LEAD Institute for Personal and Professional Development

Applicants should live and/or work in Medina County and be interested in an educational based program to further develop their leadership skills.

Participation in the LEAD Institute offers an opportunity to be part of a nine-month professional development leadership program that is designed to grow professional confidence, challenge participants to think differently and learn new skills alongside a network of peers from across Medina County.

At the end of the program year, graduates will have gained the necessary leadership skills to lead anytime, anywhere. They will have:

• Acquired problem solving strategies and techniques with a focus on working through adaptive challenges to make progress on tough issues that require people to work differently and experimentally in our changing world.
• Discovered new ways to communicate and solve problems
• Sharpened their interpersonal skills, self-awareness, and confidence with others
• Practiced new ways to lead more effectively back in their context
• Found, tested, and pushed themselves to the edge of their comfort zones
• Discovered their Top 5 Strengths/Talents that show them how they are special and how to succeed by turning their talents into strengths and how to apply their talents to their goals and tasks
• Been provided with tools and skills to aid them in sitting on non-profit and private Boards.
• Discovered their Emotional and Social Intelligence IQ to understand behaviors necessary for leadership effectiveness. They will discover important elements to building trust with others and identify actions to build/rebuild trust.
• Identified productive and unproductive conflict and the steps to resolving conflict effectively, the benefits of productive conflict and how it improves results and allows for growth.
• Learned how to promote leadership through their communication skills, how to navigate important conversations, and how to get the most out of their interactions with others.
• Learned how to build their professional “brand” and credibility in their workplace, how to advocate for themselves for important situations, and position themselves for career advancement.
• Practiced how to network skillfully and effectively to build relationships.
• Gained skills and tools on how to manage and take care of themselves both personally and professionally to be the best version of themselves.

Professional Development Training in the LEAD Institute will include:

• Leading with your Top 5 Strengths (Clifton Strengths Assessment)
• Presentation Skills
• Multi-Generational Leadership
• Leading with Empathy & Perspective
• Collaborative Communications & Conversations (DISC, Radical Candor, & Critical Conversations)
• Finding Your Voice
• Five Behaviors of a Team: Personal Development
• Leading with Emotional and Social Intelligence
• Handling Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
• Self-Advocacy and Awareness
• Promoting leadership through Communication Clarity
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving Skills, and Systems Thinking
• Diagnosing Situations
• Energizing Others
• Managing Self
• Intervening Skillfully
• Technical vs. Adaptive Challenges and skills to make progress on working through adaptive challenges.

The LEAD Institute is a nine-month program that runs September thru May. Class days will generally be from 8:30am-5pm and typically fall on the third Thursday of each month, with a few exceptions(see class schedule). Graduation from the program will be in May. Participants will also be required to complete one volunteer experience or class project in the County.

In order to accomplish the program’s stated objectives, attendance and full participation of each individual selected is necessary. Participants must be able to commit to the full class schedule and a volunteer experience in the community. However, we realize that “life happens” sometimes. Therefore, we do allow for one excused absence per class year. More than one absence could disqualify a program participant from graduating from the program. Orientation/Opening Retreat and Graduation are mandatory.

Yes, tuition assistance is available. Limited resources preclude us from awarding full tuition assistance. However, partial tuition assistance based on financial need is available. Tuition assistance requests must be submitted at time of application. When you are notified that you have been selected to participate in the LEAD Institute, you also will be notified about the state of your tuition assistance request.

Application deadline for the LEAD Institute is midnight on June 3, 2024 by midnight.

Leadership Medina County is funded by tuition and contributions. Tuition is $3,500, which covers all program costs, including meals, facilities, materials and speakers. If selected to participate in Leadership Medina County, you (or your sponsoring organization) agree to pay the tuition fee of $3,500, which is non-refundable.

Please note that tuition is reviewed by the Board of Directors and changes are posted by March 1 annually.