“Leaders often keep secrets because they believe others will find it difficult to understand the basis for their leadership success or failure. They believe others will scoff at the simplicity or complexity of their leadership style or criticize their work ethic. Many leaders find it even harder to share their secret fears, weaknesses and self-doubts for fear of being judged harshly or being perceived as unworthy of their leadership position.
“Underneath the title, the role, or the business jacket of a leader, is a human being struggling to figure it out – a leader with secrets.”
Excerpt from AmyK Hutchens’ book, “The Secrets Leaders Keep.”
Hutchens will be the keynote speaker at a CREW Denver event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 14 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel at 1881 Curtis St.
“She’s a really great speaker,” Kim Duty, president of CREW Denver, told me.
“She spoke at one of CREW Network’s Leadership Summits and several of us heard her there and thought she was really valuable,” Duty continued.
In fact, Duty “came home with pages and pages of notes and ideas.”
Duty wanted to bring a national speaker to Denver.
That way, local CREW professionals “could benefit from that caliber of speaker without having to get on a plane and fly to a conference.”
Not only does Hutchens give great advice on being a leader, but also, “She’s pretty funny, so it’s fun learning” from her, Duty noted.
Indeed, Hutchens’ bio includes these “completely unnecessary” tidbits about what makes her tick.
- She’s a super cool aunt to three nieces and a nephew. All four are her favorite.
- Makes a mean ginger soufflé. With bourbon whip cream, of course.
- Lived overseas for almost five years (Shanghai and London). No, she does not speak the King’s English, but she can tell you she doesn’t speak Mandarin, in Shanghai-ese.
- Hiked the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, three times.
- Broke her nose boogie-boarding the Bonzai pipeline off the North Shore of Oahu.
- Has a slight obsession with paper products. Ummm … perhaps more than slight.
- Prefers a dinner party of six over just about any social event. Mexican Train anyone?!
- Adores Champagne and pizza because life must simply be celebrated.
- Believes in God … and His (Her?) brilliance.
- And believes in you …a nd no, it’s not schmaltzy. It’s her truth. She cares. You’ll see.
There also will be a number of top local leaders speaking at the half-day CREW event.
Those attending can choose between two concurrent sessions that will provide CLE/CE credits.
One is titled: “Advanced 1031 Exchanges and Trump’s Impact on Economy, Taxes and Real Estate,” led by Tracey Wilson of IPX 1031 Exchange.
The other is “The New Age of Foreclosure.”
That session will be led by Deanne Stodden of Coan, Payton & Payne LLC.
The event also will feature a Powerhouse Leadership panel.
Successful women in Denver commercial real estate will discuss their journeys to success.
Panel members will include:
- Emiolie Baratta of Turnbuckle Development, whose Gleam car wash was recently featured in a Colorado Real Estate Journal column;
- Jennifer Luce of FirstBank;
- Attorney Stina Kayser of Urban Villages Inc. One of Urban Villages’ latest development is the four-story, 10,800-square-foot SugarSquare office building, which will be connected to the historic Sugar Building at 1530 16th St. in downtown Denver.
- Mel Ellsworth of First American Title.
The panel will be moderated by Sara Croot of JPMorgan Chase.
The cost is $125 for CREW Denver members and $185 for non-members. To register for the leadership event, go to CREW Denver.
