JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The State of Missouri hosted its fifth annual Show Me Excellence Summit on Tuesday, October 3. The annual Summit is planned by a team of Operational Excellence Leaders and volunteers that coordinate the State of Missouri’s efforts to improve how team members work together to deliver great service for the citizens of the state.
Themed, “Road to Excellence” the Show Me Excellence Summit brought together team members from the State’s 17 executive departments, private-sector partners, and state government continuous improvement experts from across the nation. Over 1,700 State of Missouri team members attended - ranging from cabinet leaders to frontline employees as well as attendees from multiple states.
The Summit agenda included keynote addresses from Rich Diviney on identifying and defining key “Attributes for success” and Dr. Kate Price who spoked about the essential elements of culture, why people resist or engage with change, and how to become a leader who inspires transformation and development as we work on “Taming the Culture Tiger.”
The Summit is the highlight of Show Me Excellence Month, which takes place throughout October. In September, Governor Parson proclaimed October 2023 as Show Me Excellence Month and several training offerings have been made available for state team members to continually improve government for the customers they serve.
“Our administration is committed to improving state services for Missouri citizens, and that is why our Show Me Excellence program is so important. It is about making common-sense changes to improve how we serve our citizens every day,” said Gov. Mike Parson. “As public servants, it is our responsibility to provide reliable and responsive service to the people of Missouri.”
“The Show Me Excellence Summit has become another set of tools our state team members can utilize to improve in their professional development and share best practices and efficiencies with leaders throughout our state,” said Office of Administration Commissioner Ken Zellers. “Operational excellence is more than just meeting the expectations we set for our state, but exceeding them. It is to ensure that our customers remain at the heart of everything we do. By investing in our team members, we can work together to move Missouri forward.”
“Each year the Show Me Excellence Summit provides an opportunity for us to engage with our team members as we work together to grow in our professional development,” said State of Missouri Director of Operational Excellence Rebecca Moyers. “Promoting a culture of excellence is more than just improving our processes; it's about our people. Through collaboration, we create an efficient and purpose-driven environment to empower our workforce. This fosters a culture where team members feel valued, leading to higher engagement and productivity to better serve our customers.”
Experts from state government led breakout and skill-building sessions. Topics ranged from critical thinking, setting the stage for change, communicating through change, inspiring people through change, voice of the customer, data driven decisions, successful onboarding, and thriving over surviving.
The Summit concluded with a fireside chat with Missouri Leadership Academy Director, Aaron Dimmock, who offered time for reflection on what participants have learned and using those newly developed skills as they commit to moving themselves forward.
To learn more about the 2023 Summit, Show Me Excellence, Operational Excellence and more, visit the website: http://showmeexcellence.mo.gov/.