May_June 2016 Chamber Magazine

Leadership Fredericksburg Continued from page 5
The Leadership Fredericksburg experience for Fallon goes far
beyond the relationship with his fellows. As chairman of the
Mentor Program, he has opportunity to interact with program
facilitators and mentors. “There is an incredible cadre of the
mentors, executive speakers, and Chamber staff,” Fallon said.
“Passion seems to be a common denominator among the
various stakeholders of the program.”
Teaching leadership to other leaders is to lead by
example.
Ronald Reagan once said, “The greatest leader is not
necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the
one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” This year’s
program facilitators, J.R. Flatter and Dave Corderman have
achieved this. Both are Chamber volunteers and community
business leaders; J.R. Flatter, President and CEO of Flatter &
Associates and Dave Corderman, Senior Partner of Academy
Leadership Associates.
Gratitude flows for the two lecturers from the fellows; and
from the lecturers to the fellows. “It’s extremely satisfying, we
both volunteer for the Chamber, and we give our time for this
program and have enjoyed it very much,” said Corderman.
Their seamless leadership transition for the program was
recognized last month by the Chamber when both received
the prestigious Joseph L. Argenzio Award. This is given
annually in recognition of the volunteer leader who goes
above and beyond the call of duty in service to the Chamber.
“Working with J.R. and Dave has been an honor,” said
Susan Spears. “They are among the most humble people I’ve
met. I learn from them in every meeting we have together.
Their commitment to the program and the community
is extraordinary.” Spears serves as executive director of
Leadership Fredericksburg and is co-facilitator.
Applications will be accepted May 1 - July 1 for the 2017
class. For more information, visit the Chamber website:
www.fredericksburgchamber.org/ Leadership-Home or call
the Chamber office at 540-373-9400.
Facilitators Dave Corderman, Susan Spears and J.R. Flatter stand
with Eric Fletcher, LF’12 (right) who spoke to the class during the
October 2015 session.
Leadership fellows congratulate Leadership Fredericksburg
facilitators J.R. Flatter and Dave Corderman at the State of the
Chamber where they were awarded the 2016 Joseph L. Argenzio
Award.
2016 fellows ride the Fredericksburg Trolley to the Chancellor
Battlefield tour during the November session.
LF Alumni Give Back Continued from page 7
professional benefit being affiliated with the program; as a
candidate, alumni or mentor. ‘Sharpening the axe,’ as they
say, is important to my continued leadership experience.”
Leadership Skills Include Taking the Good with
the Bad
Great leaders learn from their mistakes and accept
responsibility. Analyzing individual skill set unlocks personal
character flaws, which is the purpose of the Leadership
Multi-rater Assessment of Personality (LMAP) 360 Leadership
assessment. Leadership Fredericksburg uses the assessment to
anchor the feedback and coaching. 360 assessments use selfratings
and ratings from co-workers. It focuses on how others
experience the leader’s behavior. Leaders get a deep sense of
how it feels to have you as a boss or team member.
Tom Schoedel, LF ’14, president of Atlantic Builders, said the
LMAP assessment opened his eyes to how others perceive
him. “The LMAP made me realize it’s not always how I
perceive myself,” said Tom. “I’ve taken personality profiles
before, but this was my first experience having others profile
me. It helped me understand better how to communicate and
relate to others.”
The class alumni agree, the Chamber and Leadership
Fredericksburg offer opportunities to develop new relationships
and to stay in touch with the business community. These
relationships are invaluable to a business. Staying involved
by helping to mentor young entrepreneurs, watching them
develop and succeed, is absolutely rewarding.
MAY/JUNE 2016 Fredericksburg Regional Business 25