Imagine!'s Leadership Development Program Update for April

Our thanks to Elena Ciaravino for sharing this update from Imagine!'s 2014/2015 Leadership Development Group.

This month, having crossed the half way mark the Leadership Development Group, we are taking the opportunity to reflect on the experience and answer the questions of: What has been your favorite experience in the LDG so far? What was something that surprised you about the experience so far, something you weren’t anticipating getting out of the experience? Any additional comments you would like to share.

Cassie Rogers wrote, “My favorite experience in LDG, so far, has been the experience of the Great Leaders Series with Jan Baller. The two classes we have attended so far have really opened up my perspective to how different people lead and the multi-faceted layers to building trust and motivating staff in the workplace. Our classes have been interactive and the open discussions have really led me to some deep introspection of my own leadership style and how I can be most effective through understanding everyone relates differently to one another. This series also has motivated me to really consider what my personal credo is at Imagine! and to understand the mission and values of CORE/Labor Source as well.”

“As we only have 3 more months of LDG to complete and the end is quickly approaching, I find myself hopeful that I can maintain the relationships I have built with so many wonderful people in other departments. I also hope to maintain and continue growing as a leader by reviewing all that I have learned and by allowing others to challenge me in the goals I have set. I feel grateful for this opportunity and am still so appreciative to my team here at CLS for nominating me and supporting me through this whole experience”.

Emily Pitt reflections are, “This far I have enjoyed the time that I have spent with both of my LDG mentors the most. Each of them have offered me guidance and information which I have found very helpful in my personal growth.”

“I was not anticipating getting improvement to time management skills out of the LDG experience. With all of the extra obligations that I have through LDG and my regular work and home obligations I have really been force throughout the past 8 months to look at my time as a resource that I do not want to waste. My hope is that I will be able to continue to use these new skills after my LDG responsibilities have ended to improve my productivity.”

“ I am very thankful that Imagine! offers formal training like this to help cultivate our internal leaders. This program makes me very proud to work for such a great company. I have mixed feelings about the program being ¾ of the way over and am trying to get the most that I can out of the short time we have left.”

Sarah Baglee shared, “My favorite experience has been getting to consistently spend time and have discussions with people from other Imagine! departments. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how everyone’s work is so different, and the ways that we all contribute to the same mission.”

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how open and honest different Imagine! staff, from those in my department to the executive team, are about their experiences with the history of Imagine! and the IDD world, and what they see as the pros and cons of the work they do. While I wouldn’t have expected anyone to be closed about it, it wouldn’t have necessarily occurred to me to have these kinds of conversations outside of the daily work that must be done.”

Meagan Roundtree included, “The thing I’ve enjoyed the most is getting the interaction and experience with other departments. I think that the thing that I’ve gotten most out of the experience is just the interaction and support I get from the group; I feel it’s a safe place to exchange ideas, concerns, stresses, etc. and that is nice to have a release for that.”

There are so many things that I have enjoyed from this LDG experience, it is hard to state just one. I have benefited immensely from the greater understanding of Imagine! as a whole that the LDG has presented me. The exposure I have had of the other divisions, employees, and internal workings of Imagine! has opened my eyes and created a deeper desire and intrinsic motivation within me to contribute my best.

 Photo from the Imagine! Celebration: Meagan Roundtree, Sarah Baglee, Elena Ciaravino, Cassie Rogers

I did not anticipate having the opportunity to be involved in the Imagine! Celebration. I very much enjoyed my time that evening seeing the amount of work went into the event and to see the success that came out of it!

We all look forward to what the last few month of the LDG will bring!