This spring, the Organizational Leadership Institute (OLI) is hosting a series of Breakfast Leadership Series featuring a wide range of topics that local businesses may not find elsewhere. Each session will feature a workshop led by a full-time faculty member from the College of Business (COB).

Professor Rick Ringer, director of the OLI, thinks this is the first time that COB faculty are coming together as an institution to offer leadership developmental programs.

“This series gives local business leaders and corporations a chance to engage intellectually and to see what’s new. We enjoy working with them, and we feel we have a lot to offer.”
—Rick Ringer

Ringer has been significantly engaged with local businesses throughout the past two decades at Illinois State University. Ringer hopes this unique opportunity will strengthen those relationships as well as provide insight into challenges that leaders may be facing. “This series gives local business leaders and corporations a chance to engage intellectually and to see what’s new. We enjoy working with them, and we feel we have a lot to offer.”

The programs also provide opportunities for direct feedback regarding real-world business issues that could potentially shape classroom content. “To rub shoulders with people dealing with issues we discuss in the classroom helps us,” Ringer said. “We feel this a great experience for us to have dialogue that offers great insight and acts as professional development for faculty, too. It’s a win-win because we will all benefit.”

All sessions will be held on Fridays in 430 State Farm Hall of Business. Sessions will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast; content begins at 8 a.m. The session will conclude at 9:30 a.m. Seating is limited to 25 people per session.

Session 1  (February 12), session 2 ( March 18), and session 3 (April 8) have been well attended.

Here are the remaining sessions:

 

Session 4: May 13, 2016, “‘That’s not cheating!’ Creating an Ethical Climate for Millennials”

Session 5: June 10, 2016, “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely … ? How to Thrive in the Midst of Your Most Knotted Tensions and Persistent Problems”

Register for the event online. Parking vouchers will be provided to all participants. .

For more information about the Breakfast Leadership Programs, contact Professor Rick Ringer at (309) 438-3333 or rcringer@IllinoisState.edu.