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Published 1/30/2010 in Business
Two Garden City Community College employees recently completed a year-long leadership program at the Chair Academy, a division of the Maricopa Community College District in Mesa, Ariz.
Jean Warta, director of the Business and Industry Institute and Lachele Greathouse, business instructor, graduated from the Academy for Leadership and Development as members of a 56-participant class from throughout the US and Canada. The program was led by three facilitators who are recognized as authorities in education and leadership.
The Academy included an initial week of on-site training in Battle Creek, Mich.; a 12-month practicum experience involving implementation of an individual professional development plan, focusing on the application of skills learned during training; a mentor and coaching program; and a final week of on-site training in Chicago, consisting of additional leadership issues.
Some of the topics Greathouse and Warta studied included the complex role of the organizational leader, work behavioral styles, building effective work teams, strategic planning and scenario thinking, managing conflict productively and facilitating, integrating and celebrating strengths. They also explored dimensions of leadership, leading and managing change, the role of leader as manager, valuing diversity and cultural competence, hiring and orienting for excellence, coaching, developing and managing talent and leading part-time staff.
During the first week-long seminar, the initial focus was on different leadership styles and identifying one's own strengths in organization, work and leadership. Each participant designed six individual work plans specific to their career position. According to Warta, each attendee was assigned to one of the three leaders, who then tracked their progress on the work plans throughout the program. In addition, each attendee chose a mentor from his or her network of career colleagues to act as an advisor or work coach.
Both Warta and Greathouse, who graduated Oct. 9, said they found the handbooks and tools for professional growth extremely valuable.
Participants in the leadership program were nominated and selected by their individual colleges.
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