The Critical Nature of Leadership

 

With CIDQ celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, Q Connection readers and our social media followers are likely familiar with many of the organizational milestones and accomplishments we’ve highlighted. But even as we celebrate our past, we look to our future in preparing CIDQ for success across the next 50 years.

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While we don’t have a crystal ball, what is indisputable is that the pace of change has accelerated, and the complexity of issues before us is increasing. Going forward, this will require organizational leaders to possess a broader set of knowledge, skills, and expertise than perhaps ever before.

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Like many organizations over the last few years, CIDQ has been reviewing its existing pathways to leadership as we seek to expand organizational capacity to tap into broader areas of expertise and skill sets while ensuring that we continue to best represent the interests of our regulatory board membership. Earlier this year, CIDQ President Erin Jennings created a Board Leadership Task Force (BLTF) with the primary goal of crafting recommendations for a robust leadership model that equips CIDQ to effectively navigate future challenges. By re-examining our current Board structure, eligibility requirements, and selection process, the intention is to fortify leadership to ensure CIDQ’s long-term sustainability and adaptability.

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This task force is comprised of an impressive group of individuals encompassing a variety of perspectives. They are:

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• Kari Frontera – Task Force Chair, CIDQ 2017 President

• Caroline Alexander –Virginia Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; CIDQ Alternate Delegate

• Shana Bryant - Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers-Executive Director

• Leslie Hanska - Oklahoma Board of Governors of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Licensed Interior Designers- Executive Director

• Charrisse Johnston – CIDQ Board of Directors

• Keri Koch -Interior Designers of Nova Scotia - CIDQ Alternate Delegate and Past IDNS President

• T.L. Ritchie – Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Interior Designers-Chair, CIDQ Delegate

• Nicole Tiessen –Interior Designers of Saskatchewan; CIDQ Alternate Delegate

• Emmy Williams - North Carolina Board of Architecture and Registered Interior Designers - Treasurer; CIDQ Delegate

• Marie Wikoff –Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design; CIDQ Alternate Delegate

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Following a series of virtual meetings, the task force held an in-person meeting June 22-23 at CIDQ headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting was very productive, and I came away so impressed with the thoughtfulness, candor, and caliber of the conversations between task force members and a shared desire to find the very best outcomes for the organization.

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The work of the BLTF now continues prior to their sharing preliminary model(s) with the CIDQ Board of Directors later this summer. The intention is that the BLTF present its proposed recommendations to the Assembly of Delegates for their feedback at this year’s Annual Meeting in November. The feedback received would then be reviewed by the task force for consideration of any modifications to their recommendations with the hope that a Bylaw amendment resolution be put forward for a vote by the Assembly in the first quarter of 2025.

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I hope you’re enjoying your summer and look forward to sharing more information on the work of the BLTF as it emerges.

 

Thom