By Mathew Mingrone, President/CEO, Visalia Chamber of Commerce

Hello, friends. As you all know, it’s an election year.  It’s par for the course, for this time of the year to hear the words “leaders” and “leadership” thrown around a lot. Some use it as a measurement, like “My favorite politician is a better leader than yours” and some claim it is an undeniable trait for the few, like “these types of actions.” Most of the time, the term is used when describing national politicians or multinational corporate CEOs.   

Everyone is missing the point. I strongly believe that leaders are not made, but I disagree. There are only a few great leaders in our world. Everyone has the leadership DNA within them.  It might come easy to some, and more difficult to others.  It is a personal choice.    No one says, “I’m going to be a leader today.”  It is usually a circumstance and leadership DNA that kicks in to motivate an individual. We all have the desire to live in a community that we can be proud of.  Most of the time, people don’t even realize that they are being a leader; they’re doing what they know is the right thing to do.

Our community is blessed with so many leaders, it would be impossible to list them all here.  We do highlight a few that are more obvious than others, through awards ceremonies and the like. This column isn’t for the spotlighted leader, it’s for the anonymous leader: the person who works two jobs or more to make ends meet.  The family that volunteers their time because they don’t have the financial means to give cash. The parents who teach kindness and community involvement to children at a very young age. Maybe, you’re the owner or manager of a business that takes the time to encourage, coach or mentor someone on your team.

I know some of you might think, “I’m not a leader” or “I don’t know how to be a leader.” I’m here to tell you there’s a way to activate the leadership DNA inside of you or someone you know.  Warning, the following is a shameless plug.  Our Leadership Visalia program has many years of successfully coaching, mentoring, and empowering so many of our community leaders. There are stories of professional growth, personal growth, and even spiritual growth. Leadership Visalia graduates flourish in their personal lives as well as their professional lives. One graduate described the experience as opening his eyes to the impact he can make, not only in his career, but more importantly, in his community. A business owner noted that by submitting participants over the past several years, his business success can be traced directly to the graduate’s commitment and enthusiasm.

Leadership Visalia celebrates community and helps the participants activate their leadership DNA, but more importantly, the program helps businesses flourish and Visalia grow. If your business wants to invest in its future, please submit your team members to be part of Leadership Visalia. You won’t be disappointed.  Go to www.visaliachamber.orgwww.visaliachamber.org for more details and to apply.

-Matthew Mingrone