Wichita Business Magazine | Winter 2022

For more than 20 years, Peoples Insurance Group has been offering its clients quality products and services combined with personalized service. We specialize in providing a comprehensive review and evaluation of your unique business risks and will implement risk management strategies custom to your situation. And thanks to our new affiliation with World Insurance Associates, we can offer solutions across all your business and personal needs.

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Safety Consulting Inc. has been providing its clients with industry-leading safety consulting for more than 50 years. Our team develops and delivers personalized on-site programs that increase workplace safety, ensure state and federal regulatory compliance, improve employee health and awareness, and often help you save on your insurance premiums. We specialize in almost every aspect of safety in industries across private and public sectors.

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CRAIG STROMGREN

Principal Safety Consulting, Inc. A World Company 4111 NW 16th St., Topeka, KS 66618 800-748-7887 css@safetyconsultinginc.com

World is a Top 100 insurance organization offering quality products and services from all major carriers, combined with attentive service from local advisors who are experts in their field and cater to many specialized industries. Never compromise again when it comes to managing and protecting your most important assets—your people and your business.

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• Employee & Executive

• Retirement & Financial Planning

• Payroll & HR

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HealthCare

HealthCare of Wichta, the commitpeople’s lives isn’t just a company owned, and we put family first,” with his sister Jill Harrison the Wichita and Topeka Interim franchises. The Wichita franchise was parents, Don and Judy Stehley, been a leader in the home health

HealthCare offers four key areas of Wichita market, which covers surrounding communities. Those in-home; home health, both Medicaid certified in both; staffing, doctors offices; and personal services, from non-medical to work is in patients’ homes, home or in a facility,” said Jay. best to help keep people in their

own homes as long as possible, and we provide the services to enable that.”

hospice services, and felt their loved ones were able

Home Healthcare | Hospice

“Those kinds of responses from families help keep us going,” said Jay. “And it isn’t just Jill and I –our staff is dedicated and committed, and they all

Private-Duty Care

(Bathing, housekeeping, shopping, & medication reminders)

The family-owned business started when Don Stehley, who was a quarterback with Kansas State University in the 1940s, then a coach, and then with the KSU Alumni Association, came to Wichi ta to launch the Interim HealthCare franchise. Jay, who has a B.S. degree from Emporia State University in business administration, took over operations in 2001 after a 17-year career with PPG, an automotive paint and chemicals company.

“I grew up in Manhattan, and was involved in sports like my dad,” said Jay. He played football for Butler Community College, and later attended KSU and ESU.

Staffing | Skilled Nursing (Infusion therapy, wound care, & high-risk cardiac care)

Physical, Occupational, & Speech Therapy

Jay and his sister launched the Topeka franchise in 2012, and Jill runs that operation while Jay concentrates on the Wichita location.

With its diverse service offerings, Interim HealthCare has been able to meet a variety of needs in the Wichita market. In addition to meeting home health needs and hospice care for families, the personal care and support services can help individuals and families in even more ways, with non-medical help around the house, up to around-the-clock skilled nursing services.

Chronic Disease Management

And, Interim HealthCare also helps other arms of the medical field in Wichita through its staffing services, providing skilled workers for hospitals and doctors offices.

Todd

“We take it one client at a time and improve their situation,” said Jay. He noted letters from families who have benefited from Interim HealthCare’s

More than 42 years of homecare experience. Our compassionate and loving employees will make your family member feel like a treasure.

For more information about Interim HealthCare of Wichita, visit www.interimhealthcare.com, or call 316-265-4295.

24 Hours/7 Days a Week

9920 E. Harry, Wichita, KS 67207 316-265-4295

121 W. Central, El Dorado, KS 67042 316-600-5190

525 N. Main St., Hutchinson, KS 67501 620-663-2423 | 800-593-4295

24 Hours/7 Days a

314 N. Washington, Wellington, KS 67207 620-359-1127

9920 E. Harry, Wichita, KS 67207 316-265-4295 525 N. Main St., Hutchinson, KS 67501 620-663-2423 • 800-593-4295 1005 W. South St., Salina, KS 67401 785-404-3800

1005 W. South St., Salina, KS 67401 785-404-3800

Getting Out: Estate Planning for the Closely Held Business

Attorney Margaret E. Robertson provides guidance on succession planning and getting your years of sweat equity out of your business.

Leadership Wichita

Leadership Wichita is an immersive experience that identifies local achievers and provides them with the information and inspiration to take significant roles in the community. Meet the Leadership Wichita Class of 2022.

Craving Community

Audra Dinell, founder of The Thread, shares how to create community and discover the richness of sharing life and business with others.

Moving Ahead with Broad Strokes

The artistic careers of Johnny Freedom and Delilah Reed received a boost when they participated in a community art project that inspired mural mania in Wichita and elsewhere. The pair combined have painted dozens of murals in Wichita and other Kansas communities. Learn about where they are now.

Tax Changes to Help Convince You There’s No Place Like Kansas

Brenda Benning and Laura Barnes with FORVIS share how the 2022 Kansas legislation’s new tax changes could create many benefits and opportunities for Kansas taxpayers.

Start Authorizing Yourself to Lead

Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride provide an excerpt from their recently published book, When Everyone Leads, that explores what self-authorization looks like, how to do it, what makes it hard, and why it’s necessary.

Building a Dream

Jim and Sherri Fouts had a dream to build a world class breeding facility for rare and endangered species. That dream has become what we know today as Tanganikya Wildlife Park

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by FERNANDO SALAZAR

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Moving FORward requires VISion

Introducing FORVIS, forward vision from

FORVIS is a forward-thinking professional services firm committed to Unmatched Client Experiences™

We anticipate our client’s needs and outcomes, preparing them for what’s next by offering innovative solutions.

Created by the merger of BKD and DHG—a merger of equals—FORVIS has the enhanced capabilities of an expanded national platform and deepened industry intelligence. With greater resources and robust advisory services, FORVIS is prepared to help you better navigate the current and future dynamic organizational landscape.

We are FORVIS. Forward vision drives our Unmatched Client Experiences.

the merger of BKD and DHG

Getting Out: ESTATE PLANNING FOR THE CLOSELY HELD BUSINESS

MARGARET E. ROBERTSON, ATTORNEY HINKLE LAW FIRM LLC

We often hear the phrase, “Begin with the end in mind,” but what happens when you don’t? The dream of starting your own business, having that dream take off, and growing that dream to something permanent and special took all of your time and energy. Now that you’ve had a chance to breathe, you need to start planning for what happens next. It doesn’t matter how old you are. As long as you’re upright, it’s never too late to start thinking about a succession plan and getting your years of sweat equity out of your business.

There are different goals in planning for the succession of your business. In any case, it’s critical to begin planning the transition of the business before you’re ready so that you have time to prepare. It’s also important to begin developing a succession plan before you become disabled or die. Answering two specific questions (and the resulting follow up questions) can help you get started developing your succession strategy.

Who’s the successor?

Potential successors can include family members, a group of key employees, or an unrelated third-party. If it’s a family member or key employees, are they interested? Do they have the right mix of skills and personality to run a business? Do they know the business? If your successor is a family member or key employee, you may need to help train them to take over or develop additional skills to be successful. Putting a succession plan in place, and communicating that to the future owners will help ease the transition.

If it’s an unrelated third-party buyer, do you know the potential pool of buyers? Is it a strategic buyer or a financial buyer?

Don’t know who the successor is or the answers to the questions above? That’s ok, you can build a plan that is flexible enough to adjust to different potential successors. These questions are important to begin thinking about and answering. If your likely successor isn’t ready yet, that’s also ok, provided you are vested in helping them get to “ready.” If not, you need to shift gears and redefine the succession plan.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

What’s the price?

Knowing what your income needs will be in retirement and what you need to get out of your business, can help you make decisions on the terms of a buy-out. Without knowing what you need out of the business for retirement, you won’t know whether the plan is right for you.

The other side of the coin is knowing what your business is worth. If your retirement needs exceed the value of your business, it’s better to figure that out earlier than later so you can adjust. Also, if you don’t know what a reasonable market value is for your business, you won’t know what a reasonable offer is. This can be critical information when negotiating a third-party sale. Using a multiple of gross sales and applying an industry rule of thumb can get you an estimate at the beginning, but as you get closer you may need to engage a valuation expert to give you this value.

What’s the next step?

Your business may have started on the back of a napkin and been built out of the garage. However, the exit strategy should be developed differently than the entry strategy. There’s more at stake and more to lose. So, get started. Work with your trusted advisors (attorney, CPA, and financial advisor) to begin answering these questions. Then, identify needed actions and set specific and quantifiable goals and deadlines. You worked hard to build your business to where it is. Don’t sell yourself short.

Leadership Wichita provides an immersive experience for up to 30 local achievers. The program provides the information and inspiration to take increasingly significant roles in the community. Participants gain valuable insight into local government, economic development, education, and media; and interact with the key community and business leaders working to make progress in each area.

Over the course of five months, participants have the opportunity to step outside their comfort zones and experience life as emergency

responders, local school principals, and more. The business and community members leading the sessions share openly and give participants unique insights into how they can help make progress on the issues most important to them.

Since Leadership Wichita was introduced in 1983, nearly 1,000 local business, government and military persons have completed the program and have committed to become stronger leaders for our community. Meet the members of the Leadership Wichita Class of 2022.

S l i d e O u t S h e l f S o l u t i o n s . c o m

What is the most important part of your work?

The most important part of my work is elevating local artists and creatives. Supporting and celebrating all facets of arts and culture, especially the makers, is vital to the success of a community. Artists are our changemakers, storytellers and historians. Enveloping the community in the arts, whatever the medium, creates a distinct and authentic environment where people want to be. The fact that I get to play some part in making that happen is incredible.

and dismissal. I have grown to understand more and more every day that as an artist, and as a human, ownership of ideas and objects produced really doesn’t matter. The sharing of concept, responsibility, brain power, creativity, and execution is essential not only for the growth of an arts community, but for our growth as individuals.

How have you evolved and grown during your career?

Artists can tend to be egocentric. This is a tendency rooted in self-preservation, created in response to constant comparison

I think the idea of “communal strength” can be applied to just about any profession or pursuit. Shifting one’s focus from singular ownership to shared authenticity is crucial to the success of any project, big or small. Each year I make it my goal to create or facilitate as many opportunities as possible for others to do their good work. My place is not in the spotlight. My place is to create spotlights for others.

What do you love most about your work?

The opportunity to work with all kinds of different people... be they young or old, big or small. Working with people from a variety of backgrounds and having the opportunity to be a part of their journey.

What motivates you?

I believe Saint Augustine said it best, “Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”

What should never be taken for granted?

LIFE... Every day, every moment is a unique gift that we need to consciously not take for granted because for all we know it could be our last. In knowing this, we need to try and appreciate this gift each and every day.

What have you learned from the pandemic?

emily brookover pancho bustos

Great things can happen in a limited amount of time when a group of motivated individuals set their minds to it and won’t take “no” for and answer.

Middle School Principal USD 259 Wichita Public Schools

Director of Creative Engagement & Placemaking Downtown Wichita

brandi caballero

Defense, Manager Spirit AeroSystems

What makes you unique?

My perspective. Finding myself pregnant at 15 and becoming a single mom two months after I turned 16 was one of the most difficult challenges I have ever faced.

All the undesired attention and opinions of others on the situation only made it worse. In the end, it was the catalyst that changed my life for the better. It was the ignition to my fire. It’s what drives my desire to give back and help others facing the same challenges that I faced.

I know what it is like to live in a happy, healthy, loving family with both parents.

I know what it feels like to live through two divorces and having your family unit ripped apart over night by the age of 11. I know what it is like to be raised by a single dad for a time and later to be a single mother myself. Expected to learn how to

drive, learn algebra and balance it all at the same time.

I had to know how to give CPR to my preemie infant at a moment’s notice when the machine he was hooked to would start wailing in the middle of driving in morning rush hour traffic because he had stopped breathing, again. The few split seconds you must assess your environment and determine how to safely pull over as quickly as possible to grab your baby and save his life. All at a time when cell phones were not available yet.

I understand everyone has their own story, and in essence we are all unique in that regard. I feel I am just more unique in regard to being willing to openly share all my bad decisions in life and being more vulnerable than a lot of people. Humility is a virtue.

What led you to this career?

My sister, Mary, is the manager at Two Men And A Truck and is the one who led me to this career. My position had been eliminated, and I was without a job. I was not looking for a new job because I was utterly devastated! My sister knew I was depressed, so she took it upon herself to speak to Garret, the owner, about reaching out to me to help part-time with marketing, which Garret did. Honestly, I was not excited about this career change, even though he was a great guy. I would tell Garret I was coming in and didn’t follow through. I thought, “What will I do at a professional moving company? This cannot be the next career for me.”

I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Little did I know that what I thought was devastating was a blessing. It has been four years, and I am the Director of Community Engagement. I love every bit of my career! God had more significant plans for me, and Two Men A Truck was part of his greater plan.

What book are you reading now?

I just opened my Being Wichita Women book, a powerful collection of stories exploring trauma, adversity, resilience, and healing. Why? Because I am one of the contributors and have not read my own story or any of the other 27 contributors since it was published in May. (You may pick one up at Watermark Books & Cafe.)

renee carrion

Director of Community Engagement Two Men And A Truck

What motivates you?

Having the chance to make an impact in my community and building relationships with the leaders who are making things happen that better our quality of life.

What do you love most about your work?

Building relationships and finding creative ways to support the communities we serve.

What is the most important part of your work?

Communicating with elected officials and city staff in the communities Kansas Gas Service serves.

What three critical skills help you in your work?

Collaboration, networking, and writing.

What’s the last series you binge-watched?

Yellowstone

What music artist do you never get tired of?

Garth Brooks

What would we mostly likely see you doing on a weekend?

Chasing after my two kids, and if we’re lucky enough to find a babysitter my husband and I enjoy eating out at local restaurants, especially George’s.

lauren clary

What is the most important part of your work?

Helping people when it matters most.

What three critical skills help you in your work?

Empathy, diligence, and competitiveness.

What do you collect?

Chick-fil-a Sauce because you can never have too much.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My dad. He has been remarkably successful in all facets of life - as an athlete, student, professional, entrepreneur, husband, father, and grandfather.

What would we mostly likely see you doing on a weekend?

Catching bugs with my son.

What should one never take for granted?

Our liberties and freedoms.

What is your foundation? My family.

What are your core values? Be true to yourself, work hard, and pursue happiness

Community Relations Manager Kansas Gas Service

chet Compton

Attorney

Fleeson Gooing

What do you love most about your work?

I love what I do! Etiquette is more than just which fork to use or what to do with your napkin. It’s about learning how to intentionally communicate. We live in a world filled with different languages, cultures, ethnicities, spiritual beliefs and so forth. At the end of the day, we are all human. Etiquette allows me to share my passion for the history of protocols, the connections, the proven effects of respect to different cultural codes and my personal experiences (that I am still learning by the way!) with individuals who share the same passion for self-improvement.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My dad is my greatest inspiration. He didn’t just preach it, he lived by the Rhino Principle, “Take Charge.” To take charge means to have faith, take risks, and never let anything or anyone get in the way.

My father came from humbling beginnings. He understood what it meant to fight your way to the top. He dedicated his life as an encourager to every person he encountered. Pushing the same message each time... faith will take you places money could never buy!

kianga Kelley-Crowley

CEO & Consultant Simply A Lady Co.

lai-l Daugherty

What three critical skills help you in your work?

The three critical skills that help me in my work are creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. There isn’t a day within my job responsibilities when I’m not required to use these critical skills to accomplish tasks and goals.

What is the biggest professional goal you have accomplished?

The biggest professional goal that I have accomplished is establishing the WSU Tech Student Engagement

Department. As an experienced higher education professional, building a program from conception has been rewarding and challenging. Providing students with co-curricular activities at four campuses throughout the city has allowed students opportunities to develop leadership skills, engage in entertainment and cultural activities, and create meaningful peer relationships. Seeing what I have accomplished with my colleagues in three years excites me for what the future holds for this department.

Director of Student Engagement WSU Tech

What phrase describes you?

Teamwork Wins. It establishes a culture that everyone matters and plays a role in the overall success of an organization.

What do you love most about your work?

The interaction that I have with the community and the opportunity to establish programs and events to enhance the quality of life and develop great partnerships with other organizations.

What should never be taken for granted?

The opportunity to learn and try new things and ideas. The phrase “we have always done it that way” creates complacency and limits creativity.

What is your leadership style?

I believe having a positive attitude and creating an environment where people want to work. Allowing the latitude and flexibility where they can learn from mistakes to get better every day.

Reginald davidson

What is the most important part of your work?

The most important thing I do every day is help people identify their financial goals, create plans to help them accomplish those goals, and then walk in relationship alongside them as they do so.

What does a day in the life look like for you?

nicole easton

Vice President & Trust Officer

My role is as varied as the people I serve. A day could begin by having a cup of coffee with a person who was recently divorced and helping them navigate what comes next for them in life; analyzing a family’s financial

situation to create strategies and solutions that help them determine their path forward given a set of competing objectives, like maxing out their retirement contributions, paying off the mortgage early, or starting a college savings fund for their children; helping a client move through the process of purchasing land to build their dream home; or holding a person’s hand as they say goodbye to the most precious people in their lives and hand off the burden of managing that person’s estate or trust to The Trust Company of Kansas as they grieve.

Superintendent of Recreation City of Wichita Park and Recreation

The Trust Company of Kansas

ELORA Forshee

Sedgwick County Emergency Communications

What is the most important part of your work?

The people that work for me are really the most important part of my work. They are the ones in the trenches, day in and day out, ensuring that our community has the help they need. They work long hours, they sacrifice time with their families on holidays, they are subjected to vicarious trauma throughout their shift - it is a heavy load to work at 911. The team at 911 have hearts of service and take tremendous pride in being here to answer those emergency calls and provide service to our field responders.

My job is to support them and try to give them everything they need to be successful - and I am humbled to be in a position to do so.

What

is

non-negotiable for you?

Integrity is more than a buzzword for me, it is something that you have to protect at all costs. A non-negotiable for me is anything that would compromise my integrity.

Emergency services is a high-stakes industry and little errors can create big impacts in people’s lives. I learned long ago that it is more important to be honest and forthright than it is to be right in a situation.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

The most valuable lesson I have learned is to practice the pause. It is so important to think before reacting, to ensure that my response is not coming from a place of ego but rather from a place of authenticity and a desire to lift up and empower others.

Pausing allows me to ensure that my responses align with my mission and values.

What motivates you?

Watching the light come on when people learn things for the first time. That “light bulb moment” gets me every time.

What have you learned from the pandemic?

I would have to say I learned to take things one day at a time from the pandemic. There is likely a plot twist that we may not expect, so just focus on today and always have a few extra rolls of toilet paper hidden away in case of emergencies.

What should never be taken for granted?

A “boring” night at home spent with family.

What do you love most about your work?

Newman University’s mission is “empowering graduates to transform society.” That mission is engrained in many facets of my job and is exhibited on our campus daily.

I love my colleagues and working with the students. While I am not currently teaching any courses, I truly enjoy the interactions I am able to have with students through either advising them on what classes they should take next or mentoring them on the path they are interested in taking in the future.

JILL FORT

Director

Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Newman University

Freedom to enjoy a day at the park.

and then find ways to minimize the burden of wealth management, bestowing the freedom to enjoy everything else. Visit us at tckansas.com.

BLAKE heiman

Director of Development TGC Group

What do you love most about your work?

The best part about working in the real estate development business is that no two days are alike. Every project we do has its own nuances and challenges that we have to work through during the process, and the opportunity to work alongside a team that embraces those challenges makes solving them that much more rewarding.

What is the most important part of your work?

The most important thing we can do as developers is to make sure that our projects contribute to the community

in a positive way. We build projects with the expectation that we are going to be part of the community for a long time, so it is essential that our projects fit seamlessly and add value to the existing fabric of the community.

What should one never take for granted?

Taking the time to listen and learn from the wisdom of someone older than you. There is so much perspective to be gained from someone that has walked the path you are walking, whether it is professionally or personally.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

That work ethic will put you ahead of the pack, but intentionality and integrity is what will truly set you apart and set you up for success.

What do you love most about your work?

I love that I get to work collaboratively with a multitude of stakeholders to work towards solving the housing shortage issues that impact everyone to some extent and to be a part of working to offer a tangible solution for that crisis.

What is one word you would use to describe yourself and why? Tenacious. I have always been competitive, mostly with myself, and do not know how to do a task or project without giving it my all and to do all in my power to see that it is done right. In fact, a quote I often think of by Babe Ruth that I think describes this, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” It’s a blessing because it has created work ethic and discipline, but a curse as it leads to obsessive workaholic tendencies and makes it difficult to compartmentalize and achieve work-life balance. But that has slowly improved over time.

Vice President of Business Development Crain Company

michelle

Moe Witte

Who are your mentors?

When I told my boss, Barbara Jean Pickens, that I was going to law school, she asked me if I had applied yet. I told her no. She told me that my job for the day was to complete law school applications and that if I touched any of her work I would be fired. She taught me how to champion other women.

The first time I met Ross Hollander, he told me that his priorities were God, family, then work. He didn’t expect my priorities to be any different. In a profession that can demand so much, Ross taught me to be true to myself without compromise.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

Perfectionism and the fear of failure are traps. Don’t get stuck. You are enough. You wouldn’t be here if you were not capable. Embrace failure as a part of your story; it’s where you learn and grow stronger. The most interesting people I know have a few scars. They are the same people I want by my side during life’s battles.

What are you grateful for?

I am most grateful for my family. My husband, Paul, is a constant support, and my daughter, Violet, is my greatest joy. We love a spontaneous dance party, a raucous family sing-along, and a good home cooked meal.

What led you to this career?

I love numbers, working with people to help them succeed, and solving challenging problems. My career began with an opportunity to study and live in America. As an immigrant from Africa at the age of 4, my mission has been to maximize the opportunity I have been given.

When I arrived on my college campus as a student-athlete, I wanted to be an engineer, but the course schedule conflicted with my sport, so I chose accounting to stay with numbers. My mom recommended that I focus on accounting and finance, so I took that to heart. As my career has developed, I began to obsess about leadership and put new challenges

in front of myself every day at work and in the community. Finance, strategy, and people are my passions, so I am very grateful for the work that I do and the impact I get to make as I develop into the best version of myself both personally and professionally.

What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

Purpose. I am a person who seeks meaning in everything I do. I have a deep desire to make a positive impact on the people and communities around me. Purpose is a word that describes my mission to be purpose-driven to grow personally while contributing in a meaningful way everywhere I go.

victor Ojeleye

Business Group FP&A Planning & Reporting Manager

Protein North America

Cargill Protein Group

Partner Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer LLP

Laura rainwater Executive Director

Regional Economic Area Partnership (REAP)

What is your foundation?

Live by the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated!

What do you love most about your work?

Collaborating with policymakers at all levels of government to find solutions for regional challenges that cross over jurisdictional boundaries.

What are your core values?

Integrity. Respect. Responsibility. Servant leadership.

What is your biggest pet peeve? Email etiquette. Not responding to emails in a timely manner. Everyone deserves a timely response; even if it is just to say you will get back to them within a few days. Never leave someone hanging for more than a day!

What is your leadership style?

My leadership style is fluid and changes depending on the individual or group I am working alongside. I believe the most effective leaders are those that recognize the various needs of their team and adjust their style to meet those needs.

What advice has served you well in your journey?

Lean into your mistakes and do not be afraid to mess up. Some of the best learning opportunities come from figuring out what not to do. I am not sure I can attribute this to one person but rather many people allowing me the freedom to make mistakes without fear of criticism.

What does your day look like?

I manage a commercial real estate portfolio, so my days could consist of reviewing new loan opportunities, collaborating with current customers, or working on transactions to get them through the loan approval or closing processes.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My mom is my greatest inspiration. Despite many challenges along the way, she continues to grow and demonstrate what can be achieved through strength and determination.

samantha richardson

VP,

Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Manager

Fidelity Bank

natalie rolfe

Executive Director

What do you wish someone had told you during your career journey?

Continue to look back at the progress you’ve made. In days when you feel stuck, it will allow you to move past those moments and truly celebrate the work that has been accomplished. Never allow what doesn’t go right today to dictate what can go right tomorrow.

What motivates you?

Creative things and ways to approach a challenge in a different way. Learning what challenges me to grow and stretch my mind in new ways and innovation! I enjoy seeing how things develop and become better from new approaches.

What have you learned from the pandemic?

One of the greatest lessons that I learned during the pandemic is to never stop creating and shifting. This pandemic brought an enormous amount of question and uncertainty regarding how, when, and what. We were forced to shift and create new opportunities and spaces to continue serving and conducting business. It made me remember that many more things are possible with the right amount of focus and planning. Don’t allow visible or expected constraints to stop the possibilities.

What advice has served you well in your journey?

Move forward from wherever you are. This advice was best articulated by my oneyear-old son almost 20 years ago. When we would arrive at a new destination, he would look up from his car seat and orient himself by stating “this is where we are.”

I have repeated that countless times since then, especially after a setback, to reorient myself in the moment and figure out the next move forward.

What led you to this career?

I grew up farming, and I enjoyed seeing the tangible results of my work. That made construction an attractive career choice for the same reason.

What do you love most about your work?

Diving in and listening to our client’s needs and asking questions that allow them to think in a way that multiplies the impact of their project. Of course, the best part of any project is opening day and seeing the new spaces that we have all created together being experienced by the end users.

What book are you reading now?

Believe In People by Charles Koch. What I am getting out of it is the message of empowering people to create value for others.

ryan rowley

Down Syndrome Society of Wichita

Area Leader - Wichita Hutton

What characteristics do you value most in your coworkers?

I enjoy working with those who are “Humble and Hungry,” and who also know how to laugh at the same time.

What is your foundation?

My foundation is my belief in an eternal afterlife. We will all end this life, and it is a good reminder to think about what will come after. “Tempus Fugit, Memto Mori” which means “life is short, live your life well.”

What do you wish someone had told you on your career journey?

I wish someone would have told me about compounding interest on knowledge and relationships throughout a career. It has become apparent to me how valuable continuous learning and making friends in the industry are to help advance a career.

What are you grateful for?

I am most grateful for my wife who brings balance to my life!

joe terick

Senior Account Manager Black Hills Energy

What is the biggest professional goal you have accomplished? The rank of Colonel.

What does a day look like for you?

Coordination of task completion.

What do you wish someone had told you during your career journey?

Opportunities will occur – be patient.

What advice has served you well in your journey?

Work hard and take care of the members of your team.

What is your biggest pet peeve? People not willing to hear another’s perspective

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

Jack Nicholson

Col. Craig Cooper

184 RSG Commander

Kansas Air National Guard

What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

Kindness. Everybody deserves kindness, and I am known for providing it in the form of a smile, positivity, and words of encouragement to anyone I meet.

What do you think the secret to a good life is?

The secret to a good life is to find the joy and gratitude in every day. Reflecting on this daily will prove to help one find a positive and full life.

What would we see you doing on a weekend?

Not being from Wichita, my husband, Tyler, and I also love being tourists in

our own town. We enjoy experiencing new restaurants with friends, walking our dog on many different trails, and frequently visiting one of our favorite places, the Sedgwick County Zoo.

What do you love most about your work?

What I love most about my work is the opportunity to make everywhere I go better than how I found it. I do this by building relationships with realtors, community members, and my team of passionate coworkers. Together we have the opportunity to provide invaluable resources to help homeowners achieve their dreams.

Alyssa york

What do you love most about your work?

What I love the most about my work are the light bulb moments that happen when I am working with our businesses and community members. When I talk about DE&I, I am talking about and including everyone. All walks are included and needed to further the mission of DE&I. I get the opportunity to learn from and about people and their DE&I journey while bringing value to their overall business success.

Ricki ellison

Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce

What is the most important part of your work?

The most important part of my work is the fact that we are changing the workforce culture to better our future generations while increasing sustainability and relevance for our businesses.

What is your greatest strength?

I would say my greatest strength is selfawareness. As an athlete, I learned that to be able to compete at the highest level you have to be honest with yourself and understand who you are and how they play into your ability to be successful. I take a lot of what I learned as an athlete into the professional workforce.

What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

One word to best describe me would be “Colorful.” I say colorful not only because of my style and variety of eyewear, but because I love to see the bright side of situations, people, and experiences.

Real Estate Relationship Manager Meritrust Credit Union

Creating Community

AUDRA DINELL, FOUNDER THE THREAD: A WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP COLLECTIVE

I recently attended a gathering to celebrate a friend’s second baby and while I was there I spent time with someone from the community that I serve. This corporate professional (who is a killer conversationalist with an excellent wardrobe, I might add) was sharing with me how cool it was to be supporting a mutual friend’s new business launch behind the scenes – getting a peek at the branding, weighing in on choices and being a part of the excitement that goes into creating something from scratch.

Seven months ago these women didn’t know each other. Now, they are making a real impact in each other’s lives through the support and encouragement they are offering to each other.

This is community. It’s a ‘feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals’ as defined by dictionary.com. My definition: a beautiful, genuine way to build your life and business.

We were not created to do life alone and that includes business. As tempting as it is to get into the silos of our worlds – our teams, our organizations, our homes – there is so much richness out there when we push past what we see every day and put ourselves into different rooms with different people.

Even as an extrovert who gets energy from interactions with others,

it can be tempting to just get myself in a silo and knock out a bunch of work. I personally find that when I silo myself for too long, it impacts my mindset. Self-doubt tends to creep in, and I know I need to get out into the world and be with people.

My community helps me to gain clarity, develop fresh ideas, feel seen, understood, and have a sense of real belonging. I would argue that spending time building community makes me more effective than if I spent more minutes at my desk cranking the work out. Go out and find your people.

Photo SUBMITTED

CREATING COMMUNITY

5 quick

Start Where You Are tips to help

You have a little bubble that you live and work in. Your neighborhood bubble, your work bubble. What connections can you mine there? Who is in your world right now that you haven’t taken the chance to get to know? Who in your world knows someone that you want to know? My bet is that your current environment is rich with potential. Strike up a conversation with someone in your normal spaces that you may not have taken the time and energy to get to know well.

Ask Good Questions

Instead of going with the age-old question, “How are you?” which immediately puts others on autopilot, take a cue from Vanessa Van Edwards, founder & lead investigator at the Science of People and think differently.

Ask questions like:

• What was the highlight of your weekend?

• What personal passion project are you working on?

• Do you have anything exciting or fun coming up?

• What’s your story?

Make A List

One of my mentors makes a list at the beginning of every year in which he lists 50 people he wants to connect with over the course of the year. Some of these are old friends who he hasn’t connected with in a while, others are people he hasn’t yet met, then he picks one to reach out to, suggesting a coffee or lunch catch up.

Get Social

Social media is where I have personally developed some of the most beautiful and surprising relationships. When I discover someone on social media who I think is doing something cool, I reach out to them, tell them what I appreciate about what they are doing and suggest an IRL (in real life) meet up. At first, it can feel strange. And then we find a connection and trust begins to build. We add in an appropriate amount of vulnerability (key to taking them from our highlight reel to true life), and now we have something that is real.

5 4 3 1 2

Be Authentic

This is the real gold in building community - show up as yourself, no matter who is in the room. Your voice matters, so use it. Your perspective is important.

Making Good on the Promise of Digital Equity

A curious thing about the adage “change is the only constant in life” is that the saying itself is one thing that always remains true. There is always a new challenge or opportunity to pursue, always a drive to make things better, and once in a while, the chance to redefine what’s possible. In our business, we thrive on change — because when we improve, a lot of other things in life improve with us.

At Cox Communications, we’ve ridden and driven change. Sixty years ago, when we started the company, we offered cable TV service. Today, our nationwide network powers in-home Wi-Fi that can manage multiple high-definition video and audio streams, 3D online gaming, multi-user teleconferencing, remote learning and a growing number of smart home devices and appliances. All of these new capabilities and experiences are possible thanks to faster network speeds.

We’re proud to be an integral part of this ongoing technological transformation and the value it creates both for our customers and in the communities we serve. It’s been a remarkable journey, but the work is far from done. It’s wonderful to claim that roughly three-quarters of American adults have broadband internet service at home but sobering to acknowledge that the digital divide is real and too many communities are still being left out of the growing digital economy.

Our best innovations — multi-gigabit speeds and advanced connected technologies — are not realizing their full potential when they’re only offered in big-city metro areas.

But change is constant, and the digital divide in our country is changing. It’s shrinking, and we could not be more excited about our part in making that happen.

Earlier this year, we announced our pledge to bring broadband services to underserved and rural communities across the country. In Kansas, we’ve moved quickly and have built into eight communities this year, including Assaria, Belle Plaine, and Ellinwood with six more planned for 2023. Through our all-fiber optic network and multi-gigabit speeds, residents in these communities can now participate in the digital community like everyone else.

Our commitment to Kansas is strong. We’re proud to partner with new communities and fulfill our promise to champion digital equity — bridging the digital divide with a state-of-the art network and affordable internet services for households of all incomes and economic statuses.

It’s change for good — for all of us.

We’re proud to partner with new communities and fulfill our promise to champion digital equity.

MOVING AHEAD Broad Strokes

AMY GEISZLER-JONES AARON PATTON

The artistic careers of Johnny Freedom and Delilah Reed received a big boost when they were approached several years ago to participate in a community art project that ended up inspiring what some may call mural mania in Wichita and elsewhere.

As a result of being early participants in the Douglas Design District’s Avenue Art Days, Freedom and Reed are just two examples of artists whose careers are now flourishing. Avenue Art Days was the brainchild of Janelle King, owner of The Workroom and champion of locally made art and Wichita-centric merchandise.

When King created the community art project in 2015, she initially encountered some resistance from business owners in the three-mile Douglas Design District near downtown Wichita who thought murals weren’t much different than graffiti. That thinking changed when they saw that the murals were drawing people to the district and their businesses to take selfies and other pictures.

Now murals and public art have become commonplace, leading to the end of Avenue Art Days in August 2022 and the progression of the careers of several artists such as Freedom and Reed.

The pair combined have painted dozens of murals in Wichita and other Kansas communities. Freedom recently added teaching artist to his resume while Reed’s success led to her opening a storefront that serves as both her personal studio and a retail store selling a curated collection of works by local artists.

Photo by AARON PATTON

Pride in Place

Look at Johnny Freedom’s arms and it’s fairly evident that he definitely has pride in his hometown of Wichita. The iconic Keeper of the Plains statue and a hogan, the prevalent symbol of the Wichita flag, are among his many tattoos. The hogan is an American Indian symbol that represents a permanent home.

“I love this town,” said Freedom, who was wearing a Wichita flag hat during his interview at The Hopping Gnome, one of several local breweries that displays Freedom’s art.

He didn’t always feel that way.

Like many young Wichitans have tended to do, Freedom left the city after graduating from Wichita Northwest High School in 1991, thinking there were cooler and hipper places to be. A former Marine, he and his wife, Aimee, and their three kids moved back to Wichita in 2009. Return visits to his hometown in the interim had opened his eyes to how much the city had grown and could offer him and his young family.

Freedom, a federal government employee, started painting the Wichita flag on different objects as “flag fever” began taking hold around 2015. That’s when the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce started a social media campaign to rally Wichitans

around the symbol that Cecil McAlister had created in 1937 for an American Legion-sponsored contest.

While Freedom took pride in Wichita and its newly found symbol, painting become a way to destress from a job that involved helping exploited children. He recently left that particular job.

In 2021, his painting and interest in repurposing furniture and other woodwork became a way for him to channel the immense grief he felt when his dad died.

When Workroom owner Janelle King tapped him to be among the inaugural group of artists for Avenue Art Days in 2015, his mural design was — no surprise — a small variation of the Wichita flag at a business near the Douglas and Washington intersection.

“I love this town.”

- Johnny Freedom Artist “

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by AARON PATTON

Johnny Freedom is the go-to artist for flag-related murals in Wichita and beyond.

While the building owner discouraged Freedom’s attempts to create a larger-scale mural of the flag, Freedom has since had plenty of opportunities to paint his pride for Wichita in bigger strokes.

Since 2015, he’s become the go-to artist for area businesses that want to display the flag in a big way. According to his tally, he’s created more than 20 flag-related murals in Wichita. His work, for example, can be seen on The Pumphouse, 825 E. 2nd, and Piatto Neopolitan Pizzeria, 1706 E. Douglas.

But his mural work isn’t limited to Wichita and its flag. He’s done murals for the city of Newton’s 150th anniversary, a large art installation for a hotel in Aurora, Colorado, and a mural for Dry Lake Brewery in Great Bend, Kansas.

He joked about the fact that several breweries, including River City Brewery and Wichita Brewing Company, have been among his art clients.

“It’s a trend because Johnny Freedom likes beer,” he said laughing.

One would think that Freedom likely doesn’t have much free time given his government job, his art projects and his involvement with the local soccer scene, like announcing games for amateur and university teams. But this fall he added to the list teaching artist for Arts Partners, a local effort that provides in-school programs that integrate the artist’s art forms with other areas of the curriculum, such as math, science, social studies, technology and history.

Twice a week, he’s been teaching reading comprehension through art integration to three secondgrade classrooms at Adams Elementary.

“This is a good opportunity for me,” Freedom said.

Having had a job that involved dealing with children who’ve been mistreated, the chance to offer something positive to a kid’s life was important to Freedom.

“This is an opportunity to do something different to give back. You never know how you can impact someone’s life,” he said.

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Being Loud

Artist Delilah Reed — who owns The Loud Cicada located in the Revolutsia complex near Central and Grove — admits she was just looking for an easy class to skip in her last semester as a senior at Southeast High School when she signed up for an introductory art class.

But for once, Reed found herself in a class that really caught her attention.

“I really gave it my all,” said Reed, as she learned to sketch, paint and draw.

While Reed had created art for years after that and created her first mural in the 2016 Avenue Art Days, she found it hard to “own the title of artist,” she said.

It wasn’t until Reed completed Artist INC, a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance offered at Harvester Arts in Wichita in 2018, that she felt confident enough to claim the title and make it her business. Artist INC is an eight-week seminar program that provides professional development beyond networking and creating community and

focuses on helping artists develop business skills. According to the MAAA website, Artist INC has trained more than 1,500 artists in its six-state service area.

After taking the course, Reed formed her business, The Loud Cicada, taking her business’ name from the 2016 mural she had co-created with Maggie Gilmore for Avenue Art Days. The two had painted a cicada on a metal side door of the Douglas Photographic Imaging building.

The loud part of her business name comes from Reed’s love of big, bold colors and the connotation of the word loud as opposed to quiet; the cicada is often associated as a symbol of re-emergence.

As part of Reed’s re-emergence as an artist, she incubated her business in The Workroom, alongside another entrepreneur, Heather Giesen, and her botanical business GROW.

In November 2021, Reed took over the store space vacated by Vortex Souvenir in the Revolutsia shipping container complex created by Bokeh Development.

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by AARON PATTON

Delilah Reed, owner of The Loud Cicada. Photo by Aaron Patton.

Reed uses the storefront as an art studio where she can create and sell her own art, which is often inspired by nature.

Along with selling art created by Reed and three other local artists and other retail items, the store also has a cardwriting station, where customers can come up with creative correspondence. For just $6.50, a customer can create a customized postcard, using glitter, fashion tape, markers, confetti and more, and Reed will take care of mailing the correspondence.

While she talked about the ups and downs of running her own business, with her dog, Confetti, lounging in a pet bed nearby, a longtime Wichita artist stops by to ask Reed to sign the piece of her art he had recently bought from her and that she’d left unsigned. It was an indication of the sort of mutual admiration and support Wichita artists have for one another.

Besides having created more than 20 pieces of public art, including three Keeper of the Plains statues as part of the Keeper 150 public art statues, she’s participated twice in Mark Arts’ Versus: A Live Art Battle and taught at the art education center’s summer STEAM Academy.

She loves creating commissioned art pieces, which often allows her do larger-scale art. One of her favorite pieces is “the sexiest colorful Italian landscape” that she created for Angelo’s.

Like Johnny Freedom, Reed too has a great love for her community and has been a teaching artist with Arts Partner.

Before starting her business, Reed worked at some of the hot spots of Wichita’s hospitality industry: like Espresso to Go (a favorite of Food Network’s Alton Brown), Lava and Tonic, and Piatto’s. She’s also been a social media consultant with the well-regarded Tallgrass Film Festival.

Delilah Reed, owner of The Loud Cicada, with her dog, Confetti.

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo by AARON PATTON

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK.

BACK.

The Kansas Chamber is here to help.

The Kansas Chamber is here to help. In business, the challenges never end. Let the Kansas Chamber be your partner in success.

We provide unmatched resources on public policy and a powerful voice for you in state and federal government. We stand up for YOUR interests and ensure Kansas businesses aren’t blindsided by harmful taxes or new regulations.

In business, the challenges never end. Let the Kansas Chamber be your partner in success. We provide unmatched resources on public policy and a powerful voice for you in state and federal government. We stand up for interests and ensure Kansas businesses aren’t blindsided by harmful taxes or new regulations. We work every day to enhance the business climate here at home to make sure Kansas is one of the best states to do business.

A strong business climate creates a strong state economy, generates jobs, and provides for investments in communities. Learn more about how the Kansas Chamber has your back at KansasChamber.org.

Manager, Tax FORVIS

TAX CHANGES TO HELP CONVINCE YOU THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE KANSAS

BRENDA BENNING & LAURA BARNES

When it comes to taxes, the theme of the 2022 Kansas legislation can be summarized in one sentence: “We want your business in Kansas, we want your expertise in Kansas, and we want you to live in Kansas!”

Kansas passed several taxpayer-friendly tax provisions in 2022 hoping to attract new business and keep Kansas’ homegrown talent. Let’s look at some of the new changes.

SALES TAX

There is a list the state of Kansas no longer wants to be on—those who tax food and food ingredients. As of the beginning of 2022, 13 states still impose sales tax on groceries. Seven of those states, including Kansas, charge at the ordinary sales tax rate. The Kansas state sales tax rate is 6.5%. Among Kansas’ neighboring states, Colorado and Nebraska have a 0% sales tax rate, and Missouri has a reduced 1.225% state sales tax rate on groceries. Oklahoma currently taxes food at the ordinary sales tax rate of 4.5% but has ongoing legislation that will temporarily eliminate its sales tax on groceries.

The good news is that the passage of Kansas House Bill 2106 will reduce the Kansas state sales tax on food and food ingredients to zero. The bad news is that the state will use a stair-step approach to achieve that goal, and there is no decrease in the rate for 2022 purchases. The rate will reduce to 4% beginning January 1, 2023; 2% beginning January 1, 2024; and finally to zero on January 1, 2025. It is important to note that county and local sales tax rates on groceries are not changed under this legislation. For example, if you live in Wichita, the current sales tax on food is 7.5% (6.5% state rate, 1% county rate, and zero local rate). If you live in Andover, that rate is increased to 8.5%, because of a 2% combined county and local rate.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Brenda Benning Senior

Laura Barnes Tax Services Manager FORVIS

PHOTO SUBMITTED

KANSAS SALES TAX RATE ON FOOD & FOOD INGREDIENTS

STATE RATE

COUNTY RATE LOCAL RATE 2022 2023 2024 2025

ANDOVER DERBY GODDARD HAYSVILLE LENEXA

WICHITA 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 6.5%

+ + + + + +

1.0% 0.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.475%

+ + + + + +

0.0% 2.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.375%

7.5% 8.5% 8.5% 8.5% 8.5% 9.35%

5.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.85%

Chart above details the reduction in sales tax on groceries over the next few years for Wichita and surrounding cities.

PASS-THROUGH ENTITY TAX

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limited the amount of state and local taxes deductible to a maximum deduction of $10,000 as an itemized deduction for all individual income taxpayers. Such taxes included in this limitation are state income taxes, real estate and property taxes, and sales taxes. As a result, multiple states began developing workaround solutions that allow residents and nonresidents to again receive a deduction for state income taxes being paid with regard to pass-through owners.

In April 2022, Kansas followed in the footsteps of several other states and enacted a pass-through entity tax election for businesses that, in turn, benefits individuals in the long run. This election is retroactive and takes effect for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. A pass-through entity must make an annual election on the business return filed each year.

The pass-through entity tax is calculated on a partner-by-partner basis, based on their share of income at a flat tax rate of 5.7%, which is Kansas’ highest marginal rate. The business will pay the Kansas tax due and receive a federal taxes paid deduction at the business level, ultimately reducing the total amount of federal income tax paid by individual partners. Each partner who is included in the annual election will claim a credit against their Kansas income tax on their individual income tax return. The credit received will be equal to their share of the pass-through entity tax remitted to the state of Kansas by the business.

Keep in mind that an analysis should be completed by businesses to determine if this election is in the best interest of the partners as there are various factors that could impact the decision.

3.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.85%

1.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.85%

KANSAS AVIATION TAX CREDITS

If you or your business are in the Kansas aviation industry, it may be worth your time to study up on three new Kansas aviation tax credits.

STARTING IN 2022, KANSAS-QUALIFIED EMPLOYERS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR TWO NEW CREDITS:

• If the employer hires a full-time qualified employee who has obtained an undergraduate, graduate, or technical degree from a qualified program within one year prior to or following the commencement of employment, there is a credit equal to 50% of any tuition that is reimbursed by the employer to the employee for the tax year up to a limit of 50% of the average annual tuition paid by the employee.

• Employers also may be eligible to take a credit equal to 10% of compensation paid to qualifying employees for the first five years of employment. The credit is limited to $15,000 annually for each qualified employee.

IN ADDITION TO THE EMPLOYER CREDITS, THERE ALSO IS AN EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE STATE INCOME TAX CREDIT:

• This allows for a $5,000 per year credit against the employee’s individual Kansas state income tax liability. To qualify, the employee must be hired for a full-time position on or after January 1, 2022 by an employer that is Kansas-based and in the aviation industry. The employee must have obtained a qualified degree or certificate. Any unused credit in a taxable year may be carried over for up to four succeeding tax years.

As you can see, these new tax changes could create many benefits and opportunities for Kansas taxpayers. The provisions discussed here are only a sampling of the legislation passed. For additional guidance on new Kansas tax law, please reach out to a professional at FORVIS.

This article is for general information purposes only and is not to be considered as legal advice. This information was written by qualified, experienced professionals at FORVIS, but applying this information to your particular situation requires careful consideration of your specific facts and circumstances. Consult a professional at FORVIS or legal counsel before acting on any matter covered in this update.

Start Authorizing Yourself to Lead

Excerpted from When Everyone Leads

by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride

Published by Bard Press.

Copyright © 2023 Kansas Leadership Center.

Whether you are a CEO, middle manager, mayor, governor, front-line employee, independent contributor, community member, or someone similar, authorizing yourself to exercise leadership means deciding to do something above and beyond what’s expected.

This exerpt explores what that self-authorization looks like, how to do it, what makes it hard, and why it’s necessary.

Our organizations, communities, and companies are held together by formal and informal hierarchies. Some of these are visible. We can see the org chart in the company. We can visit the city’s website and see who serves on the city council. Some are invisible. The middle manager who has been around for 20 years and has developed deep relationships up, down, and across the company likely holds as much or more power than the new member of the executive team.

Here’s a way of thinking about it. What’s expected of you is in the circle. These might be formal expectations, like from a job description, or informal expectations, based on norms for people in your position. In the circle are the things you’ve been authorized to do.

Exercising leadership takes you outside the circle, outside of what’s expected or what’s been authorized. Here’s what that looks like in real life:

• A student is expected to go to class, do homework, and follow the rules. Those things are inside the circle. When a student challenges the dress code, believing it treats some students and their cultural norms unfairly, she is outside the circle. She had to authorize herself to get there. No one was going to authorize her to intervene like that.

• An elected member of parliament is expected to toe the party line, give speeches using the party’s talking points, vote with party members, and raise money for the party. Those things are inside the circle. When that member of parliament works with the opposition on a compromise bill, believing it’s necessary for progress, they are outside the circle. They had to authorize themselves to get there.

Those who authorized them (the loyal party voters who put them in office) aren’t going to want them to intervene like that.

• After just a few months on the board of a mid-sized nonprofit, a new board member understands the board is expected to fundraise and do little else. Board members don’t get involved with strategy or programs. At a board meeting, all heads turn when he asks, “What data shows this initiative is helping achieve our mission?” After a stunned silence other board members admit they have doubts about the program’s impact. Asking provocative questions wasn’t part of his stated responsibilities. No one was going to encourage him. He had to authorize himself.

You Have to Authorize Yourself

Leadership is a self-authorizing activity. No one else can authorize you to lead. Other people can tell you they want you to lead. They can put you in what they call a “leadership position” (what we call an authority position). But only you can make the intentional decision to try to exercise leadership.

The idea that leadership must be self-authorized is easier to grasp when you separate leadership from position and understand that leadership is an activity. Like any action, behavior, or activity, the person doing it needs to decide to do it.

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For instance,

• A new employee realizes leadership for her looks like intervening to help focus discussion. She decides it’s up to her to ask the tough question in the staff meeting to get everyone focused on the elephant in the room.

• A long-time manager of a department realizes leadership for him looks like not answering every question from his staff. Instead, he holds back answers and asks them for ideas, creating space for his employees to discover solutions, many of which turn out better than his own. (We call this “giving the work back” and you can read more about it in Your Leadership Edge.)

• A community member, frustrated by unhealthy levels of polarization in the city, realizes leadership for them looks like modeling the kind of communication they want to see more of. They decide to invite community members with opposing views to conversations in which they get to know one another and search for common ground.

• The CEO of a regional Habitat for Humanity realizes that decision makers and big funders in her mid-sized city have little understanding of the impact of the 1940s-era government policies (known as redlining) on today’s Black families; these policies kept their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents from getting home loans. She starts inviting influencers to casual but provocative one-on-one tours of city neighborhoods.

Rarely do we lead by accident. It’s almost always a conscious choice. It starts with deciding that not only can you lead, but to make progress, you must lead. You have to do your part. Here are four reasons we fail to authorize ourselves to lead:

1. We worry we’ll do something wrong and suffer consequences. You might ask a provocative question but then get chastised for putting others on the spot. It can feel safer to sit on the sidelines and leave the tough work of leading to others.

2. The dominant view of leadership as a position keeps us stuck. Everyone else is looking to authority to solve the problems and lead the way. We realize, consciously or subconsciously, that authorizing ourselves to lead, especially if we don’t have authority, runs against the norm. Whether we admit it or not, most of us like to do what’s expected.

3. We already have too much on our minds! Being someone who exercises leadership means your mind is focused beyond what’s expected of you. You have to be more alert and consider more perspectives. In the end your heightened curiosity will make progress on your challenge easier, faster, and more successful. But in the moment it may be simpler to keep your head down, and focus on what’s already on your plate.

4. We miss the moments to lead. If you can’t see the moment to lead it will be really hard to authorize yourself to do so.

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What Happens When You Authorize Yourself to Lead

When you authorize yourself to lead, the benefits are personal and immediate:

• You feel more engaged in your work, more satisfied and empowered. Our research shows that employees who authorize themselves to lead, regardless of their job titles, are more committed to their organizations, more hopeful about their organizations’ futures, and more satisfied with their jobs.

• You no longer wait for permission to make things better. You initiate change rather than wait to be told to do so by someone higher up. You ask difficult but important questions of peers and higher-ups.

• You empower yourself to make a difference everywhere you go. The idea that leadership is an activity has no boundaries. What you practice at work or as a community volunteer makes you a better friend, parent, niece, or neighbor.

• You become part of the solution. There is no doubt that your organization or community is dealing with multiple challenges. When those challenges are adaptive, authority is not enough. The people in the top jobs can’t fix what really matters all by themselves, nor can they get to the core of what needs to change without input from you. Clear direction and good management are not enough to bridge the gap. You have a part to play in whatever happens next.

We also know from our research that when companies and organizations employ a critical mass of people who authorize themselves to lead, they create cultures that value listening, open communication, and collaboration. So although a personal sense of meaning and engagement is terrific, the most important thing you do when you authorize yourself to exercise more leadership is contribute to a culture that is more effective at tackling its toughest problems.

If only a few people in your system see it as their responsibility to exercise leadership, nothing important gets appreciably better. You’ll maintain the current (unsatisfying) rate of progress on your adaptive challenges. Your organization will reach uncommon levels of success, however, when more people authorize themselves to exercise leadership on your most important challenge.

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride, co-authors of When Everyone Leads.

A BUILDING

dream

HOPE DIMICK AARON PATTON

Jim and Sherri Fouts had a dream to build a world class breeding facility for rare and endangered species. That dream has become what we know today as Tanganikya Wildlife Park.

Beginning of Life

Tanganikya means the beginning of life, a word that Jim connected with while in South Africa. And even though it is hard to spell and thus hard to say, and even though they were told by many to change the name to something easier, Jim and Sherri felt it spoke to their identity and uniqueness.

In 2000, they started doing private tours where people could see seven species of animals and feed lemurs and giraffes through the fence. What surprised them was that these groups kept coming back to spend time with the animals. They realized that the interaction and intimacy with the animals created a hands-on approach that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

“It started growing and growing to where we were seeing four to five thousand people and we didn’t have bathrooms, we didn’t have sidewalks, we didn’t even have a parking lot. So, we were like, ‘let’s build a zoo from the ground up,’” said Matt Fouts, director of Tanganikya Wildlife Park.

On August 2, 2008, they opened with 15 exhibits and three animal encounters. Today, they have grown to over 50 exhibits and nine animal encounters with other additional animal experiences for visitors.

Matt Fouts, director of Tanganikya Wildlife Park.

Photo by AARON PATTON

Photo

Connecting People and Animals

Matt took growing up with exotic animals for granted, but the opening of Tanganyika completely opened his eyes. The impact that the animals made on the people visiting gave him a new appreciation for the animals.

“We have a deep connection with nature and animals and seeing that play out is fascinating,” said Fouts. “I love that we can share that experience with others and see how animals can help change people’s lives.”

Matt’s personal passion is strengthening the connection between people and animals and creating an experience that people will talk about for years to come.

“Tanganikya is just different, and until you have really come out to the park and experienced it, it’s hard to understand,” said Fouts. “Our tagline has been ‘experience wildly different’ and I think we stay true to that.”

Creating Unique Opportunities

While Tanganiyka connects people and animals, it also offers a unique interactive experience for businesses to host events and rent out the park for their staff or their customers.

“Anytime [a business] does an event here they see 3-5% higher attendance than anywhere else,” said Lynnlee Schmidt, director of connections at Tanganikya. “You want to improve your culture and the morale, create memories with your employees, give them the opportunity

to connect, and build those relationships that it takes to keep them at your company, especially with the turnover everyone is facing now, an event at Tanganikya really does that.”

From small team building activities for companies to company picnics and customer events, the opportunities and options are Tanganiyka are endless. If a special event isn’t the right fit, there are many ways businesses can provide employees or customers access to the park.

“Companies can partner with Tanganiyka to get discounted rates for their employees or purchase packages for the Safari of Lights to gift to employees,” said Schmidt. “They are also able to sponsor exhibits to highlight their company or donate to the park.”

Planning for the Future

Tanganikya’s team is planning many updates to the park that include an event space able to host at least 500 people and renovations to the dining area and entrance.

There is currently a new building that will become a safari experience where people will be able to go glamping, ride in Hummers, and even possibly kayak. These plans will almost double the size of the current park and create even more memorable experiences for visitors.

“I’m not looking to build a local attraction, I’m looking to build a national attraction,” said Fouts.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Photo by AARON PATTON

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Call and ask about our tank, tankwagon or transport service availability at your location.

Call and ask about our tank, tankwagon or transport service availability at your location.