Download leadership seminar progress report

Leadership Seminar Progress Report
Development of the leadership seminars for supervisors and first-line managers is progressing
on schedule. One seminar will be conducted at each of the four Indiana plant sites. The primary objective of the seminars is to have the participants understand the following points:
The importance of having leaders at all levels of the corporation.
The definition of leadership.
How leadership traits are developed for use within the corporation and the community.
That various styles of leadership exist and that there is no one best leadership style.
Seminar Presenter
Three staff members observed training sessions conducted by five professional training and
development companies before selecting the firm to conduct these leadership seminars.
Derme & Associates, Inc., a local consulting firm specializing in career enhancement seminars,
has been selected to develop and conduct the four seminars.
One reason for selecting Derme & Associates is that they will develop the content of the seminars around Odgers and Keeling's definition of leadership, which we want to emphasize with
employees.
Seminar Development
We have had two meetings with partners of Derme & Associates since the signing of the
agreement two weeks ago.
The first meeting was held so that we could learn about the content of leadership seminars that
Derme & Associates, Inc., has presented for other clients.
The specific content of the four seminars was identified at the second meeting. Also, we decided to use the prepared content for each seminar except for the changes we suggest. These
suggestions will be based on the feedback we get from the participants at the end of each
seminar.
Seminar Dates
The first seminar will be on October 15 at the Logansport Plant; the second will be at the
Muncie Plant on October 22; the third meets at the Fort Wayne Plant on October 29; and the
fourth will be at the Evansville Plant on November 5. The 85 employees who are to attend will
be notified of the dates and times by the end of this week. Instructions will be given for arranging coverage during the attendees' absences.
Seminar Content
The seminars will focus on leadership characteristics and styles that are applicable to most
work and community environments.
The following four characteristics will be targeted for development:
Social and environmental responsibility.
International awareness.
The importance of honesty.
The consistent leader.
Styles of leadership, ranging from autocratic to democratic, will be presented and then
role-played in the seminar. Participants will be encouraged to try all styles and to adapt leadership style to given situations rather than to adopt one “best” style. Much of this material will
be based on Fulton-Calkins and Stulz’s explanation of leadership as:
. . . the process of influencing others to achieve group and/or organizational goals. Effective
leaders operate by a clearly defined set of values. Those values are centered on what is right
for an organization, the constituencies it serves, and its employees. When leading, individuals
must use wisely the power entrusted by the organization.