Members of Leadership Niagara’s Program Advisory Committee were excited to host an in-person Opening Retreat for its 2023-2024 Community Leadership Development Program at the Welland Flatwater Centre on October 13, 2023.
With 24 enthusiastic participants from xx businesses and organizations from across the Niagara region, this year’s cohort was the first to return to in-person learning since the start of the pandemic.
The first few learning days for the cohort focus on exploring leadership for a changing world. Participants are introduced to the program, which has worked to develop community-minded leaders since 2007. The new cohort will follow a leadership journey from October through until June with a focus on developing the skills and competencies required to be ‘inspiring leaders building community.’ Through a series of in-person and virtual workshops, interacting with numerous Niagara leaders from a variety of fields, the new cohort will join over 400 alumni who continue to live, work and give back to Niagara.
Holly Catalfamo, former member of Leadership Niagara’s Program Advisory Committee and Senior Director of Global Engagement at Niagara College, introduced participants to the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership as outlined in The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. Participants were actively involved in discussing these practices and how they have seen them in action in their workplaces.
Jessica Potts, a distinguished Leadership Niagara alumnus and President of Inspired Strategies, led a panel conversation with Akram Askoul, Director of Technology Services, Niagara Region Police Service; Mike Lethby, Executive Director, the RAFT; Carolyn Mullin, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Niagara College; and Teresa Quinlin-Murphy, Director of Corporate Services, Town of Pelham. The panelists are all Leadership Niagara graduates who use the tenets of the program in their work and community leadership roles. The dynamic conversation allowed this year’s cohort to hear how Leadership Niagara alumni have made volunteering and giving back to the community an integral part of their daily lives.
On the second learning day of the session, Shane Malcolm, formerly Executive Director of Leadership Niagara and currently Associate Director of Career Education at Brock University, introduced TetraMap assessments. Through TetraMap, participants explored opportunities for increased collaboration and improved understanding of team dynamics. Understanding how different individuals react to similar situations can alleviate conflict and lead to improved collaboration.
Throughout both learning sessions, participants had numerous opportunities to network and share experiences.
As the program progresses, participants will work in project teams. Each project team will work on an experiential project to support a community group and help address a challenge in their organization. As their learning journeys continue, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own personal growth as community-minded leaders in Niagara.
