The Continuing Challenges of Leadership

In this episode of Torch Talk, Lindsey Chupp sits down with Shasta Mast, Director of Leadership Holmes County at the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce, to discuss developing leaders, strengthening communities, and building connections that last.

Shasta shares the story behind Leadership Holmes County and how the program was created to address a real need: developing confident, capable leaders in a growing but tight-knit community. The discussion walks through what the program looks like in practice, from monthly sessions and leadership-focused discussions to immersive experiences across industries like education, manufacturing, healthcare, and tourism.

The conversation also explores the deeper impact of leadership development. Shasta explains how the program helps individuals grow in confidence, expand their perspective, and build relationships that continue long after the program ends. Lindsey and Shasta also dive into the real challenges leaders are facing today, including hiring, generational differences, housing, and maintaining the identity of a community while it continues to grow.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How Leadership Holmes County develops leaders across industries and experience levels
• Why connection and community are essential to effective leadership
• The long-term impact of building a strong peer network
• Challenges leaders are facing today, from hiring to workforce expectations
• Why leadership growth requires both learning and action

This episode offers a practical and community-centered look at leadership development, especially for organizations investing in their people and individuals looking to grow into greater influence.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

So much so much.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Welcome back to Torch Talk, the show where we spotlight bold leaders growing their businesses and communities with grit and purpose. Today's guest is Shasta Mast, Director of Leadership Homes County through the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce. Welcome, Shasta. Thank you. A program focused on empowering local leaders and strengthening our community through connection, insight, and intentional growth. She brings years of experience in building leadership, fostering collaboration, and helping people discover how they can make a greater impact in the places they live and work. So I am so excited to dive into everything with you today. Thanks. I wanted to I want to hear about all the things Leadership Hums County. I know Rachel, who's the CEO here at Fierce, did it last year and she just raved about it. It was like one of the best experiences she's ever had. So I guess why don't you tell us a little bit about what the program is and what that looks like, and then we'll get into everything.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Great, thank you. Having Rachel was in the in the class was lovely. She contributed so much. She has so much positive energy, so much curiosity, and we just thoroughly enjoyed having her in the class. So this is my second full year doing the class. And Leadership Homes County was really born out of a desire to build capacity. And I started at the chamber back in 02, and it was in its, I think, second full year. So I really saw it from the ground up. Leah Miller has to be credited with building it into the program that it is today. She did it its first 25 years. And Holmes County is such a small community, but so vibrant, so strong, and has so many organizations that want to and are making a difference. And those organizations need leaders. And when you have schools that need leaders, you have businesses that need leaders, you have community organizations, you have churches, you know, PTOs. There are so many groups that require strong leaders. And when you have back then 35,000 people who live in your community, you're really always searching for the right person to lead a project or lead an organization or make a difference. And those people don't always feel comfortable stepping into those leadership roles. For some people, it comes supernaturally, they feel confident right from the beginning, they don't mind taking risks, they understand failing is an opportunity, but for some people that's really scary. And when you consistently have the lowest unemployment in the state of Ohio, when you consistently have businesses that are growing and need more employees, when you consistently have people who want to make a difference in nonprofit organizations to raise money for different causes, then you have to have good, strong leaders. And you have to have a way to train them and a way to succeed them once a leader moves on from a position. So really that's what Homes Leadership Homes County grew from. And over the last 26, 27 years, it's just been growing apace right along with the community.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So what does the program look like from kind of start to finish? Like walk us through what that, like if I was going to participate in the program, what would it?

SPEAKER_01 3:55

So it's a nine-month program. It meets the first Thursday of the month, and the the class is structured. It has between um 20 and 25 employees we have or class members. We have 25 class members this year. It's the largest it's ever been. And those folks come from all walks of life, all ages. They can be folks who are just starting their careers, and it can be we once had a county commissioner who was in his, let's say, final 10 years of his career, where he just really wanted to expand his leadership skills. And in the mornings we meet and we focus on uh texts like Leadershift by John Maxwell, um, Start with Why by uh Simon Sinek, Upstream by Dan Heath, and we discuss uh things that are happening in the world, examples of great leadership, examples of terrible leadership, um, and also what these folks see in their daily lives that they see as leadership challenges or places where they would like to make a difference. Um, because they do come from a cross-section of the businesses and organizations in Holmes County, all ages, um we really get to see different perspectives that a lot of us don't see on a regular basis. So that so the discussion is very invigorating, it's challenging, it becomes a really safe place for these uh leaders to stretch, to um spitball ideas, to maybe make brash statements and then talk about those and really hash things out. So we we do that in the morning, and then every afternoon of the class is structured around a different segment of Holmes County's economy or community. So one month is tourism, one month is manufacturing, one month is education, one month is medical and emergency. And that way, not only are we talking about leadership, but we are meeting leaders where they live, where they work, in the middle of the work that they do, and we're hearing about not only their organization and its role in the community, but we're also learning about their personal leadership journeys, how they got to where they are. You know, did they wake up one morning and want to be a superintendent of a school system? Did they, is this something they've always wanted to do, or was it a a very circuitous journey, and then the class gets to discuss that the next time we get together, and it it it really helps bring fresh perspectives.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

I love that. Is there so you've been doing this for two years? Tell us what you were doing before that. What like what has been your evolution to bring you to where you're at now?

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Um, I went to school in Columbus, ended up living in Columbus for 10 years, working for the government downtown, had some great experiences. I was a started out as a writer, editor, event planner, marketer, communicator, that sort of thing, and wanted to move home. I was gone for 10 years and and just found that Holmes County was calling me home. And I moved home and actually ran an inn for three years while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. And an opening as the marketing manager at the Chamber of Commerce became available, and I began that role, and within a couple months the current director had a heart attack, things happened, and so I very quickly became the director and did that job for 17 years. So Leadership Homes County was part of my responsibilities, but we had the very capable leader, uh Leah Miller, who was actually running the program at the time. And then I took the program, I believe it was the 03-04 class, a very long time ago. And one of the main things that I got out of it that I believe is so valuable is those people who were in my class are still people today that I can pick up the phone and and say, What do you think of this? Or, you know, I I just had this idea, or I see this problem in our community. What if we approached it from this perspective? What do you think? And I think every class develops that camaraderie and they grow this group of peers that they they will have for the rest of their careers. And and I think that's so valuable.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

So Especially in an age when it's hard to make connections and it's hard to like that's just getting worse and worse. So to have that ability to like have somebody who's not a competitor to you, and you can just call them and say, Hey, I'm struggling with this. What what do you think? Yes. And you learn you know you learn the same thing. So that is great.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

It is, and what I saw last year, which was my first full year doing it, by the end, our last class together, I of course had an agenda, things I wanted to cover. And as they were coming in that morning, so many of them confided in me something big that was happening in their lives, hard or whatever. And I scrapped the agenda for that day, for that morning, um, because there were so many big challenges that they were all facing, it seemed like, all at once, and they wanted to talk about them. Well, what a better group of people to talk about some challenges in your lives where you need some leadership advice. And so we re we hashed out real life, some of it was work, some of it was personal, some of it was church, some of it was really heavy, you know, medical things. Um, but it it gave them a great place and a great hive mind to discuss those issues. And I I think it it brought them all together, and and I think they'll be people that they rely on for the rest of their lives.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

I love that. I do too. Are there any standout um, because you know you've only led for the last few years, but you've been around enough. Are there any standout like success stories you can think back on of somebody who went through the program or like I don't know, I just think about how impactful it must be in even taking it yourself, like you still know the people. Um, any any highlights, I guess, in just going back? So many.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

I mean, we've had folks who who took the class, you know, basically right out of school, whether that's high school or college, and then they end up being CEOs or bank presidents, or you know, running so many people who've run organizations or got elected to office. Um, another great connective way Leadership Homes County unites people is for years, well, really since the beginning of the program, I received calls, and I still do to this day, from organizations who are looking for leaders. And they'll say, Hey, anybody stand out from your years around Leadership Homes County that we could call? So it's it's a way not only to get involved in a volunteer way, but in some cases it's led to employment and really great opportunities. So I think the leadership alumni are a great group of people to tap into really at any time to find people who care and want to make a difference because that's really what being a leader is about. It's about making a difference in people's lives.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Of all of the material that you guys go through, what is your favorite? Like, is there a certain book that you're like, oh, I'm excited to go through this book this month?

SPEAKER_01 11:35

You know, I love Simon Sinek. Um so I really like Starts with Why, and I I like, you know, I sh when I share things that I read with the class, and I encourage them to bring things in that they're reading. And so some of my favorite things, and I can't even think of the names over the years, but one of my favorite things is when someone else brings in a book that they're reading and says, You guys have got to read this, you know, this is life-changing, or listen to this. Um something that has stuck with me, and I'm rephrasing it because I I rephrased it in a way that I can remember it. I read one time, a long time ago, in one of the leadership texts that we study, that um the antidote to anxiety is action. I just read that. And I that has really stuck with me, and I say it all the time in my personal life, in my professional life, when an organization is really spinning its wheels and is worried about making the wrong choice, sometimes you just have to move. You just have to have to be in action. Um, so that's something, a tidbit that has really stood out to me over the years. But there's there's really been so many, and I get fired up the most when someone in the class gets fired up by either something we're reading or something that somebody else brings in.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Okay, so I know that you said you have all different types of people, all different types of backgrounds, but if we have employers who are listening to this and they're saying, okay, why would I pay not only you, but then also my employee to go participate one day a month in this program? Like, what would you expect? You know, like what I guess what's the return on investment do you see for an employee employer investing in the employee? And then on the flip side, then what it what really what is the employee learning? Do you think? What are like some of the higher level things that you would expect somebody to come out of the program with?

SPEAKER_01 13:31

I certainly expect them to come out of the program with increased confidence. And I think confidence is often a barrier, particularly to new or young leaders. Um, one of the well, there's a couple things. We have folks in this year's class from Delaware County, Ashland County, Tuscross County, Wayne County, and Ashland County.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

But they all work in Homes County.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

In addition to Holmes County. Okay. And they all work in Holmes County. So when we are a net importer of jobs, of employees to fill jobs, I should say, um, we have employers who really need help, maybe onboarding their their rising stars, because they don't understand our culture, our organizations, the way things work in Homes County, or they don't know a lot of people. And so this is a fantastic way to really immerse somebody who didn't grow up here, doesn't understand. 100% it's it's a it's a cliche to say it's unique, but it is so different than anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Honestly, even if you grew up here, it was the first time Rachel had been to Bihalt. Right. Like how many of the people who live here, I mean, we all know about the Amish and a little bit of the story, but to like get the full picture, I know that that was super impactful for her, even though she's local. So I we also bring a lot of employees from outside the area, and I was just thinking about that while you're talking. I'm like, we try to, I get so many questions about Amish. I'm like, I don't know. Because but I mean, I know enough, but like, you know, even though they're just from Canton, it's not that far away, but they didn't grow up here. So there's a certain context that, you know, going and visiting the local businesses and doing the tours of that museum and all of the different, it gives them a better view of of what it is like here, which also helps them not only understand the community better, their organization better, but uh probably their customer better too. Like who it if especially if their customer is local, it's just it's a good connection all around. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

And it's always shocking to the class what our businesses are doing, how innovative it's a little bit undercover. It really is, and it's it's amazing. And even though I've been immersed in it since 02, I'm still surprised and and just amazed at what our businesses are doing. The innovation, the uh creativity, the uh business acumen uh uh is uh uh really mind-boggling. And we have folks that come here and study it because on paper we should not be as successful as we are. We don't have any of the things that economists say we need to be a thriving uh community and growing and whatever. They say you need access to four-lane highways, they see say you need rail, they say you need, you know, all these things that we just don't have. And uh we've been studied by economists from Ohio State, written up in the Wall Street Journal, and nobody understands it. And so if you're not from here, but you have to work here, uh you really need a good, quick, immersive study into Holmes County 101 and leadership Homes County is that. But like you mentioned, if you are from here, have you been to the Kilbuck Valley Museum? Have you been to Bahalt? Have you immersed yourself in some of the things that we take for granted as being from Holmes County?

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

And you know, have you ever eaten at the at the jail? You know, the Holmes County jail. Um when was the last time you had a school lunch? I mean, we do those kinds of things to give this the class members uh a completely different perspective. Homes County from a completely different perspective, in addition to all the leadership.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yeah, I think that both sides of that are are really valuable. On the um other side of that, I don't this this might be derailing or a little bit more off topic than what I'm thinking. I just know from an employer perspective, like, you know, training and developing our team is really important to us. We work a lot on training, but um we're a fairly young organization and we're just now getting to the point where we need to have like a leadership training program. So absolutely Leadership Homes County is on our radar because I know how valuable the program is. But what about after? Like, what about like is there maybe this is something that we need to talk about the idea later, but I feel like there needs to be like post-employer support for how do I continue this? Or, you know, because you don't just go and meet with your class that you feel super safe with, and then it's kind of like getting that good idea. It's kind of like going on mission trip and coming back on fire, and then you go in your organization, and now how do I apply this? Are there any post leadership stories that you've heard about that? Is there like what are employers do to help support after they've been through the program an employee that they've sent through? Like, what would you say has sets somebody up for success for application and all of those types of things?

SPEAKER_01 18:49

I know from experience through the program that a lot of times um employers do send someone that they have an eye on for promotion. And so their next step when they get back is, you know, maybe interviewing for a a job opportunity within. Um and I I've seen that work so many times there. They they come out of Leadership Homes County on fire, maybe with a different perspective, with some more confidence, some more skills than they went into it, and they are ready to take a next step in their business. Um we are also brainstorming right now at the chamber, and I'm working on a plan to devise a way to keep those leaders connected once they graduate. Uh like reunions? Like reunions, but more more than just a social reunion. Getting together maybe twice a year with a meaningful I don't know what it is. Accountability, like, hey, how are things going? What have you applied? And also maybe a really dynamic speaker about leadership that is something that's exclusive to the leadership alumni that they uh they're the only ones that get invited to go. Something that keeps them connected, something that keeps them on fire, yeah. Something that um, you know, really makes it even more meaningful to be a part of that group of leadership homes camping.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Right. I mean, because it doesn't stop. Leadership homes are not gonna be able to do it. It doesn't like the world's evolving, workforce is evolving, like there's all you so many changes every day. It's sometimes exhausting. Like, can we just have a second?

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Right, exactly. And and I've had people make comments to me since I am a let's say seasoned leader, um, you know, that now I'm a leader, or you know, now I've arrived. No, I haven't arrived. I have so much more to learn, and I learn every time I go on these tours, I learn something new from these incredible leaders out there doing the work. I learn from the class members every time, you know, even not just on class days, when they email me behind the scenes or I run into them and they I learn so much from them. And and there's just so much more to learn. There's so many more books to read, there's just so much more to do. And if I have a small part in keeping that fire in people, then I feel like, you know, I've done what I what I will continue to do and to make a difference, which is all I really want to do.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

I love that. And that's really the heart of the whole program and the purpose of it in the first place. Are there any trends that you're seeing right now, like as talking about changes? So, like what do you see some of the most common challenges like the leaders are talking about in the workforce right now?

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Um, I mean, generational differences.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

I just talked about this because we're we're we have an event coming up, we're gonna do a young um on a young professionals panel, but I said I don't really want to talk about like I understand the generational differences are still an issue, but like I think they're kind of sick of hearing about it.

unknown 21:59

True.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Same as when millennials, which I am we just talked about this. I'm the oldest millennial. Garrett, our videographer, is the youngest millennial, so we're fully covered here. I'm an exer. Well, I'm right on the line. So we just had that whole debate. But I'm like, you know, everybody hated the millennials when they're coming, they're so lazy. And why would you want purpose in your work? And like I remember all of those things clearly stuck with me. That was a long time ago. I think that um this generation is going to feel the same way because there's been a lot of talk. Certainly 100% real challenges. I have a very young team. Like we have 20 people, more than half of them are under the age of 28. So there's the way that they were raised, different technology, social media, like that highly impacts their life experience year to date or life to date is totally different than what I had until I was 25. But I don't, you don't want to beat a dead horse either. Right. Like they're real people.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Right. And and and I see that these are young people who are maybe managing for the first time. Yeah. And so they're seeing it from the other perspective now, where they were the ones that everybody was sick of dealing with because they were young and you know, had the stereotype that they didn't want to work, they were living in their parents' basement, all those kinds of things. But now they're maybe new managers.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

It's kind of like parenting, like you don't really get behind a view behind the scenes until you do it, and then you're like, oh like leadership's kind of like that. Like, yeah, oh, I have to hold people accountable. That's why we have consistency and rules, and oh, because right.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

And so we do discuss that, and it and still there's finding people. Um, you know, that's I think always going to be a problem.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Hiring in Holmes County is always do you have any advice for employers who are looking to hire? Is there anything that you see of somebody who's doing it really well?

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yes. Um, the people who are doing it really well are dealing with those soft issues that make people's lives easier and more fulfilling. You know, you look at the provias of the world, you look at the Kime Lumbers of the world, they are really the mavens of the world. They're really making um the space their workers inhabit friendly and um nurturing and and they're they're dealing with the whole person instead of just the the worker. And they their employees work hard. Don't get me wrong. They're not they're not lessening the requirements or uh the expectations, but they are considering the whole person rather than just the the how do you think that they're finding those people?

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Do you think are their hiring processes different? Like, or do you because those are all bigger organizations, so do you feel like they're attracting people because of their known reputation, or do you think that there's something different?

SPEAKER_01 24:50

I think they're attracting people because of their known reputation that they've built over a long time.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

I I know as a smaller employer, something that helps us a lot is our social media presence. So like people get a good view of who we are from a culture standpoint. Yes. I've talked about this with our clients a fair amount. Like, if you use social for nothing else other than to let future employees know, I mean, if you're hiring a young generation, you better believe they're gonna go to Instagram or TikTok and see if you're on there. Right. And I know they I know there's people out there listening who are like, ugh, they don't want to hear that because it's not something they want to do. But um, like if you, you know, we're not all proveas. So if you're not that and you do feel like you have something good to offer future employees, or and really also if you're pulling people from outside the area, then give them something to look at. And or make sure at least your website reflects your culture really well. Because if you're not gonna do the social, then you gotta share the story somewhere. You're exactly right. Yeah. Um, any other challenges? So we have like kind of the generational differences in hiring, any other consistent You know, they're all I think worried.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

Worried is too strong of a word. But they're all tuned in to the differences as to what's going on in the world and maybe the country as a whole versus what's going on in Holmes County, and they want to talk about that because none of them, even the ones who aren't from here, they don't want to lose what is right about Holmes County and what what makes it great, what makes it makes us this really special, vibrant little bubble that we are. And so we spend a lot of time talking about that.

SPEAKER_00 26:33

So that we don't turn into myrtle or like Gatlinberg 2.0 because that's what it feels like sometimes when you're driving to. There's a balance to that because it is a part of what makes us a thriving economy, but it's also you don't want to lose the integrity of what we have to offer here. And so there has to be a balance there.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

And then they want to also talk about some of the some of the issues that nobody wants to talk about. Because you know, we go to the jail, we go to the sheriff's office, we talk to law enforcement, you know, tomorrow we're gonna be meeting with the judges, and they have some ugly stories to tell. And some of the folks won't have heard that before, and some of the folks will have lived that before. And so next month we'll talk about it. And and they'll want to talk about that too. The challenge is they all want to talk about housing.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Housing is an issue everywhere, it's really it is bad in homeschooling. It is, and if you're young and starting out, it's impossible. I know because the team that I have, most of them live at home. That's right. Even if you graduate from college and you're making decent money, it's just I was just telling somebody earlier today, like my I've rented an apartment in Worcester for 10 years and it's triple the price. Yeah. Ten years ago, right? It's not that long to go try. I it's that it's more than my mortgage. Right. That this is the whole reason we have a housing crisis. So it is definitely a problem.

SPEAKER_01 27:49

And so if we're looking for these young vibrant workers to come either to Holmes County for the first time or to come back, if they're from here and have gone away and gotten an education, we want them to come back. There's no place for them to live. Yeah. So they can't afford it. We talk about that, and I am hoping you talked to Katie and Megan about that. Um I know, I know they're gonna take a stab at that issue. And so they all want to talk about those kinds of relevant things. And so then we connect them when those issues come up, and if there are people who are passionate, like Laura McCartney, who's in the class from Habitat with Humanity, she's passionate about housing. So she's plugged in with with Katie and Megan, and we can we connect those kinds of people so that if you if you care about an issue and it comes up in the class, then we follow up and connect those people with the right people so that they can. I mean, if your hair's on fire about something, go go fix it. And we want to help people do that as best we can. Just support them and point them in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah, if if I'm actually joining the tourism um council. Great. And it's like it's because I grew up here. So I grew up here, I've always been a part, I remember 1990s Berlin. It was a lot different than it is now, but I had aunts and uncles who used to live or they still live in Texas and they'd come home every summer. So we'd have to go do all the tourist things. So we did the tour at Shock's Amish farm, and like I had to ride in an Amish buggy. I'm like, what are we doing? I live here. But tourism has always been such a part of the local community, and I have a passion for that, and I and it crosses over in marketing. And I've had people for two years saying, You really care about this, you should join. And finally, I'm listening to them. So great. That is for sure a testament. If there's something that you're looking at and you're like, I don't like why do I care about this? And it every time somebody brings it up, it makes you like feel a little like ooh, that means maybe you should pay attention to it, and it's a cause you should go after.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

So right. And I ran the tourism council as part of the chamber for 17 years, and it you will, I think, really enjoy it. It it's such a big industry, it makes such a huge impact on our community, and there's lots of challenges there and so many opportunities. And tourism is fun. I mean, you know, my first marketing job was the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. So marketing, you know, tourism in Holmes County is a lot more fun.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Yeah, that's a lot easier to market than workers' comp.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Nobody wants to talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Nobody wants to talk about that. But it was it was baptism by fire, so it was all good. But it is. I think you'll really like it. And you're you're in a perfect position to make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

Okay, so tell people who are listening when does the program open? When are applications? Like, what's the process to become a part of Leadership Homes County?

SPEAKER_01 30:41

This class will graduate the first Tuesday in June at the chambers membership luncheon. Um, so their last full class will be the first Thursday in May. Um, applications will be open all summer. We usually wind them down mid-August to late August, and we take 25. They have to be sponsored by their employer. Um, fill out the application. It's available online, it's also available at the chamber. It's on the Homescone Chambers website. It sure is. It will be updated this summer, but right now it's it's this past year's application. But that's it that's valid too. They can still fill that out if they want to fill it out now and send it in. That's totally fine for next year. And then it will start the first Thursday in September and go till May. Go till May.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

June graduation. Yep, okay. What's the cost for the class?

SPEAKER_01 31:36

It depends on if you're a chamber member or not, and all that's listed on homescountychamber.com.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

Check it out, that's where they go. Yep, that's exactly right. All right, awesome.

unknown 31:43

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Well, thank you so much for talking with me a little bit, and we can share about that leadership, Homes County. I will be sure to, I think I have a leader I want to put in for next year. So we'll stay in touch. Awesome. And I appreciate the cane conversation. Thank you so much, Lindsay. It was a pleasure. Thank you for tuning into Torch Talk. If today's story sparked something for you, share it with a lead, community leader, or future change maker. Until next time, stay inspired, stay intentional, and keep inspired.