How can we bring forth visions of how things could be? Research on the power of storytelling – including the stories we tell ourselves and how motifs from ancient tales play out today – emphasizes that facts and information require frameworks of meaning and inspiration to motivate our best efforts.
Dr. Craig Chalquist is Professor at Pacifica CIIS and National University, Author, Storyteller & Consultant. Learn more at
The head of a leader brings clarity to an organization’s purpose and strategy, but it’s the leader’s heart that inspires others to engage and participate toward that purpose
On the second day, we faced the Tetons. If you’ve ever been to the Tetons, you know what I mean. We were invited to wander around a magical place on the National Elk Refuge and honing in on how we apply our purpose to ours
Teresa Wolff Wyoming Business Report
We’ve all heard the term “natural-born leader.” Is that phenomenon a reality, or are leadership traits encouraged and nurtured until someone seems to be a “natural”?
The Teton Leadership Center in Jackson takes the promotion of leadership one step farther. “Our goal is to develop leaders who can help us build a world that is one story,” said Sandy Schultz Hessler, Teton Leadership Center’s executive director.
Schultz Hessler further explained that this involves doing well by doing good so that leaders can attain increased employee and customer engagement and positive environmental outcomes that result in stronger financial returns.
The Teton Leadership Center has been an ongoing and evolving project based upon a Start-Up Intensive Boot Camp Program initiated by Schultz Hessler while she was teaching in Boston. The program came to the attention of Lynne McAuliffe, Dean of Business, Technical, Health & Safety, including entrepreneurship programs at Central Wyoming College (CWC).
“We had been wanting to develop a leadership program at our CWC campus in Jackson, and the Start-Up Intensive seemed like a good fit,” McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe added the goal was to develop leaders who didn’t just demonstrate a return on investment to a company, but who would demonstrate a positive leadership model for the community and environment in which they lived.
The Start-Up Intensive program ran for 10 years, with more than 200 people attending the three-day-a-week, 10-week program. During the COVID pandemic, these in-person courses were no longer feasible. When CWChad a funding cut, Silicon Couloir continued to provide programs for support entrepreneurs and leaders. Silicon Couloir is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization engaged in supporting entrepreneurs.
Gary Trauner, Silicon Couloir’s director, explained, “Leadership is an undervalued trait. Too often, businesses only measure a person’s leadership ability based upon the bottom line of profits. We believe leadership shouldn’t be quantified by numbers, but rather have a qualitative train in the difference a person makes in their community.
“We assist entrepreneurs through an expanded personal network, education, access to capital, connection to mentors and leadership training,” said Trauner.
In addition to providing Chance Meetings and co-work space, Silicon Couloir has developed the Angel Group — investors who are interested in providing capital for smaller companies or individuals. The Angel Group meets every two to three months, and entrepreneurs have an opportunity to present their ideas and hopefully gain the necessary funding for their business proposal.
THE TETON LEADERSHIP CENTER
Two years ago, Gov. Mark Gordon authorized funding for the Wyoming Innovation Partnership. The University of Wyoming and the seven community colleges were invited to submit proposals for a variety of projects that would have “… an emphasis on developing innovative solutions that support and enhance Wyoming’s economy, workforce and sources of revenue.”
CWC joined forces with Silicon Couloir and Schultz Hessler to propose the development of the Teton Leadership Center, with the aim of developing purpose-driven leadership through a three-pronged approach of education, dialogue and research.
EDUCATION
A major goal of the Teton Leadership Center is education, which it accomplishes in conjunction with CWC. In keeping with the goal of bringing four-year education to the central and northwestern portions of the state, CWC developed a program of study leading to the Bachelor of Applied Science, with five possible areas of concentration, including Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership.
This program includes four upper-division courses that can either be a part of a student’s course of study leading to the BAS degree or taken to obtain an advanced certificate in Applied Science,” McAuliffe said.
The advanced certificate is an ideal adjunct for people who already have a college degree, which is quite common in Teton County.
The first round of courses is being offered as in-person instruction at CWC’s JacksonCampus at the Center for the Arts from Oct. 13 to Dec. 3. Schultz Hessler designed the curriculum and opted for the in-person instructional format to determine what changes might be required for future sessions.
“Our plan is to expand the courses to be either web-based or as a hybrid of in-person and online to reach a larger audience,” she added.
Information about the courses can be found at either the Teton Leadership Center or CWC’s website. Scholarships for the program are available.
Schultz Hessler encourages anyone with ideas how to support and empower leaders to contact her through the information provided on the Teton Leadership Center website.
DIALOGUE
In keeping with their objective of creating dialogue around leadership and entrepreneurship, the Teton Leadership Center recently hosted its Kickoff Summit: Igniting Next Level Leadership. McAuliffe reported over 230 people registered for the summit, including small business owners and entrepreneurs.
McAuliffe noted they are planning quarterly roundtable talks with panels of local business leaders to help entrepreneurs navigate the business landscape.
RESEARCH
To determine the qualitative aspects of leadership, the Teton Leadership Center has teamed with Jonathan Schechter to research how leaders can impact the communities in which they live. Schechter is a member of the Jackson Town Council and dedicated to “Bringing Jackson together to sustain what matters.”
“We want to explore how leaders can provide value-based purpose-driven actions for sustainable jobs, living wages and housing for everyone,” Trauner said. “Jackson provides the ideal setting for this type of research, given the high cost of housing and dwindling middle class in the face of being one of the most expensive places to live in the United States.”
If a model can be developed for Jackson, Trauner believes it will have applicability for many communities, not just in Wyoming, but nationwide.
“Our long-term goal is to be able to expand the work of the Teton Leadership Center to anyone who is interested in value-based leadership,” Trauner added.
While there may be “natural-born leaders,” anyone interested in using those leadership talents to benefit their community and improve the environment is invited to become involved with the educational, dialogue and research activities at the Teton Leadership Center. Perhaps there will one day be a “one-story” world.
Jackson, Wyo.— Teton Leadership Center (TLC), a collaboration between Silicon Couloir and Central Wyoming College, launches this month to cultivate purpose-driven leadership. Jackson Hole is the ideal place to inspire innovative thinking about community and capitalism for organizations in Wyoming and around the globe.
“Our goal is to create an inspiring space for dialogue across complex issues in leadership and business, including growth and sustainability; ecosystems and economic systems; competition and collaboration,” says Sandy Schultz Hessler, Teton Leadership Center Executive Director. “We are blessed to have so many great thinkers and leaders here with varying perspectives willing to engage and teach. Teton Leadership Center is a powerful opportunity to learn together while replacing polarized debates with critical conversations.”
As Wyoming seeks to diversify its economy while engaging and retaining younger generations, the Teton Leadership Center seeks to teach the importance of balancing the American drive for financial success with personal well-being and building healthy communities.
“We are excited to help advance learning opportunities to expand how we teach and think about leadership,” says Lynne McAuliffe, CWC Dean of Business, Technical, Health and Safety. “Teton Leadership Center provides a strong foundation for Central Wyoming College as we deepen our commitment to Teton County and the region and build on the strengths of this community.”
“Our collaboration allows us to expand into new learning and ways of thinking while continuing to provide our core services to entrepreneurs: a world-class mentoring program, networking, and financing opportunities within the construct of healthy and vibrant communities,” adds Gary Trauner, Executive Director of Silicon Couloir. “TLC is a meaningful
addition to all our programs,”
The Teton Leadership Center will collaborate with other synergistic organizations including the Charture Institute and many Teton businesses that showcase living examples of this broader definition of leadership and success.
“For more than 45 years, we have been providing Teton County with an outreach campus that supports the community’s needs and goals,” says Dr. Brad Tyndall, President, Central Wyoming College. “We are well-positioned to continue to deliver exceptional education opportunities in Jackson and are thrilled to partner with Silicon Couloir once again.”
Teton Leadership Center kicks-off their offerings with the “Igniting Next Level Leadership: Connecting Deeper; Engaging Wider” conference. Saturday, Sept. 23, and Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Center for the Arts. Course offerings to further deepen the understanding of this next level of leadership will be offered in the near future.
A partnership between Central Wyoming College and Silicon Couloir, the Teton Leadership Center builds on the impressive educational history of both organizations through dialogue, education, and research.
TETON LEADERSHIP CENTER KICKOFF CONFERENCE
What: “Igniting Next Level Leadership: Connecting Deeper; Engaging Wider”
Keynote speakers include Nick Craig, founder of the global firm Core Leader Institute and author of “Leading from Purpose”; Betsy Myers, author of “Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You” and expert on collaborative leadership models; and Craig Chalquist, depth psychologist and author of many books at the intersection of psyche, ecology, economy, creativity and change, and local leaders applying these principles
.
Where: Center for the Arts, 240 S Glenwood St, Jackson, WY
Who: The public is invited. Community and emerging leaders throughout are encouraged to come to deepen into 21-century leadership practices that reinforce, “By doing good, everyone does well.”
When: Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023
Cost: Early bird pricing $99 by August 16; $125 thereafter.
Tickets can be bought at Center for the Arts and through the TLC website (www.tetonleadershipcenter.org).
COURSES:
Teton Leadership Center offers advanced upper-level college credit courses on purpose/values-driven leadership, regenerative entrepreneurship, and more.
Courses starting this Fall include:
Info:
Sandy Schultz Hessler, Executive Director, Teton Leadership Center
617-834-2402; Hello@Tetonleadershipcenter.org
The Teton Leadership Center and Summit Conference is generously supported by the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP), a collaboration to align education and workforce development and support innovation, entrepreneurship and research to help drive Wyoming’s economy, as well as a grant from the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board.
About Central Wyoming College
With a mission to transform lives and strengthen communities through learning, leadership and connection, Central Wyoming College offers two bachelor’s degrees, 58 associate degrees and 10 certificates. The college includes a main campus in Riverton, an outreach center and the Alpine Science Institute in Lander, as well as outreach centers in Jackson and Dubois. Central Wyoming College is a designated Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI) and serves the largest American Indian student population in Wyoming.
About Silicon Couloir
Silicon Couloir is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to align entrepreneurship with community vision to promote a diverse economy and a healthy environment for current and future generations.
tetonleadershipcenter.org
INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
IMAGES: https://tetonleadershipcenter.org/media-center/
Media Contact:
Jennifer Marshall Weydeveld, Central Wyoming College,
Executive Director, Marketing & Public Relations
307-855-2103 (o) / 505-231-1776 (c), jennifer@cwc.edu
