The leader within!

Friday, Jan. 27, 2023

Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

How do you influence others to maximize their effort to achieve the objective of translating vision into reality? Better said: How do you empower others? Clearly positions of authority, titles and organizational hierarchy have little to do with effective leadership and influencing others in the long run.

Proven is the fact that mastering the essential SKAs (skills, knowledge and abilities) of effective leadership is the “secret sauce” of consistently getting results and achieving organizational objectives. In other words, leadership, like all other human traits, is learned and not inherent!

Subscribing to this notion, and realizing that many of our faculty, students and staff can nurture their own unique leadership abilities, we have launched a leadership development series that is designed to provide the opportunity to pause, reflect and focus on developing “the leader within.”

Thanks in no small measure to our chief human resources officer, Cindi Nelson, and her able team, the two tracks are designed for those interested in organizational leadership roles as well as individual excellence. The modules range from courses with no prerequisites to courses with requirements that will enhance subsequent learning. The modules include:

  • Personal effectiveness workshop
  • Project management
  • Emerging leaders
  • Project management certification
  • Supervisory foundation training series for faculty and staff in a newly appointed supervisory role
  • Coaching seminar
  • Executive coaching

The personal effectiveness workshop and emerging leaders program are underway and encompass topics including transitioning to a leadership role, situational awareness, DiSC assessment that aims to provide more self-awareness and insight, operational improvement, and teamwork.

As we progress in our sequence, more advanced modules will be implemented with the goal of establishing a leadership continuity (rather than succession) program. Investing in our faculty and staff to ensure our future operational and leadership viability is a critical element of our future success. It is no secret that investing in our employees pays dividends in terms of improving productivity, reducing turnover and attracting new talent. Simply put, people want to join a team that invests in them. As a recent Harvard Business Review article points out, “To Retain Your Best Employees, Invest in Your Best Managers.”

I encourage our faculty and staff to consider participating in our leadership and management training programs. You will benefit greatly if you are interested in sharpening your leadership skills, or perhaps more importantly, if you are interested in inspiring others. Awakening the leader within is not about titles that some aspire to. Rather, it is always about walking, side by side, with others and inspiring them to share our emotional and, yes, often spiritual, journey to success.

Warmly,

-Mo.

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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu