Leadership Series with Madison College

In a collaborative effort with the DeForest Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce, we are once again excited to offer an exceptional educational opportunity for you to explore and expand upon your leadership skills and network with fellow members from our Chamber and in our communities.  Our partners at Madison College have worked to create a short and impactful Leadership Development Series, highlighting the latest skills and behaviors associated with some of the most common leadership practices and competencies integral to the success of any business and organization. 

• Here’s how it works: presented in a hybrid learning format, participants will be exposed to some of the latest practices around several key foundational leadership competencies. Delivered first in a virtual online asynchronous learning module, members will then be invited to share in a facilitated on-line LIVE coaching session with their peers, led by the leadership development instructional team from Madison College.  The free-flowing narrative will leverage the material from the online module, and incorporate the working knowledge, experiences, and insight of experienced leaders and practitioners. We’ll dive into the most effective actions and thought processes of great leadership; how to handle conflicts & difficult situations within the workplace; explore what effective communication strategies and practices look & sound like; address the transition from individual contributor to leader; and examine how we manage every-day stress, all thru interactive sharing and scenario-based situational leadership coaching. 

• You may sign up for one, two or all four modules, whatever works into your schedule.  Topics will be made available the week before, starting with the release of the online learning modules.  Links to the online modules and coaching sessions will be sent to paid participants a few days before the beginning of the series. Take a look at the schedule to see what works for you:

Innovation/Creativity & Critical Thinking – Decision-making: What does it take to expand ones’ perspective, consider another way of doing things, and taking an idea to the ‘next level?’ Consider taking a broader approach to how you think, process, consider, and then act upon an idea, situation, or concept. Your logical approach, or lack thereof, can make a difference in outcomes and ramifications of decisions made. Think about how you get from point “A” to point “B” most effectively, with the least amount of resistance. Plan to explore what course we take in coming to conclusions for ‘the best course of action’ using creative critical thinking skills.

Managing Conflict & Crucial Conversations: Amidst both positive and challenging relationships – personal and professional – we encounter a variety of controversies in our lives that need a rational approach to mitigate and manage to a positive outcome. Understanding that conflict can be both a good and not-so-good thing, it is inevitable. Let’s talk to preparing ones’ self for conversations that have energy, and highly-charged impacts; what is the true basis for our differences of opinion; and what can we do to make conflict result in a respectful engagement of like and dislike ideas.

Managing Change: As a given in our lives, change is all around us. The ability to proactively prepare for and/or effectively react to a modification in “what is” allows for a cohesive transition of our behavior and understanding as a situation warrants. Awareness, assimilation, and advocacy leads to acceptance. Many organizations have great ideas and intentions, but often struggle in executing a movement towards something new. Consider the motivation behind formal change processes and resources while further examining your role in the changes affecting your life.

Managing Across the Generations: Key to a productive, respectful, and cohesive workforce is the ability to recognize the values and needs of the various generations present within the workforce. Understanding how each communicates, learns, values, and leverages technology dictates how an organization must position its’ vision, values, and business strategy to achieve buy-in and support for the greater mission. Learn more about your peers of all ages and up-bringing, and consider the influences of world and domestic dynamics and movements in what each values and how we can work together with respect to influences and aging across centuries.