Leadership Lexington Orientation: A Strong Start for the 2026–27 Class

Photos by Mahan Multimedia

​Some people say cheers to new beginnings, but the Leadership Lexington Class of 2026-2027 paper, rocked, scissored and shot to new connections, new friendships, and new perspectives on what it is to lead and lead well for the orientation weekend. From the moment that each of us walked into the door, there were instant connections being made; and while many connections were formed organically, so much was orchestrated to make this space feel welcome and inviting. Tyra Harbut, the Director of Leadership Development for Commerce Lexington set the tone of the orientation, with a warm invitation and the reminder that the program that we were committing to, would only be as good as we made it. 

​Like many gatherings where new people are introduced, there were a series of ice breakers that many of us anticipated being cookie cutter ways to get us connected. However, Virgil Grant, LifePlan and StratOp Guide with the Patterson Center had other plans. Virgil Grant was a mastermind in making seemingly mundane things be transformative. Our first experience was with the age old paper, rock, scissors, but led to us cheering on each other as we progressed through the game. From there, we attempted to organize ourselves, silently, according to our birthdays in 90 seconds. Though we never stated this explicitly, one thing that I believe we were learning to do, from the very beginning, was to look each other in the eyes, rely on body language, and attempt to communicate beyond words. 

​Though we were hopeful, by the time we got to the second person, we had already failed the challenge. And while we noticed very early on that we were a competitive group, even in that moment, we showed grace and chose laughter. Already, we were learning that leadership sometimes looks like failure, but if we learned and grew together, then that is not failure at all. There were a couple of other icebreaker activities, but one moment outside really started us to think deeper about our time together. 

​After sweating, and maybe swearing too in a game with lines and volleyballs, we gathered around a tarp that had three circles etched into it, each one larger than the other. In the middle, there was the smallest circle with the words“comfort zone,” the middle circle read “stretch zone,” and the last circle was the “danger zone.” From the very beginning, Virgil and the leaders of Commerce Lexington made it clear that the goal was to move us out of our comfort zone and stretch us to new heights, new ways of thinking, and better ways at connecting. The objective of the program is to introduce us to new things, but it is never to put us in situations that we felt could compromise our integrity or cross boundaries. Just when we thought we had gotten introspective, it got deeper. We evaluated our hearts posture towards our work and how we lead. Virgil shared with us how soft hearts, that chooses joy over judgement, grace over guilt, obedience over obsession is a heart that is postured to be in alignment with our purpose. He also shared with us the danger of having cynical and calloused hearts, that prohibit us from leading ourselves and others effectively. 

​One of the most interesting pivots we had during the weekend, came with discussions about riding with potential criminals, putting out fires, and touring jails. We were honored to have visits from Jacqueline Newman, the Assistant Chief for the Lexington Police Department, Seth Lockard the Captain of the Lexington Fire Department, and Major Matthew LeMonds and Captain Scott Frans from the Division of Community Corrections. Each division shared how they work diligently to keep Lexington safe, and desire to lead transparently. Through a partnership with Leadership Lexington, we are offered the opportunity to do a ride along with the police and fire department, and or tour the local jail. One consistent sentiment with all departments was that they want us as citizens to see what our tax dollars go to, but more than that, they want us to see how they serve and love their communities. 

​We transitioned into group work, where we were tasked with coming up with a cost effective way to transport fragile flooring, and appealing like the better company against our competitors. The objective was to secure the flooring for transportation, while also coming up with a jingle to market our product. In each group, different leadership strategies were exemplified naturally. Group members quickly stepped up to the different tasks based on their skills, something that we did not even realize until the next day upon reflection. The “floors,” which were really eggs, were secured through creatively engineering very few materials to cushion the egg, and hope that it would sustain little to no cracks from an eight feet drop. Most groups met this objective with enthusiasm, especially with the winning team who came up with their jingle to Queen’s legendary song, “We will Rock You.” We ended the day with classmates sharing their project pitches. There were eleven brilliant pitches that ranged from making parks more accessible to children with disabilities, to making Lexington a foodie city, to curating an under forty celebratory list, to creating book nooks and art carts in community centers. One thread remained consistent in each pitch: each pitch was designed to make Lexington a better place through service and creativity. 

Our time concluded the next day, but not without a deep dive into a DiSC assessment that shared with us the power of our leadership styles. This was done by Leadership Lexington alum and powerhouses: Megan Holley-Slaughter, Owner and President of Sutherland & Associates, and Devonna Saier, Lead Associate of Sutherland & Associates and Owner of Davonna Inc. We got a glimpse into our personal leadership styles that ranged from Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It was through this assessment that we not only got a chance to reflect on ourselves and how we show up in workplace environments, but we were also able to start seeing how our classmates operated when we did our floor/egg activity. This experience allowed us an opportunity to see how we can coexist with other leadership styles, where conflict may arise and how we can work through them. 

​There are no words that could adequately sum up our initial time together, but some reflections that were shared expressed gratitude in learning things about themselves, remembering the value of being in shared spaces with new people, and recognizing that leadership is meant to be shared and stretched. It was hard to believe that so much was packed into a thirty hour orientation, but one thing is for sure: it will lead us to a lifetime of memories. The best class of Leadership Lexington, the class of 2026-2027 is ready to get started. 

By Krissalyn Love, Transylvania University | Leadership Lexington 2026–27 Class Member