Central Iowa, along with other communities across the country are experiencing a faster pace of leadership transition as the pandemic brought on by a wave of retiring baby boomers in addition to other post-pandemic career shifts. According to a recent Business Record analysis of this trend, there have been more than 200 leadership changes at some of Central Iowa’s largest businesses during the past two years, which brings opportunities, challenges and questions around leadership dynamics and relationships. 

A panel of local leaders discussed the shifting leadership landscape at the Business Record’s Power Breakfast on Oct. 30, including what the transitions mean for the larger community and what executives should consider moving forward. The panel included:

• Rowena Crosbie, president, Tero International
• Dr. Adreain Henry, president, Mercy College of Health Sciences
• Kristi Knous, president, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
• Steve Lacy, chairman and CEO (retired), Meredith Corp., now People Inc.
• April Schmaltz, president and CEO, Delta Dental of Iowa

Here are our reporter’s takeaways from the discussion.

Leaders don’t just come from big companies

A decade or so ago, Crosbie was invited to serve on the board of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. But before she could join the board, the organization had to change its bylaws to allow representatives from small- and medium-sized businesses on the board, she said. At the time “decisions were being made by large organizations. That’s changed so much, and now there’s so much room for small- and medium-sized leaders to really get their fingerprints on the [Des Moines area’s] future,” Crosbie said. She urged members of the audience to volunteer to be part of groups rather than wait for someone to call them.

– Kathy A. Bolten

Leadership is not about titles

Henry urged the audience not to get too focused on a person’s title. “Leadership is less about titles … and more about character,” he said. “It’s more important today than ever. We have to show up; we have to be authentic. We have to exercise integrity as leaders. And so that’s very important, because people are watching.” Henry added that it is important for leaders to think about “how do we serve others. I think if we get that right, other areas we’re concerned about today – high staff turnover – will fix itself.”

– Kathy A. Bolten

Making a leadership transition intentional

Knous noted that the business relationships of executives are very important to the companies they work for. When an executive retires or otherwise leaves the company, it’s important to pass the baton on those relationships. 

“I think about Dan Houston [former chairman, president and CEO of Principal Financial Group] and how intentional he was about making sure those relationships were handed off, even in other countries, and making sure that their clients, their partners, their customers, felt really comfortable with the transition change,” she said. “He was very intentional and spent a lot of time on those relationship transitions. The same can be true for all of us, I think. And as much as you can engage that leadership team in planning and strategy, giving them a voice at the table, I think that that helps as well, so it seems less uncertain and like it’s not happening to them, but happening with them at that important table.”

– Gigi Wood

Growing community, growing leadership base

As Central Iowa has grown, so, too, has its stable of leaders. BPC President Chris Conetzkey noted that a core group of 25 top business leaders have historically received the most votes for Most Influential Business Leader of the Year. In more recent years, those votes have spread out among 45 business leaders. Additional influential leaders means additional voices at the table, which brings strengths and challenges, the group said. 

“I do think prioritization helps to keep people aligned toward some key priorities in the community; you don’t want to dilute it,” Knous said. “You want people to be focused and marching toward the same goals. There are always challenges in communication, too, and making sure people know what those priorities are, how they can engage and how they can get to that table. To me, there are more strengths than challenges.”

An expanding leadership base is like a growing company, Lacy said. 

“It’s a lot like as an organization grows, when it is an entrepreneurial startup, it can involve a really highly concentrated decision-making process, and as that expands and possibly a board is added, it simply requires making sure there are two or three really key objectives that we’re trying to solve.”

– Gigi Wood

A shift in community priorities

Central Iowa’s greatest challenges today are affordable housing, food insecurity and child care, among others – all issues that are intangible and without an end date. Conversely, several decades ago leaders chose to build the Civic Center and other physical amenities. 

“Those were tangible projects,” Knous said. “A lot of times, capital campaigns make things happen. Look at the Science Center, the [Des Moines Public] library. Look at the [Casey’s Center] arena. Now, focus is on the importance of preschool education for children before they’re in school, focus on homelessness and affordable housing solutions in our community. The focus has changed. That’s because that’s what our community needs right now if we’re going to be successful and continue to really lead and be exceptional, as James Chung would tell us. I think it’s really critical that those business leaders and voices at the table identify those things as our priorities right now. There’s a reason for that, because it has to be the focus.”

– Gigi Wood

Preparing multiple leaders for succession

Crosbie said she’s seeing a trend of fewer organizations denoting one person as leader and one person as successor. Instead, teams are being given succession responsibilities.

 “Most organizations are now shifting to a succession pool, and they’re preparing a whole bunch of people; maybe some of them are very financially affluent, maybe some of them have a lot of time and passion. Maybe some of them have a lot of leadership skills,” she said. “Who knows what the challenge is going to be, or what the opportunity is going to be, but let’s prepare a big group of people for our community leadership. Then we can fish in that pond when the opportunities come up. We’ve got a talented group that’s ready to go, and we can decide what skills and talent we need for that moment.”

– Gigi Wood

Ownership changes mean relationship changes

Schmaltz said there have been many company mergers and acquisitions in Iowa during the past several years, and some of the business leaders who could be accessed locally are now headquartered in other states. 

“Now perhaps their leadership is outside of the state of Iowa, and that causes us to think a little bit differently,” she said. “How do we connect with those leaders? Many times they may be in Des Moines for a few days and then out of Des Moines. But how do we build those relationships? Because those relationships still matter to this community.”

– Gigi Wood