This past week I had the honor of participating in the Leadership New Mexico Connect program.  This program invites and accepts young business professionals throughout New Mexico to a program that teaches leadership, team-building, ethics, and networking skills.

One of the first things that stood out to me was the very diverse and talented group of young professionals.  With 36 attendees our 2020 class was filled with various professionals to include, but not limited to doctors, accountants, operating officers, directors, managers, vice presidents, bankers, a police chief, a dentist, and a lawyer.  We were the biggest class in the history of the program, and self-declared “best class ever.”

One of the primary considerations for leadership starts with trust.  You have to trust the people you are working with, and they have to trust you.  In Leadership New Mexico we did a bunch of exercises that really focused on trusting your team.  This included a trust fall from a ladder attached to a tree, and games similar to Twister.  The trust fall from the ladder was not only a fun exercise, but made for some hilarious moments when people got up the ladder and hesitated about falling backwards.  This reminds me of some of our cases in which we ask our clients to take a leap of faith, and know that they are going to be ok.  This too shall pass as they say. 

It was an honor to participate in the program and look forward to learning additional leadership skills over the next few months for additional training.  I return to the program in both November and January, and hopefully will have more input on the experience.