Leadership Is a Choice, Not a Position

Voice of the Valley Leader in Me Leader Valley

A conversation with Melissa Reade of Leader Valley

Melissa Reade can spot a Leader in Me kid from across a room. She was recently at a community event, something with no connection to her work, when a young girl walked up to say hello. Firm handshake. Steady eye contact. Melissa asked if she went to a Leader in Me school. “Well, yes I am. I’m at Orchard Hill Elementary.”

That handshake is what nearly 15 years of work looks like. Melissa has served as Executive Director of Leader Valley since the very beginning, and on a recent episode of the Cedar Valley Podcast, she discussed where the organization has been, where it’s headed, and what actually makes a leader worth following.

Changing Lives Through Leadership

If you haven’t crossed paths with Leader Valley yet, here’s the short version. The nonprofit exists to change lives through leadership, and it works with two very different audiences to do it.

The first is students. Through the Leader in Me program, Leader Valley currently partners with 31 schools across 11 districts in the greater Cedar Valley, building school cultures where kids find their voice and learn to lead themselves.

“Why do we wait until adulthood to figure out how to be effective?” Melissa asked. “There are so many things our kids are learning right now that I did not learn, and I certainly did not learn the easy way when I became an adult.”

The second audience is the region’s workforce. Leader Valley offers one-day leadership accelerators, custom programming built alongside individual businesses, and Elevate Leadership Academy, an eight-month cohort experience that takes a deep dive into leading yourself and leading others. The academy spends real time on the human side of leadership, the emotional intelligence work that rarely shows up on a job description but shapes every workplace.

That workforce piece matters to the whole region. As the Cedar Valley works to keep talented people here, Melissa points to a simple truth about retention. People stay where they are developed. “Being part of an organization that values development and will invest in you,” she said, is something Leader Valley can help every local employer offer.

What makes a great leader

When Melissa was working on her doctorate, a final essay asked her to describe what great leaders do. Her coursework had been full of frameworks, three things here, four principles there, seven habits everywhere. A paint-by-numbers approach to leadership.

She pushed back.

“My leadership style can’t be your leadership style,” she said. What great leaders share isn’t a checklist, it’s character. Integrity. Doing what you said you’d do. Humility, the kind that knows it doesn’t have every answer. What she calls a loving edge, caring about people deeply and personally and wanting something bigger for them. A willingness to learn, take risks, fail, and do all of it out loud where people can see. “Leadership is a choice, not a position. We’re so focused on title, rank, authority, power. You can have all of that positionally and people still won’t follow you.”

Katy picked up one thread in particular. “We build up in our minds that leaders are people who get it right all the time, which makes it really intimidating for people who don’t see themselves that way,” she said. “To be realistic about the fact that we’re all growing and we don’t get it right all the time is so important.”

For anyone still hunting for their own style, Melissa offers three places to start. Notice when you feel most like yourself as a leader. Get clear on what you actually believe about leadership. Then turn those beliefs into commitments that you’ll do every day.

The best advice she’s ever gotten fits on a sticky note. “You have to lead yourself first before you can lead others.” Take care of yourself, manage your emotions, show up as your best, and do all of that before you ask anything of anyone else. Easy to say. Hard to live. Worth it anyway.

Katy had a piece of her own that she shares often. Get uncomfortable. “The only way we really grow in life is when we do things that get us outside of our comfort zone,” she said. “We do things we’re uncertain about, and we potentially fail, or we miss, or we don’t do it exactly the way we wanted to. But it’s there that we find strength and courage and the drive to go out and do the next thing that moves us forward.”

One Cedar Valley

The Cedar Valley Podcast closes every episode the same way. Asking their guest, what do you love most about the Cedar Valley?

Melissa surprised herself with her answer. She expected to talk about everything there is to do here. Instead, she talked about abundance.

She sees it in the educators across those 11 districts, who share ideas freely because they believe every student is our student, no matter the school or city. And she sees the same spirit growing across the region as a whole, the pursuit of one Cedar Valley, something greater than any single community or neighborhood.

“I don’t think we’re there yet,” she said, “but I think we’re working hard to create that one big, great Cedar Valley.”

Katy landed on the same word Melissa did. Abundance. “There is enough for all of us,” she said. “If we work together and support all of the great work happening here, the outcome will be really special.”

Thank you to Melissa Reed and the entire Leader Valley team for investing in the young people and the workforce of the Cedar Valley. To learn more about Leader Valley’s programs for schools and businesses, visit their website: leadervalley.org or listen to the full conversation on the Cedar Valley Podcast.

Ana Hernandez Eveland: A Voice of the Valley

Ana Hernandez Eveland: A Voice of the Valley

For Ana Hernandez Eveland, the Cedar Valley was supposed to be the next stop after growing up in a small Iowa town. Instead, it became the place where she would build a career, put down roots, and find a community of her own.

Ana lived in Mexico until she was seven, when her family moved to Charles City, Iowa. She stayed there until 2017, when she moved to the Cedar Valley to attend the University of Northern Iowa.

Coming from a community like Charles City, the Cedar Valley initially felt like it was going to be a big change.

“Coming from a small town like Charles City, I had some fear about how big the Cedar Valley would feel compared to what I was used to,” Ana said. “I worried it might feel more impersonal or harder to connect with people.”

Those concerns didn’t last long. After arriving, Ana found that many of the qualities she appreciated about growing up in a small town were still present throughout the Cedar Valley. The friendliness she expected to leave behind was found immediately in everyday interactions.

“I was surprised to find that same friendliness I grew up with was still here, whether it’s walking into a store or being out and about in the downtown areas!” she said.

She also discovered a community that was more diverse and engaged than she initially expected. As she became more involved, the Cedar Valley began to feel less like the larger community she had worried about and more like a place where she could make an impact.

Ana Hernandez Eveland: A Voice of the Valley

That connection grew stronger as Ana built her career and relationships throughout the region. Today, she works as a Community Inclusion Strategist through Veridian Credit Union and as a Realtor with Vine Valley Real Estate—two roles that allow her to connect with people and help them work toward important goals in their lives.

“I love my career as Community Inclusion Strategist through Veridian Credit Union and as a Realtor with Vine Valley Real Estate,” Ana said. “Being able to connect with people and help them work toward their goals is something I truly value.”

For Ana, that work is especially meaningful because it allows her to help people navigate important financial and homeownership decisions while also bridging language barriers.

“Through Veridian Credit Union, I help individuals reach their financial goals, and through Vine Valley Real Estate, I help people reach their homeownership goals,” she said. “Being able to bridge the language barrier in both of those fields is something I’m truly passionate about.”

For Ana, it was no longer a question that the Cedar Valley felt like home. As she and her husband, Gunnar, looked to the future, the question became whether the Cedar Valley was where they wanted to build their future.

Around 2020, the two began talking about buying a house. By then, they had careers they enjoyed and had become increasingly connected to the community around them. The more they thought about it, the clearer the decision felt.

“We both had careers that we truly enjoyed, and the more involved I got with the community, the more we realized the Cedar Valley was the right place to settle down,” Ana said.

Today, some of her favorite parts of living in the Cedar Valley are found outside of work. She enjoys walking and running on the area’s trails, kayaking, and supporting local restaurants and small businesses. For Ana, there’s always another corner of the community to discover.

“I love getting outside to walk/run on the trails, kayaking, and supporting local restaurants and small businesses,” she said. “There’s always something new to explore!”

Those experiences have helped shape her understanding of what makes the Cedar Valley special. It’s a place where she can pursue a career she loves while staying connected to the people and businesses around her.

And after initially wondering whether a larger community would make it harder to connect, Ana has found the opposite to be true. The relationships she’s built here have become one of the reasons she continues to stay.

“I’ve built amazing friendships and connections thanks to the Cedar Valley!” she said.

Those connections are a big part of what makes Ana want to keep investing in the community. Through both of her careers, she has found opportunities to help people navigate major milestones and work toward a future that fits their goals.

What began as a move to attend college has become something much more lasting. The Cedar Valley gave Ana the opportunity to build a career she loves, develop meaningful relationships, and create a home alongside her husband.

“I live in the Valley because it’s given me the chance to build a career I love, a community I care about, and a home where I can truly make a difference.”