The Power of Collaboration and Intention: It took me a week or so to reflect on the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation Leadership Exchange trip to Charlotte, NC. 160-ish Denver leaders flew into a literal hurricane and had two-and-a-half days of programming to learn how Charlotte is tackling some of society’s toughest issues, with the goal of bringing some of that knowledge back to benefit our collective hometown/region.
After a not-so-short round of applause for our flight crew landing us safely, one of the first things we heard about was a 2014 “Land of Opportunity” economic mobility study released by Economist Raj Chetty. The study ranked the 50 largest U.S. cities based on the ability of a person/household/group to improve upon their economic status over time. Charlotte came in dead last in the study - #50 out of 50.
For some Charlotteans, the 2014 study came as a shock; for others, it confirmed what they already knew. But instead of debating its validity or placing blame, Charlotte’s leaders got to work. Public-private partnerships were formed, corporations stepped up with philanthropy and voters passed billion-dollar bonds to fund affordable housing, education, childcare and transportation initiatives.
Now, ten years later, a subsequent study was released moving Charlotte up 12 places on the list to #38. What’s more, nearly every speaker we heard from acknowledged that the work won’t be done until they’re #1 on that list.
True leaders don’t like settling for less than being #1, and true leaders also know they can’t get there alone. Collaboration is vital.
I enjoy these LEX trips because they’re purposefully built to get Denver leaders out of their day-to-day work and give them a chance to be intentional about finding solutions collaboratively with other like-minded leaders. It’s truly where the magic happens.
Kudos to the people of Charlotte, and if you read this far, thank you! Let’s find a way to collaborate on some meaningful work sometime soon.
#LEXCharlotte
