JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Todd Simmons, a former command chief master sergeant and the founder of the Courageous Leadership Alliance, hosted a two-day leadership workshop, Jan. 10 - 11, 2023 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The workshop educated members of the generations that span today's workshop and how they respond to their respective work environments.
"Our foundation is building courageous culture," said Simmons. "Creating organizations where people want to show up, and talking about all the things that are necessary to create a workshop for the future. A lot of our research is in empathy, empathetic leadership, building psychologically safe organizations ... and it contributes to a multi-generational workforce."
Simmons retired in 2019 as a command chief master sergeant at the Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He taught college for 17 years while on active duty, and at different university at night. He said he has always had a love of educational development.
Simmons said he believes in providing his audience knowledge through various learning models, hosting group activities and giving opportunities to reflect individually with facts and data.
"We're teaching all the tiers. The Airmen, the non-commissioned officers, senior NCOs, then the commanders and senior enlisted leaders," Simmons added. "For about five hours, we're going to do one of our specialized courses for building empathetic leadership. We're going to have 30 people going through the level-one course, which is going to create an environment where people feel self-worth in an organization where it's safe to come to work."
Simmons explained that being out of the armed forces and coming back to the Department of Defense helps him feel better better-equipped to give the best opportunity for any organization to perform at its best.