For the past two years I have worked with the Valparaiso Area Chamber of Commerce to develop and run a Leadership Academy. This program is designed to complement traditional county/ regional leadership programs in that it has a specific goal of preparing and connecting emerging leaders and young professionals with high level volunteer positions. In short, we connect new blood to boards and commissions at the same time that we train the individuals to be successful in those posts.
The program has worked well so far for a couple of reasons. First, because the planning was initiated through the Chamber to meet an identified community need, businesses are on board and have bought into the program with sponsorship and by sending younger or newer staff as participants.
Second, in order to be accepted into the program, participants commit to finding and serving on a board or high level committee. There is plenty of exposure to organizations with open posts, and participants are held accountable for their progress in finding a post. We had 100% success rate in year one and expect nothing less this year.
Third, the program emphasizes networking and mentorship as part of the curriculum in addition to learning effective board skills. Participants get to meet some prominent community leaders in an intimate learning environment. They also have a chance to expand greatly their knowledge about organizations from the public and nonprofit sectors—what they do and how they fit into the bigger picture. Then, we take the next step and ask participants to envision how they as individuals can connect and lead these organizations.
I know that it can sometimes be a challenge to get alumni from leadership programs to continue to be engaged in the community. It’s even harder to track their engagement. We have found that this model seems to be a good way to make a direct link to service that participants might not get to on their own. And it's fun.