Programs teach leadership skills to professionals

In 2006, after a year of planning, Missouri State University launched Greater Ozarks Leadership Development and Greater Ozarks Leadership Education And Development, known as GOLD and GO LEAD, respectively.

GOLD is a regional leadership development program, and GO LEAD is a management program for nonprofit leaders.

The programs are the first initiatives of MSU’s Community and Social Issues Institute, which was created in 2005 at the behest of President Michael Nietzel to assess how the university can respond to community needs.

According to Gail Melgren, programs coordinator, and Lloyd Young, associate director of the CSI Institute, GOLD and GO LEAD have been well received.

“The response and the eagerness from participants has been beyond what we could have imagined,” Young said.

The leadership programs are funded by MSU, Jim D. Morris, Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Coover Regional Grantmaking Program.

Going for GOLD

The GOLD program began in October with a leadership retreat and has met monthly since then. A two-day retreat to Jefferson City was held earlier this month. The 22 GOLD participants come from 13 communities and represent community leaders including those from banks, chambers of commerce and city government.

Melgren said participants will hear from more than 30 presenters by the time the class concludes in May.

Session topics include community service, economic development and infrastructure. A graduation banquet will be held in June.

Lesson for nonprofits

The GO LEAD program is broken into two classes. Track 1: Nuts and Bolts is for individuals new to the nonprofit sector. Track 2: Nonprofits in the 21st Century is for experienced nonprofit leaders.

GO LEAD classes began in September with 30 members in each group. They run through May, meeting monthly to focus on issues such as asset development, strategic planning, boards and executives and philanthropic trends.

Melgren said the program accepted five more people than originally planned, boosting the class size to 31. There already is a waiting list for the next class.

“It signals how hungry they are for this,” Melgren added.

Melgren said that, as the group progresses and participants give feedback on what they want to learn, there are more opportunities to offer assistance in the community.

For example, the group’s March 23 session, in conjunction with the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, was to be open to the public, partly because a participant suggested it. At press time, more than 50 community members had registered to attend the session, focused on legal and financial literacy for nonprofits.

Melgren said that session will be the first of many that will be open to the community.

Seeing the impact

Though Melgren believes the MSU programs already are successful, she said that the true impact will come down the road.

“We won’t be able to see the large picture for a few years,” said Melgren. “It will just keep building every year, both with GOLD and GO LEAD. Slowly and incrementally it will build the community.”

But for older programs, such as the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s 22-year-old Leadership Springfield program, the impact is already clear.

The chamber’s nine-month program addresses civic awareness, criminal justice and the arts, and encourages local professionals to volunteer.

“We’re very proud to say that you probably cannot find a board in Springfield that doesn’t have a Leadership Springfield graduate on it,” said Vickie Hicks, 2006-2007 president of the Leadership Springfield Board of Directors.

More than 600 people have gone through the Leadership Springfield class, Hicks said, and each of them graduates with a solid network of fellow leaders who have a strong sense of what they can do for the city.

Leadership Springfield is now taking applications for its next class; the deadline is March 30.

A statewide mix

Similarly, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce offers Leadership Missouri.

“(Leadership Missouri) is sort of a quick version of everything (legislators) see being involved in state government,” said Ray Forrester, a member of the 2007 Leadership Missouri class, which begins in April.

Forrester is co-founder and owner of The Forrester Group Inc. and president of Forrester Tech.

“It gives people who are not in the legislature the chance to experience a lot of the state’s inner workings,” he added.

The 17-year-old program introduces participants to issues, such as Missouri’s economic climate, health care in the state, the education system, agricultural challenges and more.

Class runs from April through October and meet in a different location across the state each month.

“We feel like our challenge is to challenge (the participants),” said Kristi Ray, director of Leadership Missouri.

“Not to just take them around the state and show them what they can see in the state of Missouri. We want them to see the backside.”

Forrester believes the information he will learn and the contacts he will make will prove valuable for his business as well as the local community.

Local 2007 Leadership Missouri Members

Matt Barnhart, Missouri American Water; Michael Finch, City Utilities; Ray Forrester, The Forrester Group Inc.; Paul Kincaid, Missouri State University; Rob Sager, Empire District Electric Co.; Frank Schoneboom, Branson assistant city manager; Lisa Slavens, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks; and Ross Summers, Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.

Getting Involved

GOLD

•Participants are selected based on creating a well-balanced group of current and emerging leaders in the region.

• Class size is approximately 25.

• Cost is $600.

• For more information: www.morriscenter.missouristate.edu/GOLD or (417) 836-6660.

GO LEAD

• Participants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Class size is about 30 in each of two tracks.

• Cost is $175.

• For more information: www.morriscenter.missouristate.edu/GOLEAD or (417) 836-6660.

Leadership Springfield

• Participants apply and are chosen through a selection process aimed at creating a diverse group of individuals representing a variety of ages.

• Class size is 32.

• Cost is $1,150.

• For more information: www.leadershipspringfield.com or (417) 862-5567.

Leadership Missouri

• Participants apply and are chosen through a selection process based on business connection to Missouri and the reason they want to attend.

• Class size is between 30 and 40.

• Cost is $1,500 for Missouri Chamber members and $1,700 for nonmembers.

• For more information: www.mochamber.com or (573) 634-3511.