Leadership Institute

The Leadership Institute is a series of short, sequenced sessions focused on developing the supervisors and managers within Business Operations. The content of the program will provide participants with insight and skills in the areas of leadership, team building, problem solving, decision making, collaboration, coaching, and delegating.

The program lasts six semesters or two years and is designed to accommodate a maximum of 130 people. One class attends in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Three sessions are scheduled for each semester, and each session lasts three hours. Each session, including the speaker series, is recorded so that participants might review topics of particular interest online at their convenience.

A lunchtime speaker series is organized as a joint activity for both classes. Speakers have included John Affleck-Graves, Joe Kernan, Phil Neubold, Father Malloy, John Sejdinaj, and Kevin Cannon.

A small amount of work is required with each session and varies depending upon the session topic. Examples include articles to read, a survey to take, or an exercise to complete. Tests, however, are not given after each session. Rather, each participant completes an evaluation of the session and a Personal Commitment Form. This form captures two key learnings from the session and specific opportunities to incorporate the learnings into their daily work life.

At the conclusion of the program, each participant who attends all the sessions earns a certificate from the Business Operations Leadership Institute. The certificate is awarded at a formal ceremony and presented by the vice president of business operations. The program fulfills continuing education credits for professional memberships.

The results of the ND Voice survey have been reviewed with the program instructors for discussion in appropriate sessions. The creation of this program attempts to address the specific ND Voice concerns of a deficiency in staff development opportunities and a lack of performance incentives other than pay.

The success of the program has been seen in the leadership skills of supervisors and managers throughout the division.