We’re nearly to the midpoint of this year’s ONEplace Nonprofit Leadership Academy (ONLA). 2016 marks the 5th year of this superb leadership development program. Like all the services at ONEplace, the Academy is provided free of charge to the nonprofit community in Kalamazoo County, thanks to the generosity of local foundations.
Prior to the initial group session in February we used a pair of 360 feedback assessments to gather a wealth of data on how each participant is perceived by their managers, employees, peers, and key others. The feedback is anonymous and completely confidential; the results were given only to the individual Academy participant.
With a full compliment of 16 participants, this year’s Academy is turning out to be exciting, innovative, and a great professional development experience for the participants. It’s also a real pleasure for those of us involved in the Academy as instructors, panelists, mentors, and presenters.
The May class included an excellent overview from governance expert Larry Hermen on nonprofit Board structure and roles. We followed up with a panel discussion with four Executive Directors, who willingly shared their perspectives on nonprofit management leadership issues. The ED Panel included Kristen Chesak, Jennifer Johnson, Troy Thrash, and Jilisa Williams. The afternoon included working with ONEplace director Thom Andrews on communication with boards and effective board meetings. All in all and outstanding day!
The Academy meets again in June, then takes a break until late August when the monthly sessions begin again. Stay tuned for more on the Academy. In the meantime, take a few minutes to check things out at ONEplace@kpl.gov.
The 8 Essential Skills 