Leadership Development - Apply Online
View Fall 2009 Communities and Class Schedules

The Leadership Development training consists of 48 class hours held over four Friday–Saturday sessions. The classes focus on developing the community leadership capacity of individuals. The training emphasizes an interactive and facilitative style rather than lectures. It draws on the knowledge and skills of those in the room, augmented by the lessons in the curriculum.

A typical class consists of about 25 individuals (high-school students to retired seniors) with leadership experience ranging from emerging to seasoned. This training is designed for a diverse mix of citizens representing business, government and non-profit sectors.

Curriculum concepts include:

     • Community capacity and social capital
     • Personality types and leadership styles
     • Community development models
     • Catalytic Leadership Model
     • Asset mapping
     • Group development
     • Models for group decision-making
     • Communication strategies
     • Volunteerism

Each class selects a project that they work on together (for example, a local park improvement). The project helps focus the course content on a real-world situation. The Institute provides up to a $5,000 match in support of the project. Participants are expected to volunteer outside the class to complete the project within one year.

  Effective Organizations - Register Now

Effective Organizations is 20 to 24 class hours designed to develop skills for the successful leadership and management of community organizations.

The core topics are:
    • Strategic planning
    • Organizational leadership
    • Resource development (human and financial)

The training provides many tools to assist in the hands-on application of the material covered. Participants have a chance to network with leaders of other organizations in their community. Follow-up coaching is available to participants to better integrate class learnings into their organizations. This training is most beneficial for directors, board members, and staff and volunteers who work with non-profits and service organizations; it also has proven helpful to local government, service districts and institutions such as schools and clinics.

  Community Collaborations - Register Now

Community Collaborations is designed to enhance the capacity of rural community leaders and organizations to leverage the power of working together. Actual community collaboration opportunities will be explored. Coaching is provided to help participants initiate a collaboration, sustain it and end it as appropriate.

The goal is to help communities build collaborations that “get things done” and which—in the process—infuse rural communities with vitality. This training is for Leadership Development graduates, participants of the Effective Organizations training, and all others in the community who are inspired to work together to identify shared areas of interest, develop ongoing networks, coordinate projects and activities, share and leverage resources, and promote cooperation and collaboration.