2003: Sig Hutchinson #LT30for30
Since 1992, Leadership Triangle has been a convener, educator, advocate, and amplifier for some of our region's most engaged leaders and organizations. To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we're telling the stories of 30 Fellows from 30 years of programs. Each Fellow highlighted will represent one year of impact: from 1992 to 2001 to 2022.
Sig Hutchinson has been on the front lines of making communities healthy and livable for over a decade. Starting his career in communications with the Dale Carnegie organization, Sig became a senior instructor for the Dale Carnegie Sales Course for more than eight years before forming his own company concentrating on sales consulting, presentation, and communications skills training. Later, Sig used his powers of communication and public speaking to transform the region by leading eight referendums in Wake County and the City of Raleigh for open space preservation, parks, greenways, transportation, transit, and affordable housing, where he continues to be active in the region. More recently, Sig ran for and was elected to the Wake County Commission in 2014 and now serves as Chair. Sig is a 2003 Leadership Triangle Goodmon Fellow.
I looked out from the parking lot at this beautiful place. And I said to myself, “This is where I wanna live. This is where I wanna bring and raise my family. And this is where I wanna make a difference right here in the county.”
Owen Jordan: Thank you so much for joining us, Chair Hutchinson. What is your story?
Sig Hutchinson: I was born in west Texas — Lubbock, Texas, and after squeezing five years into a four-year degree at Texas Tech University, the one thing I learned was I was getting the hell out of Texas <laugh>.
Sig Hutchinson: So I headed east to Columbia, South Carolina, picked up a master's, and then worked at a community college similar to Wake Tech. Then in 1984, I ended up here in wake county. And the moment I drove into Raleigh for an interview with a software company and checked into the Howard Johnsons (an old hotel that no longer exists on Capital Blvd and 440), I looked out from the parking lot at this beautiful place. And I said to myself, "This is where I wanna live. This is where I wanna bring and raise my family. And this is where I wanna make a difference right here in the county." So, that started a journey over the next 25 years that led me through various career opportunities, but I also started, took, and led the Dale Carnegie course. The course helped me not only speak publicly but also express my talents and understand the power of human relations and relationship building and communications. That has led me on a journey of building relationships and having the vision of my original quest, which was to make wake county better. And which ultimately has led me to where I am today.
Owen Jordan: Excellent. What brought you to Leadership Triangle back in 2003?
Sig Hutchinson: Well, several things. One was that Jim Goodmon and his family largely sponsored it. And I knew I wanted to be involved in anything Jim Goodmon was engaged in. You can't get a better family and pedigree to push something forward. And then Winkie was the Executive Director, and I knew her, but I also wanted to get involved in a leadership course, and I hadn't been in one yet. And Leadership Triangle had a particular component of a regional focus, and people underplayed the significance of thinking and acting as a region. And because we tend to be more parochial in our thoughts and actions of working around our neighborhood, when in fact, to be successful in the world, you have to think as a region. And to think and act as a region, you must get to know regional leaders and issues and build regional relationships. So those are the things that I think stand out about Leadership Triangle, which is unique to it that the other leadership organizations don't have.
Owen Jordan: What was your experience during your time with Leadership Triangle?
Sig Hutchinson: Well, I would offer three things. The first I've mentioned is the regional context and focus of Leadership Triangle, which can't be overstated. But, the second thing is the opportunity to move around the Triangle and see some of the things you would never have the chance to see that are heavy and genuinely impact people's lives significantly. An organization I learned about through Leadership Triangle is Healing Transitions in Raleigh. They do incredible work with drug and alcohol and homeless people in a transformational way, and they have a 60% sobriety rate which is just unheard of in a two-year program. When you see the work they do at Healing Transitions; you don't come back the same. And you'd never have that opportunity to see human transitions, hear their stories, and see both the men's and women's facilities unless you did something such as a Leadership Triangle program. The opportunity to visit Healing Transitions alone is worth the price of admission. In addition to that, the rest of the course is to be able to experience what's happening in the Triangle.
Sig Hutchinson: The most important thing from Leadership Triangle and the Goodmon Fellowship is the relationships you build. Because if you're going truly do something impactful, it's all about relationships. And you've got to know people before you need something from them, or as it's often been said — you have to dig the well before you are thirsty. And these relationships that you build here will pave the way for your ability to do things that you want to do in the future.
Owen Jordan: What does leadership look like in your role as a Chair of the Wake County Commission
Sig Hutchinson: Leadership as an elected official is more difficult than I thought. And probably one of the more challenging jobs that I've ever done, if not the most challenging. But it's just like everything else — it's about relationships. Because that's ultimately how you get things done by building relationships, building trust, learning how to communicate, and learning the secrets of human relations skills, but I've been blessed with this opportunity now as Chair of the County Commission — I never thought I would be in this role! Titles are given, and respect is earned. And whereas many people have the title of Chair, it's about what you do with that fantastic opportunity of power that ultimately moves a county forward. So I feel like, through my Carnegie experience and 69 years of age and relationships through Leadership Triangle, I positioned myself to be able to leverage the power and make an impact. And one of my gifts is the gift of vision and seeing positive ways to move our region forward.
