The Public Leadership Academy for Elected Officials

Sessions

To begin the academy you will develop an understanding of your leadership potential and areas you wish to expand. By using the Leadership Challenge model and taking the Leadership Practices Inventory, you will gauge your own leadership assets.

• Use the Leadership Challenge instrument
• Create a personalized leadership plan
• Begin a personal “leadership log”
• Create a credo and metaphor of your leadership philosophy

Sherry Butcher, Anoka-Ramsey Community College and City Council Member, Eden Prairie

Mary Jo McGuire, Attorney, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and instructor in organizational leadership

Now that you are elected what is expected of you by your community and what do you expect from yourself? How do you gain trust in a political world of disengagement and skepticism? As a leader how will you motivate and empower others to ensure the well-being and sustainability of your community. Explore effective leadership models and meet respected leaders who make things happen in extraordinary ways.

You can’t do it alone. The most important work of the elected leader is to get people working together to set a shared vision and achieve common goals. Good leaders build a collective sense of “we” and enable others to act. How do you put together and work with teams to make the best possible decisions for your community? In this session learn the art of consensus building and collaboration.

• Explore best practices in consensus building
• Participate in a group activity on how consensus building works

Conflict, disagreement and controversy are all natural occurrences in our world. As a leader much of your work involves managing conflicting issues and making decisions that may be unpopular. In this session you will explore the nature of conflict and learn positive and effective strategies for solving interpersonal and group conflict.

• Discover the ways to communicate the facets of conflict and controversy
• Learn the 5 conflict styles
• Practice a five-step process to conflict resolution
• Develop an Action Plan to resolve current conflict in your world

Elected leaders drive change in their communities. They challenge themselves and inspire others to do their best to achieve positive outcomes. In this session you will learn how to lead by creating a readiness for change in your community—and develop steps to overcome the resistance to change.

• You will learn to use a simple, yet powerful tool to drive change and overcome resistance
• You will learn new ways to inspire others to positive action for the community
• You will hear examples of positive change makers in local government and how they succeeded

The Leadership Academy will conclude with a ceremony, awarding of the certificate and a celebration.