Emerging Leader Spotlight

Name: David Qualls

Title: Regional Sales Manager – The Parr Company

How do you define leadership? 

Serving, listening and learning. Doing these things help me be the best leader I can be. As a leader, I need to understand my people to help them find answers to their problems. Leadership is also bringing people together and maximizing everyone’s potential to accomplish a common goal. A leader creates a good working environment for his or her team with inclusivity and a place for people to feel secure.  

What accomplishment you are most proud of in the last 12 months? What obstacles did you have to overcome?

Two things I would point out. I have been building a solid team of professionals. I had a 30-year tenured employee retire in February and he has big shoes to fill as well as some additional positions I have added to help provide the high level of service our customers deserve. The other thing is the resilience my team has shown as we have had to waver the supply constraint storm the building industry has experienced.  

What has you most excited about Salem right now? Why?

I am most excited about the large amount of younger professionals engaging in the city. It’s exciting to see the next wave of leadership building. From the young professionals participating in the speaker forum series to Leadership Salem, and Jacob joining the chamber. Exciting things are happening.  

What is one item under $50 you feel every Emerging Leader in Salem should own? Why?

Panda Planner. Made by RocketBook. Great tool with an erasable pen and a little technology to email yourself notes and planner pages. Or for the more traditional the high impact planner by Brenden Burchard.