Program Builds Business Leaders

The Center for Management and Executive Development at the Sam M. Walton College of Business is getting serious about improving the level of leadership at Arkansas businesses.

The University of Arkansas’ Emerging Leaders Program will soon wrap up its five-part pilot program that started Jan. 31, and its leaders are convinced they’re on the right track.

“I think the impact of this thing is more than just for the individual organizations,” said Tim W. Kizer, CMED’s director. “I think this can lead to a stronger economy for all of Arkansas. It’s important for leaders in these organizations to continually improve.”

Doyle Williams, dean of the Walton College, wholeheartedly supports the program and agrees that it will benefit business throughout the state.

“The Walton College is pleased to offer the Emerging Leaders Program for the benefit of the business community,” Williams said. “We believe this program will add value to the career development of anyone moving into key leadership roles in any type of organization.”

The pilot program consists of five two-day modules designed to enhance the professional’s leadership skills under the theme “Clarity Is the Essence of Leadership.” Kizer said the official program developed from the pilot will be expanded to three-day modules. One session will begin this June and another in the fall.

Kizer said the program cost $50,000-$60,000 to develop, but it should eventually produce annual revenue of about $750,000 for the UA. The cost for the five-part program is $4,500 per participant.

“This is our flagship executive education program for the Walton College,” Kizer said, adding that his staff and the college dean are excited about the pilot program results and about launching the official version.

Strategic Resources

Literature about the Emerging Leaders Program explains its philosophy: “We believe that true leaders today and future leaders of tomorrow’s organizations must be able to handle complex systems in a chaotic environment while utilizing introspection, fluid leadership styles, and enhanced interpersonal skills to gain clarity — prior to making decisions.”

The faculty for the program includes both academic and business practitioners.

Greg Fike, professional development specialist for the CMED, believes the pilot participants have already changed their perspectives about their leadership responsibilities and abilities.

“Over time they will change even more,” Fike said. “And these changes will help their organization get where they want it to be.

“I think it’s a very solid bedrock of competencies, perceptions and ideas that can’t help but grow inside themselves.”

Fike worked closely with the 20 participants early on in the pilot program to review their “emotional quotient inventory,” an introspective self-evaluation about personal and emotional tendencies and skills. He met individually with the participants to review the results of their survey, help identify their strengths and areas in which they needed improvement and set goals for improvement. And that was before the first two-day module.

Kizer explained that leaders need to learn to view themselves as “a strategic resource” for their organization.

“They need to develop that resource,” he said.

The CMED has spent nine months developing the program. Kizer said executives from a number of companies were interviewed to determine what type of skills are needed for leaders. Tyson Foods, Acxiom, Dillard’s, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and State Farm officials participated in those discussions.

Kim Richter, director of professional employment for Tyson Foods and a participant in the pilot program, believes those who took the course and their organizations will benefit from participation.

“This program increases participants’ strategic understanding and leadership performance, ultimately benefiting their organizations,” Richter said.

From the Foundation Up

The program’s organization is based on the concept of building a house, with the “foundation,” or first session, dedicated to identifying, aligning and leveraging strategic resources. During the pilot program, the concept was taught by James L. Ritchie-Dunham and Hal Rabbino, authors of the book “Managing from Clarity: Identifying, Aligning and Leveraging Strategic Resources,” which was given to the participants before the start of the program. Ritchie-Dunham is also scheduled to participate in the next Emerging Leaders Program.

The program’s second module is considered the cornerstone. It emphasizes “emotional intelligence” through self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and random variations.

This is an important part of the program, because the development of other leadership skills is dependent upon it, Kizer said.

“This is very huggy feely,” he added. “We’re asking people to think about themselves.”

Jerry Bonds, director of Shared Services for Dillard’s Information Systems, said the emotional intelligence part of the course was particularly helpful to him.

“It brought some things to light that make you stop and think about the way you handle problems today and ways you can improve,” Bonds said.

Most successful leaders are viewed as having a steady, controlled response in all situations, Kizer said. Participants in the program examine their typical reactions to events and work to come up with the skills to control their responses, handling each situation, good or bad, with the same professional perspective.

Toni Lairry Starks, customer service manager for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, thought she was using the skills discussed during the program, but “the deeper” she got into examining herself, Lairry Starks said she realized she really wasn’t using all of the skills she should have been.

The third and fourth modules are considered the walls of the house. The third one deals with business metrics and processes, while the fourth is on leadership and intrapreneurship — what makes a good leader.

A part of the program about which Kizer is particularly excited is the concept of “fluid leadership.” A leader, he said, doesn’t always need to be someone who can instantly and decisively make decisions or someone who always democratically polls others for their opinions. Each situation has to be considered on its own and handled appropriately, he said.

The last module, planned for May 30-31, is the roof of the imaginary house. It emphasizes strategic thinking and includes a wrap-up of the program.

Three of the pilot program’s modules were conducted at the Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the Fayetteville campus, but the other two were at the Winrock International Conference Center at Petit Jean and the Arkansas Transit Association Center in North Little Rock.

Projects completed during the program will be presented a few weeks after the last module in a virtual or online format.

Kizer explained that teams were formed among members from the same companies at the start of the program, and each team has been working on a project. Some of those projects are so proprietary that they won’t be presented at the program’s close, Kizer said.

Bonds said his group worked on an automated mail sorting system that he believes will save his company money.

Team members participating in the pilot program are employees of Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, Dillard’s, Nuvell Financial Services, ABCBS and the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters at Quantico, Va. The emphasis is on improving leadership in Arkansas companies, but Kizer said he’s not surprised that it’s attractive to leaders from elsewhere, including the military.

Interaction among the group members has been a big plus, Bonds said, explaining that the program fosters that interaction.

“I also find myself being more self-aware of the people around me and trying to engage them more now,” he said.

Kizer said the participants haven’t let their corporate identities get in the way of working together to make themselves better leaders.

“They’ve really created a community for themselves,” he said.

Lairry Starks believes that part of the program “has just been invaluable.”

She explained that it’s enlightening to learn how other companies work and how they handle things differently.