Whitney Guison is president and CEO of the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce and advisory board member of the Nixa Community Foundation
Relationships power change, and quality-over-quantity connections can make an even greater difference in communities. Those are fundamentals Whitney Guison reinforces through the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce, where she serves as president and CEO, and as an advisory board member of the Nixa Community Foundation.
“Relationships are everything. I think that’s it,” Guison says. “Business is business, but leadership is relationships. If you’re going to influence somebody else, anyone else, you need to build an authentic relationship with the people that need to make decisions.”
Guison’s role was an unexpected career move in 2023, but it’s one for which she unknowingly prepared. There was college, where she studied communication and conflict resolution, and later when she and her husband opened a chiropractic office in Nixa.
The ins-and-outs of small business provided good experience for her new job. That, and her education, reinforced the need for enduring connections.
“Relationship-building doesn’t always equal friendship-building,” she says. “We don’t have to be best friends with everybody, but we need to be trustworthy enough that people know that if I call them, it’s for something important, and they pick up the phone.”
There are differing viewpoints in most communities, but it’s definitely true in a place like Nixa that has seen significant growth in a relatively short time. That “old way” versus “new us” can bring challenges, but that’s where communication comes back into play, Guison says.
“I think the question becomes, ‘How do we grow well?’ If we can have a good answer to that question, then hopefully the people who want to close the doors will at least allow growth without too much frustration.”
Who inspires you? Send your suggestions of individuals moving the needle in your community to Kaitlyn McConnell, the CFO's writer in residence, at kmcconnell@cfozarks.org.
