These engaging, day-long workshops will give you the skills you need to take back to your department right after the conference.

Presented by Paula Burns, Vice Provost at the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in Toronto, Canada, and Jill Shaver of B.J. Shaver Consulting

Do you have an idea or have you been asked to implement a significant change that sounds great but you are asking yourself … Where do I start? It’s not as easy as they thought! Why can’t I seem to move it forward? Am I going to have to do it all myself? How do I remain positive? Will anyone embrace the change?

This highly participative workshop will address the challenge of those in the “middle” in implementing strategic change directives from executive leaders. Current literature, best practices and participant experiences will complement the participants’ learning from the analysis of a case study of a college in the midst of transformational change.

Participate yourself or in a small team of individuals from your organization to:

• Explore the current literature and best practices
• Analyze a case example and the changes you are implementing
• Examine processes and tools for improving the implementation of change
• Develop strategies for successfully addressing your challenges in implementing change
• Enhance your confidence and the confidence others have in you in implementing change

To read Paula Burns' and Jill Shaver's biographies, click here.

Presented by Bill Lamb, Vice President, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The workshop will present a variety of strategies for new front line administrators, including chairs, directors, deans, and other organizational leaders. Activities throughout the day will help participants to define their role as leaders and to develop cohesive teams. Topics will include:

• understanding leadership versus management in organizations
• understanding yourself and how you work with others
• time management
• dealing with conflict
• adapting to constantly changing organizations

The activities will be directed to small group interaction with time for sharing strategies as well as applying new methods to real world examples. The afternoon session will encourage the sharing of "best practices" learned from the group. Participants will receive a variety of written materials to use as guides and references, and additional opportunities provided through the academy institutes will be discussed.

To read Bill Lamb's biography, click here.

Presented by Idahlynn Karre, Associate Director of the Chair Academy, Mesa, Arizona

Anchored in the Good to Great Diagnostic Tool™ developed by Jim Collins, post-secondary leaders at all levels of the organization are invited to inquire into and explore implications, applications, adaptations, issues, and best practices in applying the Good to Great™ framework and principles in leadership, on teams, in departments and across campuses. Inquiries will include:

• Is my leadership creating a climate where the truth is heard?
• Am I “looking in the mirror or out the window?”
• Can we keep it simple? Does my team, department, or college “tend toward a path of simplicity, rather than complexity?"
• Are we disciplined people with disciplined thought leading to disciplined action delivering superior performance and distinctive impact and lasting endurance?
• Is my department or college building a system that can be great beyond a single leader?

This is about your journey! Where are you in the journey? How can those of us who live in the middle of our organizations as hard working department chairs, directors, and managers build “pockets of greatness?” In what ways can we all, regardless of position and title, use the framework and principles of Good to Great™ to achieve our mission, have the greatest impact, and create enduring teams, departments, and colleges?

Prior to attending this session, we encourage you to read Good to Great™ by Jim Collins and Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras.

Join us for our conversations!
To read Idahlynn Karre's biography, click here.

Idahlynns' Session has SOLD OUT.

Presented by Scott Geddis, Health Enhancement faculty and Director of Athletics at Phoenix College, Phoenix, Arizona, and Elsie Elford, Dean of the School of Business at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

You have heard about the “Strengths” movement. You have read books and articles explaining how playing to your strengths can increase productivity. You may even have taken the Gallup survey designed to identify your unique, enduring strengths. Now discover methods for leading others using a strength-based leadership model.

Marcus Buckingham writes in Go Put Your Strengths to Work, “While there are many good levers for engaging people and driving performance--levers such as selecting for talent, setting clear expectations, praising where praise is due, and defining the team's mission--the master lever is getting each person to play to his strengths. Pull this lever, and an engaged and productive team will be the result. Fail to pull it, and no matter what else is done to motivate the team, it'll never fully engage. It will never become a high-performance team.”

Through small group activities and group discussion this workshop will explore a variety of strategies and skills for all leaders and managers to help others “play to their strengths.”

• Learn to design work environments that play to the unique strengths of each team member you lead
• Learn ways to work with individuals and teams to identify each person's strengths
• Learn how to effectively organize a team using the unique strengths of your individual team members

The opportunity to complete the Gallup strengths survey to identify your own strengths will be included for those participants who have not yet taken StrengthsQuest or StrengthsFinder.

To read Scott Geddis' and Elsie Elford's biographies, click here.