Over five events in 2023-2024, the Alliance’s Fraternal Career Development Series will support and inspire a select group of up-and-coming fraternal executives through in-person and virtual leadership training. 

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS FOR 2023-2024

September 12, 2023

IN PERSON | Session #1 | Kickoff & Leadership Roadmap
Oak Brook, Illinois (Hyatt Lodge)
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Central

Welcome to the Fraternal Career Development Series! There are two core areas that any leader must learn how to manage – results and relationships. To make matters more complex, we are all managers and contributors at the same time. Making the transition from producing work to managing people (while still producing work) requires a priority-shifting tap dance. During this series overview, we will learn about the four leadership cornerstones that make that dance more manageable - Building Relationships, Assimilating Information, Providing Direction, and Creating a Vision. A history on the fraternal system and an overview of the unique structure of fraternal benefit societies will also be provided. Students are invited to attend a networking reception following the session with fraternal CEOs!

No virtual option. In-person only.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the four phases of effectively managing people and production and identify how each phase is geared to resolve a specific leadership challenge.

• Learn how to develop trust as a core element of any successful work team and identify the ways trust can be unintentionally destroyed.

• Explore common challenges that crop up for any supervisor related to managing results and leading people.

October 19, 2023

VIRTUAL | Session #2 | Being an Emotionally Intelligent Leader

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Central

Being “emotionally intelligent” is a critical success factor for any stress-tolerant professional who seeks to effectively manage results as well as relationships. Learn how to handle difficult exchanges by controlling your own reactions and guiding others toward more effective interactions. In this session, we will explore the four cornerstones of Emotional Intelligence which are Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management. Participants will have the opportunity to take the Emotionally Intelligent Instrument before (or during) the session. A fraternal executive will join the program for a brief session.

Learning Objectives:

• Build Self-Awareness by recognizing their own triggers for stress and identify the source as internal (self-imposed) or external (other-imposed).

• Engage in proactive Self-Management by replacing impulse-driven, counter-productive behaviors with well-reasoned responses.

• Improve Social-Awareness by learning to read (and detach from) the responses of others during any difficult interaction.

November 16, 2023

IN PERSON | Session #3 | Change Management: Deal with It! – Handling Constant Change

Cleveland, Ohio (Tinkham Veale University Center at Case Western)

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Eastern

The ability to effectively manage change is often identified as a core success competency in a fast-changing business environment. When employees get stuck and appear resistant to embracing new directions, it is rarely a simple issue of stubborn refusal. A far more likely reason for not moving forward is a lack of basic problem-solving skills. Any new vision or strategy will also create a new set of problems that demand attention. Most of us are comfortable solving the routine problems. New and unfamiliar problems demand fresh thinking and a creative approach. During this idea lab, attendees will explore the link between successfully adapting to the change cycle and developing creative problem-solving strategies. A fraternal executive will join the program for a brief session. This session will take place in conjunction with the November 15th Alliance Lunch and Learn.

No virtual option. In-person only.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how embracing change and the ability to solve unexpected problems with a minimum of stress and drama are critically linked.

• Identify the two primary types of problems and the main factors that impede resolution for each.

• Explore practical methods to combat “we’ve always done it this way” thinking and apply new approaches to address professional (and personal) challenges.

January 9, 2024

VIRTUAL | Session #4 | Managing You is Killing Me!

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Central

One bad apple in a work group can drag down production by as much as 30-40%. This finding by researcher William Phelps and reported by the Wall Street Journal highlights a serious leadership challenge facing today’s manager – handling employees where performance falls unacceptably short of potential. People aren’t bad but performance and conduct can be! Having the skill to correct destructive behavior is critical - making sure we set the right conditions so that problems don’t happen in the first place is an absolute survival skill. This session in the series will cover everything you will need to know to set expectations, manage results, and address negative behavior. A fraternal executive will join the program for a brief session.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how your communication style might be leading you to macro or micro-manage.

• Identify the four hidden reasons behind non-performance and how to avoid them.

• Learn to address bad attitudes by identifying behavior and providing corrective feedback that reduces defensiveness and focuses on limit setting.

April 30, 2024

IN PERSON | Session #5 | Visionary Leadership – Inspiring Action

Date and location will align with 2024 Spring Symposium.

Great leadership and hard work will only take you so far. You need a vision to galvanize a team, unleash energy, and inspire collective, coordinated action. A great vision provides a clear, specific, and compelling picture of what future success will look like, including those few key metrics that define success. It defines a target and clarifies the positive impact to employees, customers, and stakeholders. During this session, we will also explore how teams translate vision into actionable strategy to set themselves apart and deliver exceptional results. A fraternal executive will join the program for a brief session.

No virtual option. In-person only.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore creating a professional (and personal) vision that can lead to successful transformation.

• Learn the four characteristics of a vision that can inspire higher levels of production and performance.

• Understand how strategic planning connects to visioning and learn how to avoid the two most common types of failure for any work team.