Recently in Leadership Category

This weekend I saw the Genghis Khan exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Most of us think of Genghis Khan as a major brute. Yes, that's true, but he also had some great leadership skills and was open to learning new things. He promoted people based on their ability, had an extensive army-which helped create one of the largest empires, allowed people to practice any religion, allowed various cultures to flourish, created cities for the non-nomads, and loved new inventions. He is still revered in Mongolia today as a leader.

Most of us will not become statesmen or military commanders-but a lot of us are looking on how to improve ourselves and the lives of people around us. Leadership is a 'soft' skill and doesn't always receive the kudos it should, because the ROI is much more difficult to track.

In the workplace, if you have great leaders, you will then most likely have a team stay with you especially when our economy recovers. That impacts your bottom line because you are not spending thousands of dollars replacing and training new employees. If the leaders can help create a positive environment when times aren't so good-imagine what will happen in the future. So if you are a manager, encourage your key employees to be involved in the community and life-long education.

If you want to see what our department offers, please check out our website and we can help you discover the leader within. Our next leadership class, Peak Performance Leadership, starts on January 22.

Executive Education Classes.

I recently sat down one of our past Peak Performance Leadership participants, Mario Vidalon. Mario is the director of the University of Colorado's Center for Advanced Engineering and Technology Education (CAETE). However a mouthful, CAETE is one of Boulder's most impressive Centers for Excellence, offering numerous masters degrees to students in every corner of the globe. Currently, Mario and his team are using digital technology to educate US soldiers in Iraq and oil workers in Venezuela (among others).

Mario has held an executive leadership position for over 15 years, which begs the question: Why was he compelled to take our PPL course? According to Mario, he's "constantly looking for new learning opportunities and self-renewal."  Jim LoPresti, professor of Peak Performance, provided just that - a chance for participants to critically look at their leadership style, the role of servant leadership in everyday life, as well as general self-awareness. Mario pointed out that Jim was a "great presenter, but an even better listener, which to [Mario] is half the battle."

 

 

Peak Performance Leadership is one of our most sought-after courses, aimed toward mid- to senior-level managers who want to develop an authentic, strengths-based management philosophy. Our next session of PPL is coming up in January '10; for more information visit our website, or shoot us an e-mail.

Ronda Phillips, Managing Partner of Client services for S3 Talent Management, describes how the class will help you transition into a successful manager and leader.

Successful leaders today understand how to select, hire, engage and retain top talent. Leaders know that the higher they rise in organizations, the more dependent they are on others for their success. Therefore, ensuring they have the best direct report teams possible is a critical enabler for attaining key results. Leaders must know how to recognize and attract talent and be confident in their ability to assess against both functional/technical skills and cultural fit. They must understand how to drive the highest levels of performance from their talent, using research-based approaches to ensure engagement and commitment and keep top performers retained in the organization.

Learn More: http://bit.ly/K4Hdq

It's that time of year where we are accepting nominations for the next 50 for Colorado class. The 50 for Colorado leadership program has been around since 1985 and has 1,000 alumni.  Each year participants from a variety of industries (non-profit, consulting, government, legal, education, finance, marketing, etc.) learn about key sectors that are important to Colorado's economy. 

The class will meet January 15, February 5, March 4-5, April 9, May 7, June 11-12, July 9, September 10-11, October 8, and November 5.  Sessions include government & politics, military & defense, sports & recreation, mining, energy, entrepreneurship, agriculture, research science, and arts & entertainment. 

To nominate someone, please visit our website at http://Leeds.colorado.edu/50forCO and look under the getting started section.  You can also send a nomination into our ExecEd@colorado.edu.  Please include the following information: 

·         Name of nominee

·         Company of nominee & Position

·         Address of nominee

·         E-mail and telephone number of nominee

·         Nominator's name

·         How you are acquainted with the nominee

-Heather

This Saturday is our second annual 50 for Colorado Bash.  We started the Bash last year as a fundraiser for our scholarship recipients and encourage class years to get to know each other better.  We have some amazing auction items including dinner with Red Miller (Former Denver Broncos' head coach), gallery rentals, Super Bowl XXXIII team signed football, amazing spa package in Pagosa Springs, lots of overnight hotel stays, and much more.  Our interns really helped out with procuring items this year.  They are rock stars!

Speaking of rock stars...each year all of us in Exec Ed can't wait to get to know our alumni at various events and also get ready for next year's class.  At this year's Bash we have alumni that are from class of 1988 to class of 2009.  The 50 program started in 1985 and we have about 1,000 alumni.  It's an amazing network of people that work in non-profit, financial, government, legal, arts, consulting, and marketing. 

Besides preparing for our event this weekend, we are also encouraging all our alumni to nominate someone that they think would be a great fit for the 2010 class.  Please visit http://leeds.colorado.edu/50forCO to see our upcoming sessions and nominate your colleagues on-line.  Nominations are due October 9. 

 

-Heather Owens, Program Coordinator

In the short video, instructor and Leeds faculty member Cathleen Burns shares success stories and the compelling reasons to take the class and grow your career.

This course is particularly useful for managers and executives who need to read and interpret corporate financial statements, and who would like to learn more about how their decisions affect the "bottom line." 

Learn More and Sign Up >

"This program is an excellent introduction to business finance and accounting and makes you want to learn more."
  --Rick Wietharn, March 2008
     Director of Engineering, White Wave Foods

I can't believe it is already August.  It was just last month that Heidi Ganahl, Founder & CEO of Camp Bow Wow came in and spoke to the 50 for Colorado leadership group.  The day's focus was on Entrepreneurship. 

 

Heidi opened the first Camp Bow Wow in 2000 in Denver and began franchising it in 2003 (over 200 franchises to date in the US and Canada).  Heidi is an amazing speaker and is a great supporter of CU-Boulder.  To put it in perspective of how much she supports us...she spoke to our group while she was just shy of 9 months pregnant. 

 

If you haven't heard Heidi speak, I strongly encourage you to do so.  She will be the keynote speaker at the Denver Business Journal's event "Outstanding Women in Business-2009" on August 27.  I hope to see you there.

 

Also during our Entrepreneurship Day, Marley Hodgson of Mad Greens (great paninis & salads- Don Quixote is my favorite) spoke about Building an Honest Business and utilizing locally-owned businesses as much as possible.  John Georgis of Banjo Billy (not your average bus tour-yee haw!) spoke about how he was in the right place at the right time.  Lynn Price, founder of Camp to Belong, talked about her personal story of not knowing her sibling growing up and founded an organization for people who are in a similar situation.  The common theme was how they all started their own businesses and the obstacles they overcame.  All are fabulous speakers. 

 

Later that day seven participants of the 50 program were on a panel discussion and talked about the positives and negatives of having your own business.  Industries included financial, insurance, consulting, accounting, human resources, promotional advertising, and auction/public relation services.  The panel was moderated by a 50 participant who works at the Small Business Development Center. 

 

Additional speakers for the Entrepreneurship session included Paul Jerde of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, Greg Berry of Nuance Intelligence, and Courtney Price of VentureQuest.  It was an enlightening day and gave a lot of people food for thought of what kind of business they would create. 

 

So...what kind of business would you start up? 

 

 

-- Heather Owens, Program Coordinator

When it comes to capital investment and other purchasing assessments, businesses are highly adept at measuring ROI down to the last cent. These calculations serve as a reliable rationale for most business decisions, but there is at least one investment area in which ROI has yet to prove its worth as a benchmark.

Let's say you're a senior HR executive of a large corporation, and the deadline on a major decision is quickly approaching. You have to decide whether or not to send a group of mid-level managers to a leadership development course. The cost is a couple thousand dollars per manager, and it's up to you to quantify the potential return on your investment. Where to start?

My point is this: Although there are several proposed metrics for the organizational impact of leadership development on managers, it's hard, if not impossible, to forecast the exact financial return from something such as leadership development. According to BNET, corporations spend an average of 36 percent of revenue on human capital expenses, but only 16 percent say they have more than a moderate understanding of the return on human capital investment. There is no longstanding theory regarding the ROI of leadership development, employers clearly see an immense benefit from investing in their mid and senior-level managers. Great leaders not only generate higher net income and increase morale, but they also have an innate ability to identify and exploit the potential of their employees.

So when firms get the chance to send their promising managers to a course aimed at raising self awareness, building relationships, and increasing communication skills, among other things, it almost seems like a no-brainer.

Can you put a price on true leadership?

-Sam Battan, Business Intern, Executive Education Team

I think we can all agree that leadership in the last few years has been redefined by leaders and their followers as a result of a host of unprecedented events. Between the current global economic recession and the election of the US's first African-American president, I have seen and heard comments about leadership go from dismal cynicism to joyful hope. In my many conversations with executives from a whole range of industries, at least I have found agreement among all of them on how leadership should be approached. They all tell me it is about relationships. Initiating, growing, and sustaining those relationships. And the most important relationship they all agree on is the relationship that the leader has first and foremeost with him/herself. Leadership begins with self-awareness...emotional intelligence, a clear understanding and commitment to one's values, beliefs,and morals. It is about being willing and able to follow, first, what you know to be ethically and morally right!

Once a man or woman knows for certain what he or she stands for and will not compromise no matter what the short or long term consequences, then he or she is ready to lead.
What I focus on in my seminars is application of real life scenarios to determine some re-acquaintance with one's values and leadership style. I introduce a variety of points-of-view to challenge participants to adopt a more open and tolerant perspective on themselves and those that follow them. We actively role play those scenarios, discuss their results, and share new ideas and creative alternatives.

In the end, "leader" is just another title, another role one plays. Behind that title, that role, there should be an emotionally and intellectually mature human being. That's where we start...assessing our strengths and challenges and defining a more responsible and integral relationship with ourselves. We will learn from those who have failed and from those who have succeeded as leaders. In the end, I hope that my participants can see themselves and those around them through a much bigger and clearer lens...It all goes back to perspective.

To learn more about my 4-day intensive leadership course, head towards the Peak Performance Leadership website or E-mail CU's Exec Ed staff. I also invite you to leave a comment with any personal experience regarding leadership!