You Belong in Every Room: Leadership Lessons from Birmingham’s Dan Williams

What does it take to lead a destination in today’s tourism landscape?

In this episode of Business Class, Stephen sits down with Dan Williams, President & CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, for a conversation that goes far beyond marketing and metrics.

Dan shares his journey from Cleveland to Columbus to Birmingham—and how a shift in perspective during COVID transformed his leadership style from performance-driven to people-centered. Today, he leads with empathy, prioritizing trust, communication, and his team's well-being.

They explore:

•  Why trust is the most important word for community alignment 
•  How Birmingham is redefining itself beyond outdated perceptions 
•  What empathetic leadership looks like in practice 
•  Why tourism should be fun, human, and deeply connected to community
•  And the advice Dan would give his younger self: “You belong in every room.”

This is a conversation about leadership, culture, and the power of seeing people—not just performance.

Business Class is brought to you by Learn Tourism, the nonprofit academy - harnessing the power of science, business psychology and adult education to advance the tourism industry and build sustainable economies. Learn how to engage your community, win over stakeholders and get more visitors at learntourism.org. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Let's just have a discussion, man. Whatever you want to know. Let's just talk. I'm pretty easy, man. I'm pretty laid back. I don't take myself too seriously. Dan Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention of Visitors Bureau. Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

This seat that you're in now is somewhat new. Although you've been settling in for a little bit. How did you come to be in Birmingham?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Settling in a little bit, but uh it's nine months and it feels like it's been much longer. Came to be in Birmingham. I had gone through the process. I had in Cleveland a number of years, which kind of built my foundation. And then Columbus really honed my skill set and created who I am today. And I just love all the great things we were able to do in that city over the 13 years I was there. But I think, you know, there comes a time where you just feel like, hey, what's next? And so this opportunity had come open. And we all I had a perception of the South and Alabama, even though I had come here as a kid because my uncle coached uh what is it, HBCUs here? I had come down here as a kid, and I'm like, I don't know if that's for me. Then came down November of 24 for Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals, and I'm like, wait a minute, Birmingham is much different than I thought it was. And then amazingly enough, the opportunity had come open. Um, I was contacted by Surgewide, and the rest is history. And again, been here a little more than nine months and loving every minute of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

In what way were you most surprised by the city?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

I was most surprised by the beauty. It's interesting that when you think of an urban environment, you think of the city, but you get down here, you see the beautiful green spaces. There's mountains around us, you can hike, and then you could drive three hours away, and you could be on some beautiful white sandy beaches. So it is the beauty of the city and the state, how eclectic and innovative the people in the city are. The dining scene is amazing. I've literally gained 20 plus pounds as I've eaten my way through the city. But yeah, it's just it is a cool city. This city is a whole vibe, and I absolutely love it. Like you could literally be downtown having a phenomenal dinner or phenomenal lunch. You want to walk it off later on one of the amazing trails through the you can do that here. And then, you know, it's a cool city.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

So you mentioned honing some skills over the last two of these things. What skills do you think best prepared you for where you're at?

SPEAKER_00 3:27

First and foremost, leading with empathy. I was in Columbus during COVID and being chief sales officer, it was always about the numbers. And hey, we gotta knock this down and we gotta do this, and no, we gotta produce. COVID made you take a step back and made you understand that there's more to life than just hitting your numbers. I saw a lot of people that I thought were extremely strong in the industry really struggle, struggled mentally. So I had to take a step back and I had to look at my staff and my team, and I had to go, hey, how are you doing? How are you feeling mentally? Like you it just made you take a step back and understand. And then when I came out of that, when we all came out of COVID, it really changed the way I approached leadership. It was no longer just about production. It was no longer, I always had great relationships with my team, but it made me really, really look at the bigger picture. So instead of asking, you know, or worried, being worried about the numbers, worry about their well-being, worry about their mental health, understand how they're doing. They may be having a bad day, something may have happened at home that is dictating different things at work and maybe their performance. So that's what I had to do. And now translating into this position, instead of just managing sales, I am managing an organization. So really the first 30, 60, 90 days was me just getting to know the people of this organization, having individual meetings with everyone. It didn't matter what role they had, but to understand what made them tick, how they work, what things were most important to them, how their family was like so. It opened my eyes to a way of empathetic leadership.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I understand what you're saying. So when you think about like community alignment, yes, you know, what two or three words do you think are gonna resonate best with the community in Birmingham?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

That's good. Trying to think of some of the meetings and some of the instances I've participated in. Quite frankly, is alignment and communication works. And and the reason I say that is because when you have a community that is fully aligned, actually, I got an even better word for you, is trust. When you have a community that trusts one another, that they're all going to do the right thing. We may not agree on everything, but if we could trust one another that we're gonna do what's best for this community, that's what brings it all together. I think we struggle with that a little bit right now in this community. We may stay, there's just a lot of silo mentality here. And I think as we get to know one another and get to trust one another, that it's important that it's better for our residents, it's better for the community. It's just if we can learn to trust, we're gonna move this thing along. And I think that is probably the one word that I would hope would come out of this is trusting one another.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, it's important to think for the community to understand why. And that is so that we can all thrive together. Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Agreed. If you weren't doing this job, what would you be doing? I would be a pediatrician. It's interesting. So my executive assistant, who is amazing, she is the same. She keeps my calendar as she does for me on my anniversary every month. So 16th of every month, she gets me something. And it's some kind of little gift. And it's so I'm gonna show you what she got me. She got me the operation game. Oh, that's a good one. Classic. She got me the operation game. I'm sorry, it's blurring a little bit. So she got me that game. The reason she got me that, she goes, if you were Dr. Dan, you wouldn't be my super dan. She calls me super dan because I I like to go from sunup to sundown. And that is just hilarious to me. But yeah, I wanted to be a pediatrician, man. I even as a kid, I used to practice my signatures. And I would always get some great pens, and I have a great pen with a calligraphy tip on it that I use to sign everything here, but I wanted to be a doctor. I was gonna be a doctor.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

That's how do you think the job now is like medicine?

SPEAKER_00 8:11

I think it's like medicine because you got to figure out how you relate to people. You gotta be able to relate to people, you got to be personable, you got to be welcoming, you gotta understand the ins and outs, the nuances of a community. You gotta be surgical in the way you operate. I think you can relate it. I want to be a doctor.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

How do you want the people on our team to describe?

SPEAKER_00 8:38

I want them to describe me as a leader that was willing to do whatever it took. I want them to describe me as a leader that removed all barriers for them to be successful. I want them to look at me as a leader who didn't care about his title, but was willing to do whatever it took for our organization to be successful. I want them to look at me as an empathetic leader that cared about them first over anything business related, which I do. I want them to look at me as a leader that does not take things or I don't take things seriously. I take them seriously, but I like to laugh. This job, what we do, is not life or death. There are people out there doing much more important things. There are doctors, there are military, there are people out there doing what we do should be fun, should be enjoyable, should we should laugh every day. And when you convey that outward, your community sees that and they get excited about it. And so that's how I really want my staff. My staff rarely hears me say president and CEO. Rarely. Because I am one of them. And that's how I run the organization. I expect them to push me just as much as I'm gonna push them. Yeah, that's how I want my staff to remember me.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

What is something about probably surprised most of the people that maybe a hobby or something that just makes you laugh and smile?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

I'm I I love my great Danes. I have great Danes, I love my dogs. Staff knows I love my dogs, people know I love my dogs. How many do you have? I have two, and I would get plenty more. If I had the space, once I settle in, there probably there could be two more on the horizon. Yeah, I'm a great dane kind of guy. I'm a big guy. So I we need big dogs. Outside of me wanting to be a pediatrician, and I think that's about it, man. I'm a bad golfer. So people who know me know I'm a bad golfer right now for nothing. Once I find the time, it's all. But right now I'm pretty bad. The only golf tournament I've signed for would have to have else.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah. That's it. Yeah, I agree. Anything beyond that, it's just it's not my fault.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

No, I love it. It's such a challenging game, and the problem is you have to put time into it. If you don't put time, you're just not gonna, and I don't have time right now. Quite frankly, I don't have time right now.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

So what's something the people who love you most would tell you?

SPEAKER_00 11:36

People who love me most would tell my grandchildren. I will make time for my grandchildren. And I don't have favorites. I do want to say I don't have favorites. But my namesake, Carl Daniel Williams IV, we call him Quad. He's my guy. He's my, yeah, I make time for Quad. I fly across the country for Quad. Quad how old is he now? Quad is three. Still little. Oh, yeah, that's my guy. All my sons are grown, they're gone, which is good. They're grown, gone, and off the payroll, which is a great thing. But I have five grandchildren, and well, actually, one is coming. My oldest son, they just found out they're gonna have a boy, so there's six coming. But Quad is the first boy, and he's Pop Pop's boy, and he's a car fanatic like I am, and like a my guy. How are you most like each of your parents? My mother's strong. She is a strong black woman, which I am extremely proud of. My parents actually divorced when I was younger, when I was in my early teens, but they were both very much an integral part of my life and may continue to be. But my mother, strong black woman, gonna say what she feels, and you're gonna feel what she says. I tend to be very open and honest with people, especially as I'm getting older. I don't pull a lot of punches. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say, but I'm empathetic about it and I say it in a nice tone. My father is very even keeled. My father is cooler than the other side of the pillow, very even keeled. You will never know my father is upset unless he has a specific tone, but very even keeled, very cool, very calculated in responses. Although I say what I mean, and I mean what I say, I am very calculating, very calm. You'll never see me sweat. I'm very even keeled like my father. I am very direct like my father. I'm very laid back like my father. I don't take myself too seriously. Talking to my dad, probably by every other day. My father is probably my best friend, quite frankly.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

What is a trait that you might witness of people who are working with you and around you that just gets under your skin?

SPEAKER_00 14:31

A trait that I do not do well with I don't do well with fluff. Just be direct with me. I prefer open and honest as compared to fluff and beating around the bush. And I've worked with some people like that in the past, and it just never I we're adults, we should be able to have an adult conversation. It's okay to agree to disagree, and that's fine, but just be direct with me. Don't I can handle it, I can truly handle it. Let's come out of our discussion with a solution. Let's talk through it regardless, good, bad, ugly. Let's talk about it, let's be direct about it, let's be open and honest about it, come out of our discussion with a solution and then move on. Typically, it's business, it's not personal. So let's just have it direct and open. People who are indirect, but people are indirect or fluffy and can't get to it. I don't do well with that. What is the most kind thing someone has ever done for you? Buy me gifts every anniversary of my hire date. I'm like, because I don't even think about it, Stephen, because I'm so locked in. I love what I do, and I'm grateful to this community that has accepted me, a northern boy with open arms into this southern community and fed me like it has. And I tell my staff that, and I appreciate them more than they'll ever know. The way they've responded to me is probably the nicest thing outside of anything that my family does, but this is my family too. And the things that they do for me and how they make me want to come in here every day and grind for them, that's the nicest thing to me. What advice would you give 20-year-old self? You belong in every room and make your voice heard. You don't have to sit by the sideline, you don't have to wait your turn. The only way that you get into these roles and these opportunities is you gotta go, you gotta grab the bull by the horns. You gotta make your voice heard. You can't sit by the wayside. 20-year-old self, that's what I'm telling you now. You belong in every room. And what is something that you wish more people knew about I wish people knew that Birmingham isn't the black and white images that you saw in the 60s. We changed the world with how we addressed racism and civil rights here. But the city is moving forward and has moved forward. It's exciting, it's dynamic, it's it's all the things I was saying earlier. It's a cool urban environment and beautiful green space, and it's a cool city. And I want people to give it a chance, give it an opportunity, come see what we have because it's an amazing destination. You will feel very welcomed in Birmingham, believe me, and you will eat extreme. I can vouch. Yeah, come back anytime, brother.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

I appreciate it. What did I not ask that you wish I did?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Stephen, you did a phenomenal job. I don't think there was anything that you didn't touch. I mean, I like how this wasn't all about numbers and everything like that. No, I like it was just a conversation. So no, I thought you did an amazing job. What's something you'd like to ask me? Where do I recognize you from? Like I've seen your I've seen your stuff, but I look back at your, but I know you from somewhere. And it's not this. Where where were you at previously?

SPEAKER_01 19:07

So I started my career in tourism development sales.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

I worked in New York City for museums, attractions, restaurants, theater. Okay. For about 14 years or so. I did all of the trade show circuit. So all of those tourism trade shows. You've probably seen each other there. I did consulting. I've actually worked with Birmingham. Tara worked. Oh, yeah. Loved her. She's my director of workforce development now. I love her. So you can ask Tara what her daughter did to entertain me when I was in Birmingham. Okay. Okay. She set me up with her daughter. We spent a night out in Birmingham, and it was unforgettable, is the word that I'll use. Uh but yes, Tara's great. So she actually participated in some of the sales mission and some of the development projects that I did through my consulting work. And it was along the way of that destination development tourism promotion work that I realized I loved the learning.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

And it was that love for learning that led to figuring out how people learn, why so much of the education in the tourism industry was terrible. Right. And what could be done to fix it. That's where learn tourism started. When COVID struck, my destination work evaporated overnight. And I had the choice.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

We're at a space that we offer the technology for anybody that wants to go on, or for courses, we build custom courses, look for certification. We have 75,000 learners.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

We're in a really cool spot. We work about 60 destinations on things like Forest Ambassador Programs, uh training for travel trade that can be broadcast worldwide languages. And we talk, you know, if there's something that you need to learn, we can teach it.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Awesome. Steven, I know you met Tara. They are some of the best people I've ever met before. Like Bridget, my assistant, she's literally a saint, brother. She's a saint.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Tara's we she and I have traveled quite a bit together on the sales mission. She's good. She's just one of those people that you can't be in her presence and not feel better about yourself and about the world around you.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Right. She will make sure you smile enough. They're cut from the same clock. Some of the best people I've ever met in my life. And the majority of my staff has been here 20 plus, 30 years. This has been their only job out of high school. Like they're amazing. They're great staff. And they care about what they do. Yes, they do.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

I appreciate your time. I know you're a busy guy. You're probably walking into three other meetings right now. I appreciate you, and I hope you have a fantastic afternoon. Thank you for sharing your story.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Hey, I appreciate it, Steven. You have a Google, man.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

I'll do my best.