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Get Started
Create a Planning Structure
Design the Program
Identify the Faculty
Design the Application Process Recruit the Participants
Review the Applications
Measure Success
Plan for the Future
I appreciate the Emerging Leaders’ Network
for the ‘forced’ self-reflection. In this day and age,
when we’re surrounded by increasing amounts of technology
that are meant to increase our productivity and efficiency, we
are not simultaneously taught to maximize human capacity to think
about our own actions and possibilities for self-improvement.
—Comment from a first year participant
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Addressing the issues and questions that will be raised in developing
an emerging leaders’ network will be challenging. We recommend
you identify concrete objectives for what you want to accomplish
and a clear set of principles to guide discussions when they become
muddy. Although our training framework centered on three key principles
(collaborative leadership, professional networking, and personal
planning), each state will need to independently determine a framework
that reflects local circumstances.
Get Started
Questions to consider when getting started:
- What are the current and future leadership needs in the workforce?
- What is being done to meet these needs?
- Is there a niche to fill?
- What would an Emerging Leaders’ Network accomplish?
- Who needs to be involved in its development and operations?
Who has the political power to get this going? (We used existing
organizations
that had a stake in the outcome of the program. The organizations
we identified as initial partners were all facing huge demographic
shifts that, if left unaddressed, would result in gaping holes
in leadership positions in about five years.)
- What is a reasonable timeline for developing an Emerging
Leaders’ Network?
(Minnesota’s steering committee allowed six months to get
up and going. This aggressive timeline allowed the group to dive
in to form a product and not get bogged down in a lengthy planning
process.)
- Where will you get start-up funding? Is there an existing
funding stream that can be tapped, or will you need to generate
a new
funding stream? Is there a way to partner with an existing
leadership institute,
or will the network stand alone?
- How will funding allocation decisions be made? How will funding
be used? How much money is available to each participant?
Will faculty be paid or volunteer? Will course materials be donated
or purchased?
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Create a Planning Structure
Questions to consider when creating a structure:
- What do you call your structure (a governing board, a steering
committee, a board of directors etc.)? (We called our group a steering
committee.)
- What skills are needed to plan a program? (For the program’s
design and early development, we looked for a balance between
persons who are visionary, big picture thinkers and those who
can connect
the big picture to detail. We also needed people with knowledge
of adult learning, leadership, and program development, and other
related skills.)
- What rules and guidelines are needed? The steering committee
will take on its own life, so it is important to identify rules
of engagement, expectations about how the committee will function,
ground rules, length of service expectations, and rewards.
(Because our steering committee was made up of volunteers, it
was important
to remember to thank and reward them in as many ways as possible.
Simple gestures such as offering coffee and food at meetings
were helpful.)
- What subcommittees are needed to accomplish the work? (We
developed these subcommittees: application/review, evaluation,
curriculum,
sustainability, and logistics.)
- How often do you meet and for how long?
- Is there a director, chair, staff? (Our steering committee
operated informally without a chair. Staffing was
provided by state
health department employees for a total of approximately
0.6 FTEs.)
Design the Program
Questions to consider when designing the program:
- What are the program goals and objectives and the benefits that
you will provide?
- What is your vision for a network of emerging leaders? What
do you want the network to look like? Accomplish?
- How will you promote the program to reach the intended audiences?
- Which terms need definition to help create clarity of meaning
(e.g., emerging, leaders, network)?
- What are your learning objectives? How will this knowledge
result in behavior change?
- What learning format/structure will you employ? What is the
best learning environment?
- What underlying theories and concepts are important (adult
learning)? What is the appropriate balance between individual
and group learning?
What individual activities should take place?
- Which self-assessment activities are needed? Does the program
provide the tools or encourage Web-based access? Who chooses
the tools? (We used the Myers-Briggs self-assessment tool.)
- What tools are needed to help participants design a personalized
leadership development plan? Who needs to help them?
- When should the cohort meet for the first time? How often should
they meet? How long should each meeting last? What will they
do during that meeting? Where will they meet?
- What role do participants take in defining the curriculum?
- What role should the participants’ supervisors take?
(Although letters of recommendation were requested from the supervisors
during
the application process, we formally engaged supervisors at the
final retreat of the program. From supervisors’ evaluations,
we learned that some wanted to be engaged in the process throughout
the year. Nevertheless, we recommend taking an individualized
approach to engaging supervisors in order to lessen the stress
for participants.
For example, early on, participants are nervous about the process
in general, hesitant about sharing personal skills and improvement
goals, and sometimes anxious about acquiring the skills. Moreover,
there may be some supervisor/emerging leader situations where
it would be detrimental to include the supervisor.)
- What obligation does a participant have to the public health
community in return for taking the training? Do they participate
in a group project? Do they have a responsibility to share
in their work environment?
- What responsibility does each partner organization have in
identifying collaborative activities for participants?
- What is the budget? How much money is needed to get what
you want in the program? How much is available for each
individual? Can participants use that money to decide what professional
growth
activities they want? Do participants research their own
professional growth plan and then receive mentoring?
- What will you charge participants to take part in the
program? (Our steering committee agreed that because
neither the emerging
leaders nor their organizations were likely to have funds
designated for this type of training, the program should
be offered, at
least in the pilot phase, at no cost to participants.)
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Identify the Faculty
Questions to consider when identifying the faculty:
- Who has the skills and ability to facilitate and present on
the topics you have chosen? (Our program was designed to include
a significant experiential component; therefore, we looked for
faculty who were comfortable orchestrating experiential learning,
as opposed to presenting in a didactic manner.)
- How will you find faculty who reflect the diversity you want
to honor?
- Who will interview the faculty?
- How will you prepare the faculty? (We learned it is important
to meet with your speakers/faculty up front so they understand
the curriculum and how their information fits into the
overall program objectives.)
- Who is affordable? (We decided that while a $10,000 speaker
may offer credibility and a recognizable name, it would
also force
the elimination of participant slots. We looked for windows
of opportunity in identifying the faculty roster, such
as nationally known experts coming to town for another
function.
A well-connected
steering committee can be especially helpful in this
effort.)
Design the Application Process
Questions to consider when designing the application process:
- What qualities do you want in your emerging leaders?
- How will you locate the people who meet the qualities you
want in an emerging leader?
- How important is diversity? What do you mean by diversity?
- What will the application process include?
- How will you describe the Emerging Leaders’ Network program
to create interest?
- What are the questions you will use to obtain the information
you need about each applicant?
- Will you require letters of recommendation? (Designing application
questions that get at what you need to know about people
is a challenge. Letters of recommendation proved to be the most
valuable
reality
check for the application.)
Recruit the Participants
Questions to consider in recruiting participants:
- Where are the emerging leaders?
- Who are you trying to attract? (Although applicants need to
see personal leadership qualities in themselves, it is important
to find candidates whose leadership potential is recognized
by
others as well. Members in the first pilot who already had
an interest in leadership realized a powerful, transforming experience
when they learned that others also believed in them.)
- Who has the power to influence future leaders? (We learned
that a lot of the people who applied did so because someone
suggested
that they apply. Consider using current leaders to help identify
people who could benefit from the program.)
- What are the best ways to get information out? (Consider
scheduling promotions to local, regional, and state public
health and health-related
organizations.)
- Who are the people who have access to the communities
you are trying to reach? What is the best way to get
information to them
(e.g., hard copy, electronic)?
- What public relations materials will be helpful? (We
learned that when you are promoting a new program,
there is no track
record to boast about, so you need to sell the vision.
Clearly state the
benefits and limitations of attending the program.)
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Review the
Applications
Questions to consider in reviewing the applications:
- Which current leaders can be asked to help identify emerging
leaders? Who is in the best position to judge potential leaders?
(We attempted to identify reviewers who reflected the overall criteria
for the program.)
- What is the most feasible way for the group to review applications
and engage in a conversation to objectively pick the best people?
(You will need to have a plan for dealing with the conflicts
of interest that emerge. We asked all reviewers to recognize
that
although every applicant should be viewed as a potential
leader, some candidates are in a better position than others
to immediately benefit from, and contribute to, the program.)
- What criteria are important in determining the make-up of the
final cohort? Will you develop individual criteria and group
criteria to judge candidates? (We designed an application review
tool to
provide objective measures by which to score and rank individual
applications. We also use subjective and group-level criteria
to select the final cohort (e.g., what experience does each
candidate bring to contribute to the energy and vitality of the
group,
how
will the group will fit together, are diversity criteria met).
- How much time do you allow for application review? (We allowed
individual reviewers four weeks to study the applications
and then scheduled a six-hour meeting to discuss the applications
and determine
the final cohort.)
- How will the review meeting be conducted? (During the review
team meeting, the group discussed their rationale for scoring,
and met in teams and later as a full group to balance the
individual and group criteria and determine the final roster.
- What ground rules are needed to provide a fair and respectful
review process? (We established a number of ground rules
for the review process. For example, respect for the applicants
and their
privacy were of utmost importance in this process. We also
set guidelines addressing conflicts of interest and required
that
all reviewers attend the review meeting, because it is
very difficult to use reviewer written comments when the decisions
are close.)
Measure Success
Questions to consider when measuring success:
- How will you continuously evaluate?
- How will you define what success looks like? What are the indicators
for the program as a whole and for individuals who go through
the program? (There is a lot of literature available about
measuring leadership development. We chose to measure change
in awareness
and what participants found valuable about the process, as
opposed to knowledge gained.)
- How will you determine the measurability of the indicators?
- When will you measure? (We evaluated participants at the
beginning of sessions, at the end of sessions, at the
end of the program,
and again six months after completion of the program.)
- How much money do you have available for evaluation?
Plan for the Future
Questions to consider when planning for the
future:
- What is your vision for the future and what needs to be done
to sustain the program in the long run? (We found it helpful to
review the vision for the program, set specific yearly goals to
guide workplan development, and identify the structure needed to
meet goals.)
- What skills are needed on the planning committee to sustain
the program? (As we transitioned from a start-up to a sustainable
program,
the knowledge and skills needed on the planning committee changed
to include expertise in public relations and marketing, financial
development and fundraising, governance, alumni development,
and ongoing program evaluation and enrichment.)
- How will you continue to promote the program and build support
from key stakeholders? (We created a governance structure
that identified future planning as a collaborative effort involving
a number of key public, private, and academic stakeholders.
We identified partners and other key stakeholders,
secured
their commitment to the program, created promotional materials,
developed a Web page, and created a fundraising plan that
included
strategic planning around the most influential spokespeople
as well as appropriate fundraising targets.)
- What evaluation feedback should be used to determine changes
needed to the program?
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