Introducing Lead DSM
BPC Staff Oct 19, 2022 | 1:10 pm
6 min read time
1,331 wordsArts and Culture, Business Record Insider, HR and LeadershipEditor’s note: The Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute rebranded at the end of September, becoming Lead DSM. This contributed feature compiled by the organization’s staff discusses the past, present and future of the organization, which has created key leadership programming in the metro. Many of the program’s alumni are in prominent roles in the community and are also part of our core Business Record audience.
– Emily Barske, Business Record editor
Letter from the executive director
Dear community:
Thank you for being part of our story throughout the last 40 years. During that time, we’ve grown and changed in amazing ways as an organization. We now have multiple programs and a larger staff to support you on your leadership journey. We’ve served Greater Des Moines by equipping more than 3,000 leaders with skills and knowledge that help them create positive change in more than 286 community organizations. That’s a lot of impact! We hope you are proud of how far we’ve come, and I know you expect us to always look toward the future.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of “The Leadership Challenge,” say exemplary leaders know that “the way things are done today won’t get people to the tomorrow they envision.” To honor our history and position us for an exciting collective future, we introduce a new brand: Lead DSM. Think of Lead DSM as an umbrella that encompasses all of our programs and ushers in a new era of community leadership that is and will be:
Bigger – Reaching more people with more programs and better showcasing our current family of programs.
Better – Serving you with more staff for enhanced learning.
Bolder – Leading more brave conversations that result in courageous action in Greater Des Moines.
Introducing a new brand also allows the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute name to return to its place as the title of a highly regarded leadership development program, which was what our founders intended and is how most people refer to the program already. Lead DSM is the new umbrella organization that encompasses the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute (formerly the Community Leadership Program), Community Connect, the Youth Leadership Initiative, “Then. Now. When.” and more.
Visually, our new logo represents what we do best – bringing diverse groups of people together to learn and helping them to burst back out into the community to create a better future. Lead DSM is our future. Your future. That’s why Lead DSM asks for your help to write the story of the next 40 years – a story that is bigger, better and bolder, and signals that the best in community leadership is yet to come.
Gratefully,
Amy Jennings, executive director, Lead DSM
communications and public relations specialist, NCMIC
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’23, Community Connect ’22)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
I’d taken the kids to New York City during Pride in 2019 (the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots). I had a sense then that my daughter, Sadie, was still exploring her sexual orientation. At NYC Pride, she was standing in the middle of LGBTQ+ history – the very spot where the fight for LGBT rights began. I could see on her face what Pride meant to her. It was knowing and understanding her true, authentic self. It would be another year before she came out to me, but when she did, I realized how many other teenagers just like her were not afforded the love and support she was in coming out. Soon after, I got involved in Capital City Pride, where I helped plan Des Moines’ own Pride Fest celebration and I recently joined the Trevor Project as a volunteer counselor. My allyship started with my daughter but extends far beyond her. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that I can support the LGBTQ+ community, especially young people who may be struggling and need that love and acceptance.
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
“The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success” by Jim Dethmer, Kaley Klemp and Diana Chapman.
Artis Reis
retired district judge, Iowa Judicial Branch
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’83)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
The people I work with always exceed my expectations! It is great to know that a little leadership on my part can propel young people to heights I never dreamed of. Coaching middle school and high school students in the Iowa mock trial program has been my most rewarding public service for the past nine years. I hope I have played a part in assuring our system of justice will be maintained.
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
“Love and Profit” and “The Servant Leader” by James Autry.
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’09)
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
“Ethical Intelligence” by Dr. John Opincar.
director of corporate services, Farm Bureau Financial Services
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’18)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
As someone who has dealt with mental illness with my family and myself, I feel empowered to share what I’ve learned with others. After being involved with the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, I’m more aware of how to bring change and how to lead change as well in such an important area.
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
“The Hope-Driven Leader” by Libby Gill.
information specialist, DMACC
(Community Connect ’20)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
I will say turn compassion into action.
Dwana Bradley
business Owner, Iowa Urban Media
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’18)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
Think about all the reasons why you can do it. All the good things that you will get from just taking that chance and taking that leap of faith to be a part of a process that will definitely make you a better person.
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
The Bible. It guides me in leadership and has helped me become a better leader.
Doug Bickford
executive director, Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’12)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
With my role as the executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter, I have the privilege to not only help families going through the dementia journey through our support, advocacy and fundraising for research, but I also enjoy strategizing with my staff team about how we can consistently do it all better year after year. It is about as fulfilling of an occupation that I can imagine having.
What’s one book that has helped you grow as a leader?
“It Worked for Me” by Colin Powell.
Emily Abbas
senior vice president, chief consumer banking and marketing officer, Bankers Trust
(Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute ’04)
Describe the feeling you get from leading in the community.
When you help lead an organization that you are knowledgeable and passionate about, you really understand the impact you are making on others’ lives. I serve the Des Moines Playhouse in many leadership roles because of the impact the Playhouse had on me as a child – learning both how to work together with a diverse group of people and how to be more vulnerable. I’m proud that three generations of my family have positively benefited from this nonprofit and know that many other families in our community also have.
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