Spring Newsletter
Valuing Innovation
by Wendy Soderquist Togami,
Director of Leadership Development
Innovation is exciting. It can save us from the past and can prepare us for change. Innovation is the way we improve--the way we advance, grow, and learn from one another. However, there is reason to be cautious. Effective innovation comes only through careful leadership.
As leaders, we must recognize that innovation always involves some level of risk. Some leaders today promote innovation but fail to create a safe place for their people to take risks. If we promote innovation but do not allow our people to make mistakes, we shatter our credibility as leaders, de-motivate our workforce, and push managers to make decisions based on fear rather than the strengths of the organization. On the other end of the spectrum are organizations like Enron where the emphasis on innovation trumps all cultural values, driving the company into reckless risks. While operating this way can bring short term success, sustainable innovation relies upon a careful balance of risk and caution.
Living out the value of innovation requires time and energy. A leader who wants to cultivate this value must be an active listener, welcoming the free-flow of conversation among individual contributors and valuing the opinions of employees from across the organization.
wsoderquist@jbu.edu
Customer Highlight: The Jones Center for Families
by Dusty Pruitt, Soderquist Fellow
The Jones Center for Families has long been a place of inclusion and community for citizens of Northwest Arkansas. Since its inception in 1995, The Jones Center has offered families and groups a safe harbor by providing free recreational facilities. Every square foot of the buildings is dedicated to members of all ethnicities and ages. I find myself constantly amazed by the magnitude of the gift Harvey and Bernice Jones gave to the Northwest Arkansas community and how it operates under only one premise: All are welcome who behave as ladies and gentlemen.
Recently, I had the unique opportunity of serving as Project Coordinator to The Jones Center as we facilitated them through a Leadership Framework process. The program is designed to help organizations assess their current organizational structure and identify opportunities within. As a result, The Soderquist Center started by creating organization-specific leadership competencies for employees at all levels at The Jones Center, along with leadership development plans to support those competencies. Based on the assessment outcome, The Soderquist Center also developed a framework around strategic planning and organizational structuring for The Jones Center to work from. We were able to come alongside The Jones Center to brainstorm ideas for executing on both plans. Now, The Jones Center board and staff members are equipped and ready to work through the process.
My experience with The Jones Center reaffirmed the importance of “buy-in” as it relates to the Mission and Vision of an organization. You may have a lot of capable people, but without buy-in, they will never be effective. The Jones Center has been successful because every member of their team believes in the mission and vision of the Center.
pruittd@jbu.edu
The Soderquist Center 360 Feedback Process
At The Soderquist Center, we take a three-dimensional view of leadership. Our experience has shown that to effectively lead others and in turn, lead an organization, you must first be able to manage yourself. This “inside-out” approach means clearly identifying your core personal values and seeking feedback on how effectively you demonstrate these through your behavior and decisions. In order to reflect our unique values-based approach to leadership, we partnered with The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) to develop a customized 360 feedback assessment.
This assessment is designed to reflect The Soderquist Center’s leadership philosophy. Two customized competencies, Leading with Values and Inspiring Excellence form the foundation of the assessment. The remaining 17 leadership competencies build upon this foundation through three distinct sections: managing self, leading others, and leading the organization.
Leadership is a lifelong journey. The 360 feedback process is an opportunity for leaders to take a moment to check their coordinates and ask “How am I doing?” It allows leaders to see how their behaviors are being perceived by their supervisors, team members, peers, and others. This process can be transformational. However, we understand that transformation takes commitment. For this reason our 360 process does not end with an assessment. A qualified member of our staff will meet one-on-one with the participant to walk them through their feedback
Interested in learning more about our customized 360 feedback process? Contact Chuck Hyde at chyde@jbu.edu or 479-238-8652.
Leadership Week a Success
Bill Pollard, retired CEO of ServiceMaster, joined us for our 9th annual Leadership Week on the campus of John Brown University. Mr. Pollard addressed students during chapel and in the classroom. We were honored to have many of our friends and customers join us for a special luncheon to celebrate this exciting event. Andy Wilson, CEO of The Soderquist Center, served as our second key note speaker for the week, speaking in chapel and hosting a luncheon for undergraduates at JBU. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Leadership Week a success!
People News
We love to celebrate the success of not only our customers and partners but our own team members. Below are a few successes we want to brag about.
Sandy Tush, Manager of Design and Delivery, recently received her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification. 424 total PHR professionals reside in Arkansas – less than 1% of total PHR certified professionals in the US.
stush@jbu.edu
Heather Davidson and Jennifer Haas, Managers of Design and Delivery, achieved their certifications in Emotional Intelligences as well as the Birkmann Method.
hdavidson@jbu.edu
jhaas@jbu.edu
The Center is pleased to introduce Caryn Weaver, Graphic Designer, as our newest member of our team. Caryn recently graduated from John Brown University in December 2006 with a degree in Graphic Design.
cweaver@jbu.edu