Session 1 - September 9, 2010
Collaborative Leadership Styles  

The first session focused on understanding the variety of leadership styles within our class. The day was spent getting to know each other through team challenges and exercises directed by a facilitator from Team Leadership in Sturgeon Bay.

Joe Stellato from UW-Extension took us through the "True Colors" Matrixx System. Through a series of exercises, each member learned what their predominant 'color' was, provided them a better understanding of their personality strengths and the importance of having people with all 'colors' on your team.

An employee from UW-Extension talked about the "invasive species" that threaten our area forests and waterways. We discussed how the state spends millions of dollars each year in an attempt to control further growth; unfortunately some are nearly impossible to prevent.

The complexity of area planning was another topic discussed by a long range planner for the Shawano County Planning and Development Department. In some cases you have state, county and township government all involved in the same land use decisions. The class soon understood the complexity of the process.

Part of the curriculum for LSC is to participate in a group project. An informal community "needs assessment" was conducted by the class. A list of needs and services was created and the class determined which two projects to focus on during the remainder of the class sessions.

Public speaking skills are put to practice this day. LSC participants are asked to prepare a three minute speech on any topic they choose. The speeches were presented to a Green Bay Toastmaster representative who individually critiqued each presentation and offered excellent tips on how to become a better presenter.

County Supervisors provided an overview of their job responsibilities and they shared successful tips they used to run for public office. Leadership Shawano County continues to encourage citizen participation. Lastly an overview of Tribal Government and City Government issues were discussed.

What It Takes to be an Entrepreneur and Staying Alive in a Competitive Market were the first two topics covered by local businessmen Pat Crawford and Ben Grigg. Common threads in each of these presentations included believing in your product, having passion for what you do and doing the "right" thing for your customer while remaining profitable. Much was learned from talking to these experienced businessmen.

The day started with a tour of the College of Menominee Nation to see their ever expanded campus with state-of-the-art classrooms and access to distance learning classes. This college is available to people both on and off the Menominee Reservation.

Sandi Kane from Community Education discussed all of the educational programs available to community members. If you have a skill and want to share it with others, the Community Education program may turn it into a class for the community to participate in.

Have you ever wondered why it is difficult to communicate with people from other generations? Each generation has unique values, work ethics and learning styles. Understanding these differences and learning what approach to use can help you communicate with a multi-generational work force. Covering the topic "Communicating Across Generations" helped us become more understanding when faced with generational differences.

LSC organized a youth action panel with area high school students to discuss their hopes for the future, issues confronting them today and their desire to have a safe and fun place to "just hang out" and be with their friends. In some ways things have not changed; kids just want to place to go, but in other ways, we are reminded how times have changed; children today have larger expectations, a level of maturity and responsibility many of us did not see until years after high school. If this group of high school students is in charge of our future, we will be okay!

Homme Youth and Family Programs in Wittenberg was our host for the day. The training coordinator talked about diversity being the differences we recognize in ourselves and others. Ideally we should recognize our differences and respect differences until the difference doesn't matter anymore. We need to capitalize on each others strengths as business widens the range of nationalities and languages. Diversity is variety and there is much to learn from one another.

Stress management is a topic we all have an interest in and managing it seems to be a secret we all want to know. Stress is wear and tear on our bodies as we adjust to our continually changing environment. It has physical and emotional effects which can create positive or negative feelings. Our goal is to get our bodies in balance; we need to find a proper level of stress in order to function in a healthy way.

The topic that really moved us was the overview of programs available to troubled youth at Homme Youth and Family Programs. The extent of what these children have gone though is really hard to imagine. Living through cycles of violence both to others and themselves is all they understand.

This facility provides a safe environment for them to live, educates them, and helps to rehabilitate them so they go on to live productive lives. It is an extraordinary group of talented individuals who make a difference in the lives of these children.

We ended the session on the topic of Balancing Work and Family. We were encouraged to live in the present, not waste time by worrying about the past and not to think too hard about the future. We were given a purpose and responsibility to this life: decide what your goals are, work, spouse or children and intentionally schedule your time to meet these goals.

At the State Capitol in Madison, the class met with Rep representative Gary Tauchen and Senator Rob Cowles to discuss State of Wisconsin issues, opinions on state budget issues and the stimulus money. Meeting with them gave us a better understanding on why it is important to let them know how we feel about certain issues. Your voice matters!

We occupied the Governor's conference room for a discussion on the state budget by two of Governor Doyle's representatives. We began to understand how difficult it is to create a balanced budget. In some cases, money is transferred from one area to another, in other cases fees are raised to provide funding for expanded services. There is no easy solution to working with less money while providing increased services.

ThedaCare Physicians has been in our community since 1992. When designing the current building, they took suggestions from a community advisory board to provide services people were looking for. Residents were looking for more services under one roof which lead to the new Ambulatory Care Center providing integrated primary care and multi-specialty outpatient services.

Shawano Medical Center and expanding Riverside Clinic brings an array of specialists to our community. The new direction this year is to install electronic medical records in all work and patient areas. Computers are now installed in all patient rooms and the ER and all work areas for documentation. Gone are the days you can't read someone's messy handwriting! Another area of advancement is in the new digital radiology equipment. X-rays and scans are now available as soon as the scan is taken at bedsides and work stations. No more waiting to process films. Their "Plane Tree" concept comes out in their choice of natural materials, soft lighting and a cozy fireplace in the lobby. It's hard to overlook the common areas but the private exam rooms are comfortably appointed and functional.

The day started with a segment on business etiquette. As our society gets more casual, it seems the rules are changing? There are still some rules of etiquette that are good business practice. These rules and suggestions were shared with the class.

More and more organizations and clubs rely on volunteers to make their programs work. We talked about how to recruit the right volunteers and more importantly; how to keep them.

This last session was designed to sum up what we have learned and to make a plan for the future. Individual participants were asked to set personal goals then share them with the class. We took it a step further by writing our own personal Mission Statements.