Visionary Leader Header
Dear Reader,

On Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life radio show this week, Jim Kouzes pointed out that the most influential leaders are the people who are already in our lives.  He reminded us that how we live and lead our lives has an effect on others, explaining that leadership is not the domain of a few charismatic people, but rather is an way of being and doing that is available to all of us.  Jim made his point so clearly that I can't help but think of the many people who have helped shape my life and perspective -- and about the conscious and unconscious leadership role that I am playing in the lives of my children and others.  
 
Our lives are connected and ever-influenced by each other whether or not we fully realize it.  I wonder who has inspired, challenged and guided you?  Who might be learning from you today? Do you have people in your life who model what you want to learn?
 
On Monday, February 25th, Professor Jessica Holmes will join me to talk about how a mentor-guided course is helping Middlebury College students discover their life paths and their inner entrepreneurs.  Here is a great example of people sharing their gifts across generations and walks of life for the sake of learning and helping others.  Last month, I had the chance to teach a class in this program, and I heard firsthand many adults saying, "If only I'd had something like this when I was younger...." College students told me over lunch in Proctor Hall that the experience of learning from mentors and firsthand experience had changed how they thought about what they could do with their lives in the future.  
 
MiddCORE reminds me that our connections with others are a vehicle for discovering who we are and can help us to find our way in life -- and this learning is reciprocal. When you share who you are, you benefit from how others share back.  Often, these benefits are unexpected, surprising and -- wonderful.  
 
Jessica Holmes inspires me with her energy, vision and dedication to helping young people gain confidence about the future.  I bet she'll do the same for you!  Please join us next week.
 
Very best,




 
Kate Ebner
CEO
Nebo Company
Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life on VoiceAmerica Business  


Monday, February 25, 2013     

11 AM Eastern Time

On VoiceAmerica Business

  

    
 
Listen on Monday. 

Entrepreneurship and Leadership Learning in the Liberal Arts -- A Conversation with Jessica Holmes, Director of MiddCORE 

 

In an era of budget-slashing and student debt, many debate the future of higher education and wonder how well a liberal arts education prepares young people for the future. At Middlebury College, Professor Jessica Holmes is demonstrating how a liberal arts education translates into skills and perspectives that develop future leaders. Each January, around 40 students set aside their political theory, literature, science and language textbooks and dive into an intensive program called MiddCore, an intensely interactive course that stretches students beyond their comfort zones to become budding entrepreneurs and leaders. The program taps into diverse and accomplished mentors who are leaders in their fields to give students a taste of real world challenges and strategies that go beyond the typical classroom experience.  Students practice interview skills with the local public radio station, present solutions at a Social Entrepreneurship Symposium and answer questions posed by former governors and senators for a crash course in crisis management, to name just a few of the extraordinary experiences offered in MiddCORE. Join Associate Professor of Economics and Director of MiddCore Jessica Holmes and Host Kate Ebner to hear how this blend of practical experience, mentorship, leadership practice, entrepreneurship, and academic work is changing lives and perceptions of what the liberal arts really offers. 

  

 

Guest Biography

Jessica Holmes is the Director of MiddCORE as well as Associate Professor of Economics at Middlebury College. Under Jessica's leadership, MiddCORE has expanded to several affiliated schools throughout the U.S. and also includes an internship and workshop program. Jessica teaches courses in microeconomics, health economics, the economics of social issues and the economics of sin. Prior to joining the Middlebury faculty in 2001, she worked as a litigation consultant, conducting economic analyses for companies facing lawsuits involving securities fraud, product liability, and intellectual property. Jessica's prior consulting experience shapes her emphasis on experiential learning in the classroom. Jessica is also an avid researcher, currently working on a multi-year project involving the economics of philanthropy. She earned a PhD in Economics at Yale University in 1998. Jessica lives in Vermont with her husband and three children where she is a competitive swimmer.

 

Be inspired. 
Become inspiring.  

 

Missed the Live Show?

Past Episodes are available on demand and podcast-ready via iTunes or RSS feed.

Three Leadership Lessons from Jim Kouzes
The acclaimed leadership author, speaker and instructor shares insights from over 30 years of research
 
by Rachel Wold

Greatly influenced by JFK, during whose Inauguration he served in the Honor Guard with a dozen other Eagle Scouts, Jim Kouzes took to heart the president's famous call to action: "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" and joined the Peace Corps after college. 
This lesson- that the actions of one person can make a difference- is the first of three most importantl leadership lessons Jim highlighted in his conversation with Kate Ebner last Monday. This lesson gets at the fundamental heart of leadership: to lead, one must believe that his or her actions can influence other people, organizations, and the world.

The second lesson is that through practice, any person can learn to be a leader. As Jim put it, "Leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It's not just about what the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies do or the presidents of countries or leaders on the covers of magazines. It's what anyone who wants to take someone to a place they've never been before does."
Jim and his long-time, colleague, co-author and partner, Barry Posner, conceptualize leadership not as an innate capability, but as a set of skills that are learnable by everyone with desire to lead and will to practice. Jim emphasized that practice and reflection are crucial to developing one's leadership skills and noted that although studies have shown those who participate in leadership development activities are ranked higher in leadership qualities than their peers, leadership is not something you can cultivate in a 2-day seminar and then have for the rest of your life. It is a daily practice.
Jim's third lesson highlighted the importance of vision: imagine that you are holding one piece of a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. You and your colleagues each have a piece but you've misplaced the box with the final picture on the front. "Great leaders can communicate what the puzzle will look like even if they only hold a few of the pieces. Without the vision, people are left holding a piece without an idea of where it belongs in the big picture. Leaders tell their team how their pieces fit into the puzzle and what the puzzle will look like when it is constructed." This is the power of a leader with vision. "People cannot articulate where they're headed unless they hear their leaders talk about it in detail, what it will be like, the kinds of things people will be doing when they're there, how they will feel in that future." 
Vision is that idea of a desired future that inspires those around a leader. It is related to the forward-thinking quality that research shows is so important in admired leaders.
To learn more about leadership, including a few of Jim's visioning exercises, listen to the full episode here or download the podcast.
February 22, 2013   
Join Our Mailing List
In This Issue
Jessica Holmes on Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life
Leadership Lessons from Jim Kouzes
Create Your Vision!
Missed the last show?
Recommended Resources
She Leads: Leadership Learning Designed to Take You to the Next Level
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Create Your Vision!
 
We have designed a quick  and easy visioning exercise just for you! You will receive your own personal vision statement immediately upon hitting "submit."
To create your vision statement, CLICK HERE.

On the Impact of Vision

 
"Having a vision is the difference between being seen as a leader and being seen as a colleague."

 

--Jim Kouzes on

 Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life 2/18/13

Radio Show

Missed the last show?    

 
Don't miss the full interview with leadership legend Jim Kouzes on the February 18 episode  of Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life.

   

Be inspired. 

Become inspiring.
Recommended Resources
 
Featured Links

MiddCORE

The Leadership Challenge

 
Woman laptop dreamy
She Leads 
 
Now is a great time to sign up for She Leads, our first online course designed to give women the knowledge and strategies they need to take their leadership to the next level. She Leads: Proven Strategies to Inspire and Succeed begins March 21st so don't wait! Use code "SL2013" at checkout and save.