Discovering Strengths Through the Grimes Leadership Academy

As a Grimes resident for more than 20 years, Erin Huiatt is passionate about the community's businesses, local government and residents. When she had the opportunity to join the Grimes Leadership Academy’s second class, she didn’t hesitate to apply. Having helped launch the Academy's first class, Erin expected to gain new insights about both her own leadership style and the Grimes community, which is part of the Greater Des Moines region. 

One day a month from September through May, participants gather for a range of leadership-focused experiences. Whether it’s a ropes course to break the ice and encourage team bonding or lessons on civic engagement and volunteerism, the courses in the academy provide a mix of learning opportunities.  

To put their skills into practice, participants complete a group project that benefits the community. "Part of our group project is we have to pick a project that betters the community and we picked doing an outdoor pergola for the Grimes Public Library,” Erin shared. This group project is all hands on deck from the ground up, giving participants the chance to enhance their fundraising, marketing and project management skills.  

Participants not only learn these skills, but also learn more about themselves through the enneagram, a personality test that categorizes individuals into nine types based on motivations, fears and desires. The use of this tool proved to be critical for evaluating individual’s strengths, enhancing self-awareness, communication and teamwork. “As a team, we all knew each other's Enneagram and so it was kind of nice when we would get together because we did a project together,” Erin explained. “We kind of knew who was really good at marketing or communicating or problem solving among all of us." 

As a local entrepreneur, Erin found the experience to be valuable with the biggest takeaways being improved understanding of communication, improved self-awareness from the enneagram and networking opportunities. “I connected with some people I already knew and some new people as well,” Erin said. “I was able to learn about what people do and make some great connections.”  

Looking back at the experience, Erin found that learning about individual strengths was one of the most impactful lessons of the academy. “I think the biggest takeaway was learning a lot about my enneagram type and how to work with others with that... it was really cool to dig deeper,” Erin shared.  

Apply Today

The Grimes Leadership Academy applications are now open for the 2026/2027 class with a submission deadline of June 15.  

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