A lot of factors go into the ribbon-cutting of a new business: the quality of roads, bridges, broadband and other infrastructure, access to capital, availability of workers, and zoning laws, to name a few.

But economic growth also depends on the quality of local leaders, says the Georgia Electric Membership Corp., which through its community and economic development department has created a training initiative for its 41 member co-ops.

The first graduates of Co-ops Lead—20 employees from 11 co-ops across Georgia—completed the four-month program this spring. The statewide association will offer a second session of the program early next year.

Based in part on research from the University of North Georgia, the goal of Co-ops Lead is to develop “a strong base of collaborative leaders,” an often-overlooked but essential part of the entire economic development process, said Pat Merritt, vice president of community and economic development at Tucker-based Georgia EMC.

“Too often, community leaders invest the most resources in economic development efforts, the minimum amount in community development and the least—or none at all—in leadership development,” Merritt said. “Research shows that when communities intentionally invest in all three areas, they experience vibrant economies and manageable growth more so than those who do not.”

During the program, participants identify personal strengths through a standardized leadership assessment tool, learn best practices for community engagement and planning from Georgia EMC staff and local stakeholders, and develop techniques to market the community for economic growth.

Homework was also assigned. “We had them go home and find out their community’s comprehensive plan and sit down with one of the people responsible for it and say, ‘I’d like to be at the table, and I’d like my members voices’ to be heard,’” said Georgia EMC Community Development Manager Jenny Robbins.

Participants also have ample time for networking, teambuilding and practicing public speaking skills. On graduation day, they use the marketing strategy of “business storytelling” to describe their individual communities.

“The training helped me be better aware of the complete work of our co-op,” said Kelly Jimenez, communications director at Carroll EMC in Carrollton and a recent Co-ops Lead graduate. “It’s not just about my part in the communications department. This training really showed me how key accounts and governmental affairs play a big part in our industry, too.”

And as co-ops struggle with employee retention and recruitment challenges in Georgia and elsewhere, the statewide association also hopes the program will help members fill gaps in professional development as well as highlight the advantages of working at a co-op.

“The hope is this will assist with the retention and recruitment of highly productive co-op employees, ease succession transition and further develop co-ops’ ability to impact the communities they serve positively,” Robbins said.