ABOUT
ABOUT
In 2001 a group of community leaders came together to form Leadership Mitchell County. For the past 20 years, the organization has led over 300 community members through a program of 9 sessions running from August through April. Each session is structured to provide content that will help develop leadership skills, enhance communications, and build community awareness.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Leadership Mitchell County is to develop and activate people to connect passion with civic purpose.
OUR VISION
North Central Kansas thrives through connected people of passion, purpose and integrity, strengthening rural Kansas values.
THE CLASS
The Leadership Mitchell County program is comprised of 9 sessions running from August through April. Each session is structured to provide content that will.... insert copy....ie develop leadership skills, enhance communication, build community awareness etc etc....
Applications into the program are reviewed by the board. Class sizes are limited to 20 applicants with the opportunity for 2 participants from Osborne County....(is this still true now that Osborne has it's own program?) and 2 participants from Jewell County
LMC has given me the tools, knowledge, and confidence to further develop my leadership skills and aspirations. It has given me the opportunity to meet some great people in this community, and develop some long lasting friendships.
Jennifer Giersch, Class 15
Leadership Mitchell County was a great experience personally and professionally. I learned so much about the community, my own leadership skills & made great relationships with the people involved.
Julia Rabe, Class 20
This program has given me the network and tools to reach any goal I set in life. Leadership Mitchell County is 8 months of commitment that will bring a lifetime of value
Lee McMillan, Class 16
OUR BOARD
Emily Benedick
Board Vice President
Mitchell County Community Development/SVED
Director
THE CLASS
The Leadership Mitchell County program is comprised of 9 sessions running from August through April. Each session is structured to provide content that will help develop leadership skills, enhance communication, build community awareness
Applications into the program are reviewed by the board. Class sizes are limited to 20 applicants with the opportunity for 2 participants from Osborne County and 2 participants from Jewell County.
THE CONTENT
Embark on your Leadership Journey! Learn how an individual can be a leader ANYTIME and ANYWHERE! Change the way you manage yourself, diagnose your situation, intervene skillfully and energize others to make progress on daunting challenges in your community. Learn to incorporate the Kansas Leadership Center’s 4 Competencies to gain skills and make progress on daily issues.
Become a part of conversations regarding Law Enforcement/Corrections, Arts & Tourism, Agricultural Dynamics, Health & Education, State & Local Government and Economic Development. These sessions invite you to develop relationships and create a network you will use the rest of your life.
1. LEADERSHIP IS AN ACTIVITY, NOT A POSITION
2. ANYONE CAN LEAD, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
3. IT STARTS WITH YOU & MUST ENGAGE OTHERS
4. YOUR PURPOSE MUST BE CLEAR
5. IT'S RISKY!
DIAGNOSE SITUATION
MANAGE SELF
ENERGIZE OTHERS
INTERVENE SKILLFULLY
DIAGNOSE SITUATION
The mind is capable of taking in extraordinary amounts of information. But too often we think we have a better understanding of a situation than we actually do. We give the data a cursory scan and then jump into action. Few people probe deeply enough to identify the smart risks that will lead to real progress.
We diagnose situations on two levels: surface and profound. Most of us spend our time on the surface, clarifying what we think we know and then reacting to these preconceptions.
It's hard to resist jumping into action. It's expected. We've trained a lifetime for it. We are proud of what we've learned. We are hired and paid for our expertise. But expertise is not enough when facing adaptive challenges. We have to observe and understand the situation from all angles.
O'Malley, Ed., and Cebula, Amanda. Your Leadership Edge
MANAGE SELF
Sometimes, the greatest obstacle to progress is our own ego. The need to be right or control everything blinds us to the realities of the situation. Or the fear of being disliked undermines our courage to act. We are afraid to move beyond the status quo. Anger, uncertainty or our personal baggage hampers our ability to assess and respond.
Self-awareness and a willingness to do things differently are at the core of this competency. Those two qualities are key to making progress. Because humans hate change. The way things are, no matter how crazy, is better than facing the unknown. Manage Self is a leadership competency, because progress requires taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone for the sake of something you care about.
O'Malley, Ed., and Cebula, Amanda. Your Leadership Edge
ENERGIZE OTHERS
When it comes to adaptive challenges, progress takes more than getting people riled up. The competency of energizing Others is about more than motivation. Energize Others means engaging all the stakeholders - those with influence and those affected but less likely to have their voices heard. Success comes when all parties are engaged and working on the challenge.
Energizing the full range of stakeholders for a common purpose is difficult. It takes commitment, experimentation and a willingness to take risks. It's slow work engaging people on their terms, creating a process everyone can trust. Nevertheless, it's worth the effort if the experiments bring progress.
O'Malley, Ed., and Cebula, Amanda. Your Leadership Edge
INTERVENE SKILLFULLY
The true measure of leadership must be that actions or interventions lead to progress. We define an intervention as an attempt by one or more people to make progress. To Intervene Skillfully is to do so consciously and purposefully. Skillful interventions help manage conflict by bringing it into the open and working through it in a productive way.
Making progress on adaptive challenges takes innovation and experimentation. As advocates for change, we must keep in mind that there's no way of knowing whether an intervention will work until we try it. If it works, great, then we move on to the next one. If it doesn't, we evaluate why, adjust the approach and try again. Change starts with someone who cares enough to work hard and take the inevitable, necessary risks.
O'Malley, Ed., and Cebula, Amanda. Your Leadership Edge
