FORGED Tempered in Common Fire The Center for Leadership Formation Alumni Newsletter SPRING 2018 • VOLUME 1
UPCOMING EVENTS
FORGING NEW PATHS
Executive Speaker Series & Campfire Chats Thursday, April 19, 2018 - 5:30 p.m. Pigott Auditorium Kevin McAllister - President & CEO
Amber Oleson, LEMBA ‘16
Boeing Commercial Airplanes Alumni Mini-Series Starting May 9, 2018, 6 p.m. Corporate Culture Executive Speaker Series & Campfire Chats Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - 5:30 p.m. Pigott Auditorium Benson Porter - President & CEO BECU Seattle U 33rd Annual Alumni Awards Friday, May 4, 2018 - 7 p.m. Four Seasons Hotel Seattle Graduate Commencement Ceremony Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 3:00 p.m. KeyArena at Seattle Center
For over 20 years the Center for Leadership Formation has created a community of inspired leaders who are called down to the dance floor to bring people together and forge new paths. When we walked into the doors at Seattle University we all came from different experiences and our definitions of leadership were varied. When we walked out the door we left enlightened with a deeper awareness of self and a calling to be something more. We also left with a new community, our cohort, connected through deep ties of understanding, learning and support. “Through this We take this community with us into forged community, our our lives and while the ties run deep greater commons, we will the current of family and friends, of leave the world in our workplace, is strong and pulls a better place than we many of us apart over time. The found it. If not us, who? Center for Leadership Formation If not now, when?” Alumni Association begins a new ~Amber Oleson, journey to bring our community LEMBA ‘16 together, to forge our commons, and to inspire our alumni to transform industry, leadership and society. The Alumni Association Leadership Team has been collaborating for the past 12 months to bring our community together with relevant, purpose-driven and differentiated experiences delivering continuity with the program itself. With over 500 alumni, we want to bring our larger cohort together, leverage our shared values, and nurture the ongoing journey of leadership impact. When I graduated in 2016, my cohort relationships ran deep with our shared experiences and their support in my journey was unmatched. Over the past 12 months, I have discovered fulfilling new relationships with other alumni who alongside my cohort encouraged me to push down my new path and help me challenge my perspective to continue to grow as I had in the program. This has deepened and widened the definition of cohort; it now goes beyond the classroom and into our community. Through their support, I took a large pivot in my career and walked down a path that guided me to a place where I found my vocational calling. It is here where the meaning of our alumni cohort is forged; a place where our network is greater than any other and supports Continued on page 2, “New Paths”
Mo Khamlichi (‘17) and Nathan Nguyen (‘17) at Stoking the Common Fire
CONTENTS 2018 Dues Campaign: 2 • Our Community: 2 • 2018 Social Justice Projects: 3 A Primer on Corporate Culture: 3 • CLF Alumni Association Leadership Team: 4
HELP US ALL STAY CONNECTED: SUPPORT OUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
UPDATES AROUND OUR COMMUNITY
Whether you’ve graduated two years ago or twenty, your support of the Center for Leadership Pay your dues by Formation Alumni Association ensures our ability June 30th and save! to stay connected to all those who have forged The cost is only $89 themselves in common fire. This is a time to for 2018 reflect on your path during the program and on Program Year. how you are leveraging those experiences from Leadership Impact Day to Legacy.
Dr. Jeff Avansino, LEMBA ‘16 Now Vice President and Medical Director, Surgical Services, and Associate Surgeon-in-Chief at Seattle Children’s, Seattle. Dr. Jay Cook, LEMBA ‘17 Now Chief Medical Officer at Providence Regional Medical Center, Everett.
Maybe you have never paid alumni dues before or maybe you used to but have let it fall by the wayside. That’s ok, we understand. Life after the program is just as busy as it was before we each enrolled! But don’t just throw away this newsletter – consider supporting your fellow alumni this year! With that said, the Center for Leadership Formation Alumni Association is pleased to present you with how to do just that.
Nathan Nguyen, LEMBA ‘17 Now Regional Director of Northwest at JP Morgan Chase, Washington & Oregon.
Pay your dues by June 30th and save! The cost is only $89 for 2018 Program Year. Your dues will allow you access to all of our great programs.
Rebecca Okelo, LEMBA ‘15 Now Director of Programs and Projects at Virginia Mason, Seattle.
Be on the lookout for: •
Campfire Chats
•
Alumni Mini-Series focused on current, relevant events
•
Bastyr-like Team Building Event
•
Lecture Series focused on new material
•
Alumni Newsletter focused on emergent leadership and professional development trends
Amber Oleson, LEMBA ‘16 Now Cyber Security Practice Manager at Deja vu Security, Seattle.
Susan Vosper, LEMBA ‘10 Now Chief of Staff WW Operations at Microsoft, Redmond.
So, how can you support the Center for Leadership Formation Alumni Association? Simply navigate to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/center-for-leadershipformation-alumni-dues-drive-2018-tickets-36107986961 and use your preferred credit card of choice. Thank you for supporting our Alumni Association. We look forward to continuing to connect with each of you.
Have an update to share in the next issue of FORGED? email olesona1@seattleu.edu
NEW PATHS, Continued from page 1 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP TEAM
each of us on our leadership journey to grow to heights we never thought possible. The Alumni Association has put together a calendar of events for this coming year including a facilitated mini-series on current events, a Bastyr-like event to build our cohort relationships, a lecture series to foster continued learning and alongside Albers Executive Speaker Series we will continue to host Campfire Chats. We welcome every alumni to join us as we begin to create our community with intention, driven by a desire for deeper engagement and a calling to leave our personal legacy. Through this forged community, our greater commons, we will leave the world in a better place than we found it. If not us, who? If not now, when? Help forge our community by participating in our events, supporting our alumni and financially giving to our programs.
Erin Cavin, LEMBA ‘17 Brian Daniels, LEMBA ‘14 Christi Medlyn, LEMBA ‘17 Amber Oleson, LEMBA ‘16 Joseph Restivo, LEMBA ‘16 Tonya Swick, LEMBA ‘11 Ariel Rosemond, LEMBA ‘14 (Program Liaison)
2
2018 SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECTS
A PRIMER ON CORPORATE CULTURE
Third Rail Providing free computers/technology support, online training modules, and certification exams to allow people to develop technology skills, including A+ certification, with a goal of achieving a living wage in Seattle.
Joe Restivo, LEMBA ‘16
Organizational culture is the inherent personality of the corporation. It is an amalgamation of a variety of factors including the corporate mission and vision, its moral and ethical compass, its internal goals and expectations, and the combination of each of its individual workforce personalities. Intuitively, we understand a positive organizational culture to have a meaningful impact upon the overall health of the corporation, as well as the daily experiences of its internal and external stakeholders. The late business management guru Peter Drucker is attributed as saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Team Emphasis Interactive content that teaches life skills to help refugees find their voice and feel a sense of belonging, promoting self-advocacy and helping them to thrive in the United States.
In a recent study published in late 2016 out of the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick, Dr. Eugenio Proto and the IZA World of Labor, found “that a rise in workers’ happiness leads to an increase in productivity; and companies would profit from investment in their employees’ well-being.” For organizations who establish employee wellbeing as a pillar of their cultural identity, this research illustrates a correlation between capital investment in corporate resources and a positive return on investment due in part to increased workforce productivity. This is but one of many examples illustrating the importance of having a positive organizational culture.
Team JOY! Our mission is to create a sustainable community activity through the creation of a Girl Scout troop that increases inclusion and brings added joy to girls with disabilities. Red Team We enable sports participation opportunities to remove the classism barrier that keeps many lowerincome kids on the sidelines.
As business-leaders, it is obvious that we wish to reap the intrinsic benefits of a positive organizational culture. What follows logically, is the need to understand how best to cultivate that culture. John Coleman, a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, outlined six common components that create an organization’s culture: vision, values, practices, people, narrative, and place.
Team STEM Strong Team STEM Strong is working to help disadvantaged students in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, where math scores are chronically below average, become more aware of, interested and proficient in math as a pathway to future tech jobs and a better life in the booming Seattle economy.
A corporation’s vision articulates its overarching purpose. Purpose acts as a rudder, orienting the employee decision making process. Coleman posits that “when they [visions] are deeply authentic and prominently displayed, good vision statements can even help orient customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.” Simply put, words have power. For example, Disney’s vision illustrates their singular purpose. They exist “to make people happy.”
Project CARE Project CARE brings experiential learning through Creative Activity-based Relatable Experiences to incarcerated youth by helping build connections and self-confidence.
Values are the guardrails which ensure the successful delivery of the corporate Vision. They provide employees with the parameters by which they should align their internal behaviors and mindsets. Values such as Google’s “Do the right Continued on page 4, “Corporate Culture”
Team Hand-In-Hand A community-based mentorship initiative in which minority women support one another with the goal of a successful career in technology, a high wage industry with an extremely low representation of minority women. Team Spero The developmentally disabled community wants to work and they have valuable skills to offer local businesses. Team Spero is dedicated to the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities and strives to increase their employment opportunities in King County. Christi Medlyn (‘17), Dr. Holly Ferraro, Amber Oleson (‘16), Tonya Swick (‘11) and Mike Waller (‘17) at a recent Campfire Chat. 3
CORPORATE CULTURE, Continued from page 3 thing” or Amazon’s “Leadership Principles” authentically display what it means to embody their respective organization’s culture. Practices are the operational initiatives that reinforce and empower the delivery of an organization’s values. If, as an organization, you value the idea of a “flat” hierarchy of authority, Coleman states that you “must encourage more junior team members to dissent in discussions without fear or negative repercussions.” Practices must be embedded throughout all processes in the organization from new hire orientation through performance review processes. People are an obvious, critical component for the continued flourishment of an organization’s culture. They are the Most could argue visible and vocal advocates for the tenets central to that an organization should create why the business chooses to exist. According to a positive corporate culture, but what a Monster.com study, firms that institute the responsibilities do they have to their employees strictest hiring practices and thus ensure only beyond standard workplace rights? the closest culturally aligned candidates are Do they have responsibilities beyond enabling performance? hired, realize a 30% less turnover rate over their peers.
Do they have a responsibility to inspire leadership, to create
Narrative’s play a critical role in career paths, to promote job satisfaction? connecting external and internal What about a responsibility to our communities? stakeholders to the company. They help in elucidating the firm’s corporate vision, Are they justified to not go beyond their walls, or do they have thus further honing the organization’s an obligation to support the community they do business in? cultural framework. Take Costco’s central operating philosophy of keeping costs Join us for our mini-series event starting May 9th to down and passing those savings to their engage in a deeper conversation on corporate members. Since 1985, the price of a hotdog culture, a continuation of our gender and and soda at Costco has remained at $1.50. Costco leadership discussion, and how we has taken extraordinary measures over the years to inspire change for community preserve this price point, ensuring they reinforce their involvement. narrative around a customer savings-focused culture. Finally, the place in which you do business, has a pivotal impact upon the organizational culture you cultivate. In Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s book entitled Willpower Doesn’t Work, he describes the “environment” as “that which is external.” He continues, “although psychological research, for instance, distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the reality is that the internal and external play off each other. When you change your environment, such as surrounding yourself with different people, your thoughts and emotions change.” The corporate “environment” has a direct impact upon the shaping of the organization’s culture by adjusting the physical and mental state of the firm’s workforce. There are a multitude of components that inform and cultivate an organization’s culture. Understanding their underlying impact, how best to implement and modify them, will help define the inherent personality of your organization. A positive-focused organizational culture will provide residual benefits throughout the entire structure of a corporation, from fiscal health, operational efficiency, and people acquisition and management. 4