Leadership In the 21st Century

This past weekend I attended a leadership seminar that is put on by the Grand Lodge of California for those men who are going to be installed as the Master of their Lodge at the end of this year. I understand that there is another seminar that they attended last year as well, but I haven't had a chance to see that one yet. Before I talk about the program, I need to say how incredibly helpful, open, encouraging and positive all of the retreat staff were to me. They really made me feel that they appreciated my taking the time to come and see what they were doing. I am enormously grateful for their kind welcome and enthusiastic support as I attended an event where I could have spent the entire time feeling like an interloper and instead felt like someone that they were truly happy to see and honored to have there. They were all awesome! So the seminar goes from Friday evening to Monday noon and there is one track for the men and another track for their ladies if the ladies come with them. Some of the presentations are done in a joint session, if the information is for both the men and the ladies. The price, at over $400 might seem daunting at first, but knowing that it includes two hotel nights, two breakfasts, a lunch and a formal dinner dance, it is actually very reasonable. With the hotel and meals backed out, the actual training part, including a binder full of course materials, only comes to around $100 or less. I was told though, that actually putting it on costs more than that, but the Grand Lodge subsidizes the process. However, I don't know if that is because they have a fair number of paid staff there and perhaps it can be done for less if you can get a few more of the work hours done by volunteers, at least at first, until people see the value so that you can raise money to help make it happen. I came away with a lot of notes and ideas that I hope to use at my Associate Conductress workshop later this year, but one big thing hit me up front which was that we need to consider and talk about having more training earlier. This seminar was in May for people who will be installed in December and January, so about seven months ahead. It included information on selecting officers, planning your Installation, doing a budget for your year and a whole lot more. Getting the information seven months ahead gives these men the chance to apply that information as they get ready for their year. Traditionally, we hold our main workshop for our soon to be installed leaders at the end of July and the installations are in November. I am told that this timing was originally set up because the Associate Matron/Associate Patron workshop was not really for leadership and management training as much as for a social opportunity to get to know the people all over the state that would be serving together and acquainting them with the Associate Grand Matron and Associate Grand Patron's plans for the coming year, a chance to practice the soon to be new Opening and Closing Odes that we sing that change every year, and a chance to find out what the AGM's special projects will be. It was done later so that it would not step on the current leader's year too much and that makes sense for those sorts of items if that is all you are using the workshop for. However, if we are going to make a fundamental shift and use the workshops not so much for telling people from all over the state what their leaders are doing, but use it more to help give our members tools to make them better leaders in their own Chapters, they need the information earlier, perhaps even in the spring, March, April or May, before they start choosing officers in June and doing budgets in July and August. I don't know what the right answer might be to this dilemma. Do we have two separate things? That takes time and money that can be hard for our members. Do we move the current workshop up and do the training stuff and less of the "what next year will look like" stuff? Do we keep doing general training for all of our membership and not specifically leadership training for our upcoming leaders and keep the general training earlier in the year and leave the workshop dates alone? I hope that in the near future, these issues are discussed so that some solid consensus can be reached as to how we help our members and our Chapters with these important issues so that our local leaders can do their best job and make our Chapters even stronger in the future. Seeing the stuff that was presented also made me happy that I decided to do a workshop this year and start getting information and training to my girls. There was so much stuff presented at this weekend, and knowing that it is one of two weekends that these men get, makes me want my girls to have the same, or at least as much as possible, opportunity to gain confidence and comfort with their new roles as leaders as they move forward so that by the time they sit in the chair, they may be nervous, but they won't be fearful. Next weekend, I will be in Richmond and Vacaville. I will not be able to be in Castro Valley because of a work commitment.