After the LEAD Academy’s successful pilot year, the NCBC LEAD Academy Subcommittee was eager to build upon that success to bring the LEAD Academy experience to another group of aspiring leaders. The Subcommittee followed the general outline of last year’s LEAD Academy Pilot Program, with two important changes: each participant must be nominated by the Court Unit Executive, and only one participant per court would be allowed. Plans for a full-day workshop to be held with the NCBC Annual Conference in Anaheim were well underway when – stuff happened.
The loss of the live event disappointed all who had planned the event and all who had expected to attend. However, the Subcommittee swiftly pivoted to converting the workshop to a remote learning platform. The program had a solid grounding in remote learning since all work between the participants and their mentors was done remotely. That still left many complex questions to be worked out, especially the choice of learning platforms. At the end, the Subcommittee decided to quickly learn and utilize the Zoom platform to deliver the workshop virtually. The planned day-long workshop was split into six sessions over five days, and our experienced presenters deftly adapted to the new medium. Twenty-seven participants from courts around the country participated.
Sandy Smith, recently retired (CAEB), guided the planning process for the workshop. The LEAD Academy Faculty and their topics for the workshop included:
• Barry Lander, recently retired (CASB), on building influence and leadership skills;
• Beverly Griffeth-Bryant, (ILNB) on leading with your strengths and working together; and
• Gina Zadra Walton, (WAWB) on encouraging the heart and building trust.
Leadership, like any other skill, develops with individual self-reflection, guided development, and follow-up opportunities. Participants are now in the process of competing an individual action plan for further leadership development, and will continue their work with mentors, court supervisors, and their peers. The LEAD Academy--working over an unfamiliar platform, and absent the networking and interpersonal mingling that comes with a live event--was by all accounts, a great success. Participants saw a seamless workshop where the emphasis was on content and learning. Faculty saw a highly engaged group who were ready to hone their leadership skills. Kudos!
Kudos as well to the members of the Subcommittee who served as hosts for the workshop:
• Megan Moore (CASB)
• Kathy Noel (CASB)
• Woody Parks (MNB)
• Melody Siefert (NMB)
• Jamie Smith (MNB)
• Sandy Smith, retired (CAEB)
• Jan Zari (CACB)
It is too soon to assess the full impact of this year’s LEAD Academy, but it is clear from early feedback that the mentoring and the workshop made a positive difference in the careers of each participant!
The loss of the live event disappointed all who had planned the event and all who had expected to attend. However, the Subcommittee swiftly pivoted to converting the workshop to a remote learning platform. The program had a solid grounding in remote learning since all work between the participants and their mentors was done remotely. That still left many complex questions to be worked out, especially the choice of learning platforms. At the end, the Subcommittee decided to quickly learn and utilize the Zoom platform to deliver the workshop virtually. The planned day-long workshop was split into six sessions over five days, and our experienced presenters deftly adapted to the new medium. Twenty-seven participants from courts around the country participated.
Sandy Smith, recently retired (CAEB), guided the planning process for the workshop. The LEAD Academy Faculty and their topics for the workshop included:
• Barry Lander, recently retired (CASB), on building influence and leadership skills;
• Beverly Griffeth-Bryant, (ILNB) on leading with your strengths and working together; and
• Gina Zadra Walton, (WAWB) on encouraging the heart and building trust.
Leadership, like any other skill, develops with individual self-reflection, guided development, and follow-up opportunities. Participants are now in the process of competing an individual action plan for further leadership development, and will continue their work with mentors, court supervisors, and their peers. The LEAD Academy--working over an unfamiliar platform, and absent the networking and interpersonal mingling that comes with a live event--was by all accounts, a great success. Participants saw a seamless workshop where the emphasis was on content and learning. Faculty saw a highly engaged group who were ready to hone their leadership skills. Kudos!
Kudos as well to the members of the Subcommittee who served as hosts for the workshop:
• Megan Moore (CASB)
• Kathy Noel (CASB)
• Woody Parks (MNB)
• Melody Siefert (NMB)
• Jamie Smith (MNB)
• Sandy Smith, retired (CAEB)
• Jan Zari (CACB)
It is too soon to assess the full impact of this year’s LEAD Academy, but it is clear from early feedback that the mentoring and the workshop made a positive difference in the careers of each participant!