IABC Leadership Academy

Dates: April 27, May 4, May 12, May 18
Time: 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Location: United Properties
3500 West American Boulevard Suite 200
Bloomington, MN 55431

Cost: $250 for IABC members; $350 for nonmembers (reservations made by 4/22/05 - after 4/22/05 cost is $300 for members; $400 for nonmembers).

Register By: April 22, 2005

Click here to register

Contact: For registration questions, contact the IABC office at 612-333-4222. For questions regarding this meeting, contact Maureen Mook (612) 667-7865 or Monica Strom (651) 662-6889

Event Description:

Session 1 - Wednesday, April 27
The Facets of Leadership
During this session, participants will begin to understand their own leadership characteristics, interests, strengths and weaknesses. IABC Minnesota President Martha Nevanen will introduce the IABC Career Builder Workbook, a personal career-planning tool that will help participants explore their roles as leaders in their own careers. Through the exercises and thought processes, participants will access the current state of their careers and begin to map out their future direction.

Then, Leadership Academy chairs Monika Strom and Maureen Mook will bridge the increased understanding of career development with insights of the role of leadership. Participants will review an in-depth Leadership in Action case study, identify the issues involved, the business considerations, the ethical considerations, and the role of leadership.

Session 2 - Wednesday, May 4
Who I Am: The Traits of a Leader
Leadership expert Bill Paxton will lead participants through an interactive journey that will identify and define their individual leadership talents and skills. Participants will be asked to complete an online assessment prior to the first workshop in order for Bill to analyze and prepare individual reports. Then Bill and participants will spend time analyzing the results of their MAPP leadership profiles and begin to create personal plans to further develop their leadership skills. It will address common issues, including how to use the assessment results to manage your career, and help you identify leadership opportunities within your organization.

Session 3 - Thursday, May 12
Working within my Environment: Leadership in Action
Building on the increased understanding of their career development plans and their personal leadership characteristics, the third session will take participants on a exploration of the organizational and ethical factors that may impact effective leadership. Organizational change consultant and trainer Ken Ritterspach will present tips for building trust within an organization, as well as what can test that trust. Sally Power, Ph.D., University of St. Thomas, will build on this discussion to explore how ethical leadership is an important part of the communications field. Then, Ken and Sally will lead an interactive case study to further explore communication leadership in action.

Session 4 - Wednesday, May 18
Moving Forward: Developing Your Leadership Potential
Career coach Barb Krentz Taylor will help you evaluate your current work situation by having you go through a self-reflection on leadership. She will identify areas of leadership opportunity and help you set goals by further developing a career action plan. Barb will help you identify where you can develop those leadership skills whether in work, IABC or life.

About our Speakers

Martha Nevanen joined United Properties as director of communications in May 2002. She has more than 15 years of communications experience - ranging from strategic planning, marketing communications and media relations. She comes to United Properties after six years at The St. Paul Companies, where she spent two years managing the company's intranet and internet sites in Corporate Communications, and four years in the Claim Department, primarily focused on marketing communications strategy, agent communications and internal communications.

Martha also spent five years with Envirotest, a vehicle emissions testing company, leading the public relations and legislative communications efforts in five states, including Minnesota. Other prior experiences include working as a writer/editor for a small manufacturing company and a large paper mill. She was also a reporter and photographer for a daily newspaper.

Martha earned her bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri. Currently, she serves as president of the International Association of Business Communicators' Minnesota Chapter, where she has held other leadership positions since 1999.

Bill Paxton founded Paxton Consulting so he could work with organizations who want their people to perform at their best, and with individuals on how to create momentum in their lives. A gifted communicator, Bill is a published author and the developer of "The Personal Design Program," an online assessment and workbook that helps people discover what they are designed to do. Bill has won regional and national awards for both training and public speaking.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Kenneth Ritterspach has been a turnaround executive and consultant for companies that are experiencing crisis, driving organizations change, strengthening their leadership capabilities and working to improve under-performing operations. Ken has worked in manufacturing, distribution, service and public sector organizations. His clients have included both small and large companies, such as 3M, Johnson and Johnson, Toro, Citicorp, Jostens, Radisson, Pillsbury, and Medtronic. Since 1992, he has been a presenter for Franklin Covey, one of the premier leadership and personal development companies in the world.

Dr. Sally Power has a Ph.D in Organizational Communication and is a professor, in the Management Department at the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Business. and her fields of study are career development, business ethics, management, and organizational behavior. She has worked for a number of years developing faculty to teach business ethics at the University of St. Thomas' College of Business. Recently she has developed the Work-Oriented MidCareer Development model as a response to the changing employment dynamics in the United States. She has also worked as a trainer/consultant in business, spoke to numerous organizations and served on a number of nonprofit boards.

Barb Krantz Taylor, M.A., is a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience. Currently, she is an Associate with the Bailey Consulting Group, a Minneapolis firm specializing in leadership, team, career and talent management. Her passion is to partner with individuals and groups as they recognize their natural talents, inner gifts and purpose. This process of discovery leads individuals and teams to fully engage with their work (and each other) and perform at their peak. In addition to private sector work organizations, Barb has worked extensively in higher education and the non-profit world and holds an Adjunct Faculty position in the Human Resource Development in Organization and Learning department at the University of St. Thomas.