a focus Cascade Lumber Company’s leadership team embraces as they look for opportunities to promote from within and develop the next generation of management.

“We are working with NICC Business and Community Solutions on plant management training because it’s important that our company can attract, retain and build a highly engaged workforce,” said Joe Noonan, director of operations for Cascade Manufacturing, a branch of parent company Cascade Lumber.

Joe Noonan, Director of Operations, Cascade Manufacturing

The company started leadership training in January 2022. 260F Iowa Jobs Training Program and Workforce Training and Economic Development (WTED) funding is supporting the effort, and the company is doing supplementary training in CPR/First Aid, Microsoft Excel skills and plant safety training.

Led by John and Kathie Rotz of Business and Community Solutions, the leadership curriculum focuses on the role of a leader, motivation and engagement, change management, empathy, personality assessment and other leadership development topics.

“We worked with John and Kathie two years ago and selected them again for the leadership training to have continuity from start to finish. When training concludes this spring, we’re going to do role playing between team members to bring all the lessons together and reinforce what everyone learned. We will have come full circle and be able to make the training even more impactful,” Joe said.

State of Iowa funding, such as the 260F and WTED programs, offsets training costs for northeast Iowa companies of all sizes.

In 2022 NICC facilitated 31 unique 260F Iowa Jobs Training Program projects and trained 757 workers. Last year, WTED funds also supported another 27 unique training projects for 706 workers and students.

Learn More About Training and Funding Options Available. www.nicc.edu/customized-solutions