Off to a Good Start

A new SOM Executive Education academy teaches leadership basics to novice
managers seeking skills, experience and effectiveness.

By Jeanne Spreier

New managers often are so caught up in their duties that their daily
workloads don't leave time to reflect on their growth and development as
leaders. How are they doing? How should they be doing? The Leadership
Academy at The School of Management (SOM) answers such questions as it
helps supervisors develop leadership skills  defining those skills,
figuring out which ones they already have, improving others, showing how
to apply them.

The academy is a University of Texas at Dallas newcomer itself. Under the
auspices of SOM's Executive Education area, it launched earlier this year
and offers seven non-credit courses, each known as a module. Participants
who successfully complete five modules earn the academy's Certificate of
Leadership.

David Spivey, the Leadership Academy's director, offers neophytes a place
to begin to hone leadership skills. First-time students attend a two-day
program, The Leadership Challenge, which includes an assessment to
determine where the student is in his or her understanding and execution
of leadership responsibilities. The program also introduces the
fundamentals of leadership, and then students learn techniques to use
immediately in their work world.

Mr. Spivey says those who attend Leadership Academy sessions have very
different motivations than someone who is studying for an MBA, for
instance. Academy participants want information now on how to be effective
leaders today, not just good managers.

This is a come-as-you-are [program], says David Springate, Ph.D., SOM's
associate dean for Executive Education, meaning there are no prerequisites
or waiting lists. He notes the academy's teachers work with managers at a
basic learn-and-use level, exposing participants to the best practical
leadership practices so they can apply them at work the following Monday
morning.

The introductory session includes role-playing, case studies and group
activities. Because each class of about 15 students draws managers from
around the area  students may enroll as individuals or in groups that
have been selected by their companies  participants benefit from hearing
about issues surfacing in a cross-section of industries. After taking this
foundation course, participants may enroll in additional two-day seminars
that address specific areas of leadership, such as mentoring,
communications or strategic leadership issues.

One of the academy's goals is to dispel myths surrounding leadership, one
of the most common being that leaders are born, Mr. Spivey says.
Leadership is a relationship, Mr. Spivey says. Management skills are
about processes and procedures.

Mr. Spivey, who earned his Executive MBA at UTD and is a graduate of
Harvard's Executive Leadership Program, points out that the missions of
The School of Management's Leadership Academy and of The Leadership Center
at UTD, which is also based at the SOM, are quite different, with the
center serving business' senior executive ranks. The objective there is
to explore and share practices at the senior executive level, he says,
noting the focus is on cutting-edge research surrounding leadership
issues.

Dr. Springate adds that The Leadership Center skews toward academics and
research and involves leaders at the very top of local industries. The
Leadership Academy has a more pragmatic, apply-it-today approach. In the
future, Dr. Springate says, the hope is that the academy and the center
will rely on each other for ideas, research and clients.

The concept of the academy is not unique to universities. However, as Dr.
Springate points out, The School of Management is home to two entities
that concern themselves with developing leadership at multiple levels of
business. This is a reflection that we are not only devoting ourselves to
developing good business leaders, but we are also taking a leading role in
doing so, he says. ö

For more information on The Leadership Academy, visit
http://som.utdallas.edu/executive/cert/cel or contact Mr. Spivey at
972-883-2589 or dspivey@utdallas.edu.