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Much of the time serving as an elected official and leading county government is typical of a managerial position in the business world. Officials make decisions and manage the work to best serve their constituencies. Every so often, though, issues pop up that test the abilities of even the most seasoned officials. Quickly the role of being a manager shifts to the role of being a leader. To switch roles effectively one has to understand the difference in skills and qualities required.
The NACO Institute of Excellence is a year-long program of professional development for county officials. Enrollment is now open for the 2016 Institute beginning in March. Several areas of personal leadership development will be presented including one's;
- personality preferences and leadership behaviors,
- leadership mission, and
- active listening skills.
Further into the year participants will learn skills for;
- managing conflicts,
- leading meetings, and
- corresponding with legislators.
Topics about influencing others and innovative thinking will move officials to lead at a higher level. New this year will be a topic about integrating leadership into a re-election strategy.
The Institute training sessions start at 9:00 a.m. and will end by 3:30 p.m. Training sessions will be presented in North Platte at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center on the first Thursdays in March, May, July and September. The sessions will be offered again on the second Thursdays of those months in Lincoln at the Nebraska Extension Office in Lancaster County. Everyone comes together in December to apply what they've learned on the Tuesday prior to the start of the NACO Annual Conference in Kearney.
Participants can attend in either North Platte or Lincoln - which ever location fits into one's schedule best. For more details click on meeting locations and the program schedule. To receive a Certificate of Achievement at the 2016 NACO Annual Conference next December, participants in the Institute MUST attend 4 of the 5 face-to-face trainings. (In other words, you can only miss one day of training.)
The registration fee for participating in the program is $250 per official. NACO will bill the counties for the registration fees. Registrations canceled prior to March 1 will be honored. To enroll, fill out both the online NACO and NE Extension registration forms by February 17th. The NACO registration is for billing purposes and the NE Extension registration is for enrollment purposes.
Soon after the deadline, enrollees in the 2016 Institute of Excellence will receive additional information about the program from Nebraska Extension Educator, Carroll Welte and Extension Educator Emeritus Phyllis Schoenholz. Their contact information follows:
Carroll Welte, Extension Educator Phyllis Schoenholz, Extension Educator
Nebraska Extension Burt County Nebraska Extension Educator Emeritus
Phone: (402) 374-2929 or 2954 Phone: (402) 366-4281
To become better at shifting between manager and leader, enroll today in the NACO Institute of Excellence. According to one graduate, "...incremental change can result in big rewards."
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