Leadership symposium

Focusing on Leading for Performance in a Rapidly Changing Business Climate

By Jim Di Ciaula

Just in time for spring, the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Leadership Symposium on April 29. The focus of this year’s annual conference will be on leading and thriving through the rapidly changing business climate. Changing climates isn’t anything new for us and it faces all industries. For example, forestry has been facing the fight against climate change, and forestry experts say planting a variety of fastgrowing trees, like maples and oaks, can help contribute to the fight against it. It turns out the landscape contains many natural ways of fighting climate change, if people take advantage of them. This is true for businesses, as there are many aspects within a business that influence business performance. In a quickly changing environment, business leadership is key to navigating this change and turning business challenges into opportunities. At this year’s Leadership Symposium, we will kick off with a motivational presentation and the message of hope and possibilities for leaders during these changing times. This will be followed by a selection of workshops covering various leadership topics, such as leading the change process, driving bottom-line performance, executing on your vision and more. The desired outcome for participants is to have them leave with energy and excitement for the future, enhanced leadership tools and practical skills that they can bring back to their business. “The 2020 symposium was different for obvious reasons but I commend the chamber for coming up with a way to bring pertinent information to its members,” says Pat Kolodziej, founder and owner of PK Tax Services. “Via a series of Zoom meetings, we were able to choose one of two speakers during the various time slots. The speakers I heard were amazing, and I learned a lot in just the short time they spoke. The one thing I really liked is that both groups in the breakout rooms got back together at the end, and each speaker gave a quick synopsis of their talk so it felt like you didn’t miss out on what the other speaker had to say. During the last session, we had the opportunity to talk to all the speakers who presented during the previous sessions. It was a really good conversation, and lots of ideas came out. Each speaker gave their spin on the questions which really made the conversation interesting and informative. “Even though the event was not what was planned (of course, we all wanted to be in person to hear all the wonderful speakers), I was impressed by the organization of the event and the caliber of the speakers. The content from all of the speakers was timely and useful. I look forward to attending this year’s symposium — can’t wait to hear what the speakers have to say!”

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