Blueprint Institute: Leadership by Design
By now, you have seen some of the advertisements concerning The Blueprint Institute: Leadership by Design. Well, just in case you have been wondering what is this really about, let me share a portion of the vision. I have the privilege of serving on many boards, commissions and advisory committees throughout the Quad Cities and more than often not, I would be the only African American, often the only person of color, and increasingly the youngest. After reviewing the number of African Americans serving in leadership positions in government, electoral office, education, non- profit corporations, private corporations, and innovative entrepreneurial efforts, I decided to do something about it. We hosted the Critical Mass Global Leadership Conference, Sept 22, 2017 (please see newsletter quick link http://conta.cc/2xTo3dO for recap).
One of the action steps out of the conference was to was develop a training program to assist in creating a leadership pipeline for developing leaders. Thus, the Blueprint Institute was designed to encourage and equip African Americans and other underrepresented ethnic populations through a training series to serve of local boards, advisory groups and commissions!
The Blueprint Institute launched it’s pilot cohort (12 participants) on December 2, 2017. The program hosts three sessions, each session lasting three hours once a month. The sessions begin at 9am and conclude at 12 noon. Each session covers topics that build effective leadership (e.g. Communication & Negotiation Skills, Board Roles & Responsibilities, Building a Strong Organizational Brand, Meeting Management, Board & CEO/Director Relationships, Ethics & Confidentiality, Vision & Mission, and Solving Organizational Conflict). In March 2018, our inaugural class graduated. We are busy working on our goal of each participant being welcomed onto a local board, commission, advisory in their area of interest and expertise.
Leadership & Development 