Blog

A reflection from Leadership South Dakota founders, Rick & Valerie Melmer Like many in South Dakota, my wife Valerie and I were saddened by the loss of Jim Beddow. Jim was a friend and mentor, and we always enjoyed our opportunities to visit with Jim and his wife Jean. Valerie’s family and the Beddows had […]

With a new director at the helm, Leadership South Dakota is excited to announce the students selected to take part in this year’s program. With a record number of applications, this group of South Dakotans will kick off the 10th class when they meet in Pierre this fall. The comprehensive, statewide program has a mission […]

Sioux Falls, SD – (Jan. 10) The Leadership South Dakota Board announces the selection of John Meyer as the organization’s next Executive Director. Meyer, former co-founder and CEO of Lemonly, will transition into the role over the next few months until April 1, when Meyer fully takes the reins. “We were thrilled with the interest […]

After nine years at the helm of Leadership South Dakota, Executive Director Rick Melmer and wife Valerie Melmer, Hospitality Coordinator, have announced they are “graduating” from their respective roles following the completion of the 2023 program year. Since starting the program in 2014 with the mission to build the next generation of South Dakota leaders, […]

I will (habit) at (time) at (location). Sounds fairly straight forward and approachable to start a new habit, right? “I will read for 30 minutes at 9pm in my comfy chair three nights a week.” Is the habit I started two weeks ago. It’s been 14 days and I’ve read a total of one time. […]

Leadership South Dakota is excited to announce the 43 students who will take part in this year’s program. With a record number of applications, this group of South Dakotans will kick off the 9th class when they meet in Pierre this Fall. The comprehensive, statewide program has a mission to engage citizens from across the […]

Leadership South Dakota is excited to announce the selection of 42 class members for their next 8-month leadership program. This class represents the 8th class to participate in Leadership South Dakota and will kick off the first session in Pierre this September. Leadership South Dakota is a statewide program with a mission to engage citizens […]

June 17, 2020 Leadership South Dakota Welcomes 7th Class  Leadership South Dakota has selected 41 class members to participate in an 8-month leadership program, which begins in September. Leadership South Dakota is a statewide program with a mission to engage citizens from across the state. It provides participants with the background, unique experiences and insights […]

A key part to being a successful leader is how you manage your margins.  Successful leaders make the best use of their time each and every day.  That means that when they have small blocks of time, (expected or unexpected) these leaders are prepared to use that time to accomplish something productive.  It could be […]

We’ve all heard the saying, “actions speak louder than words”. Most of us would agree that this statement is certainly true. What we DO says more about our priorities than what we SAY. Our actions represent our values. However, it is common for leaders to say one thing and do another. We may believe that […]

As an executive coach, I am always looking for tools and visuals that will resonate with the clients that I see. One particular visual that always seems to score is a chart that outlines tasks and priorities that are urgent and those that are important.   Urgent vs. Important While the conversations are focused on the […]

Leadership South Dakota selects sixth class Leadership South Dakota has selected 43 class members to participate in the 8-month leadership program, which will begin in September. Leadership South Dakota is a statewide program with a mission to attract engaged citizens from across the state, then provide them with the background, unique experiences and insights necessary […]

It’s true for teams.  It’s true for organizations.  It’s even true in marriages.  Communication is an ongoing struggle for all of us.  Over the past five years, I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of organizations through team building, leadership training and strategic planning initiatives.  As we discuss the strengths of each […]

A Message From The Leadership South Dakota Directors The fourth class of Leadership South Dakota will graduate on Friday, April 6th in Chamberlain. Following this celebration, we will have 160 alumni across the state of South Dakota. We are confident that as we add 40 members to our alumni base each year, our collective influence […]

A Message From The Leadership South Dakota Directors Four years ago, the Leadership South Dakota program started with its first class of leaders from across our great state. Through the early support of the South  Dakota Community Foundation and the Bush Foundation, seed money was generated to begin this leadership journey. Through the generous support of […]

By Rick Melmer Leadership Coach I remember my days as a school administrator. We would schedule professional development days for our staff members and hope that the training sessions were helpful. However, we couldn’t escape the nicknames that always hurt but also seemed appropriate for our trainings. Labels like “one and done” or “sit and get” seemed to […]

A Message from the Leadership South Dakota Directors Getting To Church On Time In our Leadership SD classes, we discuss the topic of leadership on an ongoing basis. Recently I was visiting with Mark Dunn, a 2016 graduate of Leadership SD, on his description of leadership. Mark told an interesting story that illustrates leadership perfectly. Mark […]

A Message from the Leadership South Dakota Directors On September 7th, we held our second annual Leadership SD alumni event. It was fun to have an opportunity to be reconnected to friends who have experienced the program over the past three years. We have 117 active alumni that are all making a difference in their […]

A Message from the Leadership South Dakota Directors There are many benefits to the Leadership South Dakota program, but probably the greatest benefit is the friendships we all make every time a new class gathers for another program year. We are preparing for our fourth class this Fall and while we are excited about new […]

A Message From The Leadership South Dakota Directors The third year of the Leadership South  Dakota program is ending. We are now  preparing for our fourth year and are in  our recruitment phase. While we have been happy with the progress of the Leadership SD program, we know that the program could be even stronger. In […]

By Rick Melmer – Leadership Coach Over the course of my professional life, I’ve learned that you must re-invent yourself from time to time. You know, switch things up – sing a new song – take on a new challenge. At the age of 59, I’m beginning a new venture as a Leadership Coach who works with […]

By Rick Melmer – Leadership Coach I rarely “re-read” books. Most of the time, I take a “one and done” approach to most books I read. Recently I made an exception with Chip and Dan Heath’s book entitled SWITCH. This book is a tremendous resource for leaders who are interested in making changes in their organizations and are […]

A Message from the Leadership South Dakota Directors As we reflect on 2016, the need for a program like Leadership South Dakota has never been more evident. In his book, The Vanishing Neighbor, author Marc Dunkelman illustrated the fact that we all have three rings of relationships. The inner ring consists of our intimate contacts […]

By Rick Melmer – Leadership Coach Our daughter Tara asked if I could watch her two daughters (our granddaughters) for one day – she was obviously desperate so she decided to entrust her two children to me! At the time, Kya was 4 and Ivy was 1 so I had them outmatched in the age department. Despite […]