What I've Learned About Leadership From Running a Chamber

What I've Learned About Leadership From Running a Chamber
 
By Katie Slimko-Tuvell, President & CEO
 
When people ask me what I do for a living, the short answer is that I run a Chamber of Commerce. The longer answer is that I get to sit at the intersection of every kind of business, every kind of leader, and every kind of dream in the Coachella Valley — and I get a front-row seat to what it really takes to build something that lasts.
 
I've learned more about leadership in this role than I ever expected to. Not from textbooks or conferences, but from the people I serve every single day. From the small business owner who opened her doors after losing her job. From the nonprofit director quietly changing lives without ever asking for credit. From the council members, city managers, and fellow CEOs who have shown me what it looks like to lead with both backbone and heart.
 
Here's some of what I've learned.
 
Leadership is mostly listening.
The best leaders I know talk less than you'd expect. They ask questions. They take notes. They follow up. Running a Chamber has taught me that if I walk into a room ready to talk, I've already missed the most important part of the meeting. Every business owner I meet is telling me something — about what they need, what they're afraid of, what they're proud of. My job is to actually hear it.
 
Trust is built in the small moments, not the big ones.
Ribbon cuttings are wonderful. Big events are exciting. But trust isn't built on a stage. It's built when you return the phone call. When you remember someone's kid's name. When you show up to the smaller event where only fifteen people are in the room. When you tell someone the truth even though it's not what they wanted to hear. People remember those moments far longer than they remember any speech.
 
Collaboration beats competition every time.
One of the most important lessons this role has taught me is that the businesses, organizations, and cities around us are not our competition — they are our community. When I sit down with a fellow CEO, a neighboring chamber, or a sister city, I'm not protecting territory. I'm looking for the overlap, the partnership, the place where we can do more together than apart. The Coachella Valley wins when we all win.
 
You have to be willing to be the first one in the room and the last one out.
Leadership is not always glamorous. It's early mornings, long evenings, and weekend events. It's answering one more email when you're tired. It's showing up when you'd rather rest. I don't say this to romanticize the grind — I say it because real leadership requires presence. You can't lead a community you're not actually in.
 
Honesty is a leadership strategy, not just a value.
I would rather tell someone a hard truth kindly than tell them a comfortable lie. Our members, our partners, and our team deserve a leader who will be straight with them. Honesty saves time, builds trust, and protects relationships. It's not always easy, but it has never once steered me wrong.
 
Lead with the people, not the title.
The title on my business card doesn't matter nearly as much as how I treat the people I work with — my team, our members, our partners, our community. Titles open doors. Character determines what happens once you walk through them.
 
Your team is your greatest reflection.
I am only as strong as the people standing next to me. The team at our Chamber is extraordinary, and I am better at my job because of them. Great leaders don't build followers — they build other leaders. If the people around you aren't growing, neither are you.
 
Finally — leadership is a privilege, not a position.
Every day I get to do this work, I am reminded that I serve a community of dreamers, builders, and doers. Small business owners taking enormous risks. Nonprofit leaders carry others. Entrepreneurs who turn ideas into livelihoods. Leading a Chamber means I get to advocate for them, celebrate with them, and walk alongside them. That's not a job description. That's an honor.
 
If I've learned anything in this role, it's this: leadership isn't about being the loudest voice in the room. It's about being the most trustworthy one. And here in the Coachella Valley, we have so much worth leading well.
 
With gratitude,
 
Katie Slimko-Tuvell
President & CEO Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce