Jason Arndt, jarndt@wolfrivermedia.com
A Green Bay-based management consultant has volunteered his time to help Leadership Shawano County improve its curriculum.
Cecil area resident Greg Gauthier, a partner with Foxwood Associates, a Green Bay management consulting firm, began working with the local leadership program last summer. The new curriculum was introduced with the leadership class that started in September.
There are 18 members of the class slated to graduate from the program in May.
“The goal was to develop leadership skills in the participants that would have a direct and positive impact on their employer companies,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier previously worked with the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Green Bay.
“Foxwood’s association with the chamber and its strong reputation in the local business community for leadership program development made it a natural choice for enhancing our curriculum,” said Wendy Crawford, program coordinator for Leadership Shawano County.
Crawford said she started mulling ways to enhance the curriculum of the 15-year-old program while attending state leadership conferences. She met Gauthier through a community project last year.
Gauthier specializes in executive coaching, leadership development, strategy and culture transformation for organizations.
“My goal is to help Wendy integrate content into her program in a way that makes it impactful and relevant for the participants,” Gauthier said. “I also provide guidance to Wendy on methods and techniques she can use to facilitate the learning experience.”
The methods include more panel discussions on community concerns and more conversations about real-life business experiences among the program participants.
“We reinforce the concepts through shared stories because we all have our certain business experience,” Crawford said. “Everybody has them. Business stories can also be about what not to do.”
The discussions and training, as well as the continued focus on community topics and projects, hopefully will inspire class participants, she said.
“Leadership is developed through that process,” Crawford said. “People generally align themselves to something they feel passionate about. They step forward and get involved and use their skills.”
While the leadership curriculum has been adjusted for the current class, some segments remain unchanged, including sessions on fundraising methods, public speaking and working with multiple generations.
Crawford believes the new developments will keep the curriculum current, which provides an incentive for local employers to continue sponsoring employees to attend the monthly classes.
“What have we been doing has been working very well, but I feel that we owe it to our sponsors, we owe to the current employers, to stay current and to constantly tweak it to make it better,” Crawford said.
Leadership Shawano County is a program of the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce and the University of Wisconsin- Extension in Shawano County.
Each September, the class kicks off with 18 to 20 participants who, through a series of monthly sessions, learn about social issues and challenges facing the Shawano area. In addition they are exposed to leadership education and training skills, and opportunities to become involved in community efforts.