Disaster restoration company, SteamMaster, hosted a free Leadership Training last week for Vail Valley local business owners and managers. The event was the brainchild of Raj Manickam, SteamMaster CEO. “SteamMaster wants to support the Vail Valley by serving its business leaders,” Manickam said. True to their goal,
SteamMaster has been awarded the 2014 Torch Award for Ethics by the Better Business Bureau.
Over 125 Vail Valley business leaders attended this one-time event. Keynote speaker Bob Vanourek lead the audience through various group exercises aimed at stimulating participants’ inner – leader. The participation-driven Training proved to be informative and empowering. “You all know this stuff already! You just need to get in touch with what you intuitively know,” Vanourek said.
One exercise involved a role-playing debate between business owners and employees. Owners argued for leading the company by making decisions that are best for the business while employees countered that the business will grow automatically, by serving the employees and community. This stimulated some lively discussions.
The audience participated whole-heartedly while they discovered deeply-hidden aspects of their personalities. Local business leaders found the Training to be “Inspiring, motivating and re-invigorating.” Mike McGee, Vail Fire Commissioner said he benefitted from “Leading Thru Service.” “The group interaction was a great opportunity to increase our individual level of awareness,” McGee said.
Business owners of 30 years felt, “…reconnected to the servant-leadership values of their youth, which had faded away over time.” As a participant, SteamMaster Owner Gary Gilman stated that, “SteamMaster succeeds by helping our employees and others to succeed.”