The Dr. Mary E. Keyes Leadership Programme

BY NICOLE FERREIRA AND EVA CHAN

We all have the potential to be great leaders but how do we become a leader? McMaster University offers several opportunities to grow as individuals through clubs, the classroom, MSU services, the Inter-Residence Council and residence life activities. After overhearing a conversation that Chad Fullerton had with another one of my friends I ventured into a computer lab to learn more about The Dr. Mary E. Keyes Leadership Programme. Danielle has also covered the program in a past article.

I have taken a few of the required workshops and learned a lot from them. In Leadership 101 (LDR 101), we learned about what qualities make up a leader and tried to answer the fundamental question, what is a leader? All of us came up with different aspects and different traits. This workshop is the most basic one taken, probably because it’s an introductory workshop. We were sectioned off into small groups and had to create a symbol about what leadership meant to us.

Leadership as Inclusive and Empowering: Understanding Diversity (LDR 102) was facilitated by Vilma Rossi of Human Rights & Equity Services. We took part in several activities. We began with discussing about how people in our society are diverse (age, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, etc). This led to an activity known as Flower Power. Essentially there were larger petals and we were required to name the dominant group for a specific category. For example, if the category was gender we would say that men are considered the dominant group. In the smaller petals we were required to fill in our own trait so under gender I would fill in female. We had to add up all of the petals that matched up with the larger ones. Basically, we learned that most of us didn't fit in with the dominant society which meant that we couldn't be leaders-- even though we are. We also did quite a bit of discussion, we were asked quite a few questions about various topics regarding diversity. The final activity we did was a Case Study. We had to identify the diversity within the study and the characters leadership traits and effectiveness. It was highly informative and beneficial.

What Kind Of A Leader Are You? Using the MBTI to Explore Your Leadership Style (LDR 103) was one of my favorite workshops. You get to truly learn more about yourself and what leadership role you play in different situations. Before you went to the workshop, you had to complete the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) assessment questionnaire. During the workshop, you are given the results and go through discussions with the rest of the group to understand more about your personal type and leadership styles. I was aware of some of my personality characteristics, but once I sat there to read my description, it was so true. It clearly described what my strengths and weaknesses are, which was a great wakeup call to understand what I needed to improve on. The discussions were interesting, and we all shared stories about why we acted the way we are. We were able to learning about the opposite traits we have with people and learned how to appreciated people for the way they are. From this workshop, I now understand what type of people I work well with and those that I do not. I learned different tactics to use with different personality traits to become an effective leader. An awesome workshop!

Learning How to be an Effective Communicator (LDR 104) was the first workshop I’ve ever taken and my favourite thus far! Jeanette Button, the program director, was the facilitator for this workshop. She is incredible! I learned so much from this workshop. Essentially, we learned about taking the time out of our days to truly pay attention to people. I was definitely guilty of half listening whenever I was on the computer doing my thing. The thing is though, we get so busy living our lives that sometimes we don’t pay attention to the things we do or how people feel about it. Staring at a computer screen while your roommate or parent is taking to you shows a lack of interest in what they say even if you don’t intend for that to be so. In this workshop, we also learned about e-mail etiquette which Danielle Lorenz wrote an article about not too long ago. I highly recommend this workshop for everyone, although, if you’re in the program this is one of the four mandatory competencies.

'What Do You Mean There's Only 24 Hours in a Day?'- Stress and Time Management for Aspiring Leaders (LDR 110) was split in to two parts. During the stress portion of the workshop, there were lots of discussions about what stress is, what makes us stress and different strategies to help us reduce stress. This was a great portion to learn more ways to help ourselves while others have not worked for you in the past. The time management portion we went through a step by step procedure of how to create your timetable to schedule all your different duties. I found the tips helpful and have used them this past year to help organize myself. This is a great elective workshop for those that have a lot of trouble in these two area.

How To Get Hired (LDR 118) was a good preparation course for learning more about how to network and preparing for a recruitment opportunity. This workshop was carried out by Dr. Paul Bates, the DeGroote School of Business Dean. This workshop did not have a lot of discussion opportunities with other people compared to the others. However, Paul Bates has extensive experience in a variety of different positions. It was nice to listen to his suggestions on how to get a job, how to prepare for one and how to act during an interview. He provided a list of tips, so remember to bring paper and pencil!

Networking (LDR 122) was also a great workshop. However, I found that I knew a lot of the things being taught since I’m involved in a lot. Nevertheless, I found the practice phone and information interviews useful. I’ve never taken part in either so I learned quite a bit from it. The facilitator provided several handouts and worksheets which proved to be quite handy.

Turning it on @ 8:30 (LDR 123) was a fun workshop. The facilitator was really fun and energetic. He asked us to choose an animal to describe ourselves which I struggled with. The workshop was mostly about the way you present yourself. If at 8:30 am you’re in your pjs and coming into the workshop late you’ve just given yourself a bad image. It answers the question, how do people perceive you and what can you do to maintain or change it? It was quite a valuable session.

Developing Your Portfolio (LDR 132) was a highly useful workshop. Portfolios are used to enhance your resume. I have a portfolio already but this workshop taught me things I didn't even know. It's a great for people who never even considered creating a portfolio. This workshop has a lot of information and you'll know exactly what you can put in it. It's a very step-by-step guide to making an effective and useful portfolio.

The workshops allow you to learn from fellow students and reflect on different issues. There are four core competencies that you need to take that directly deal with the topic of leadership. In the program, you’re also required to take a minimum of four electives that are on subjects such as stress and time management, networking and working in a group. Each session is about 2-3 hours in length. After completing the required courses, 40 hours of community service and writing a reflection paper, students are given a certificate to proclaim the completion of the program.

The entire program can be done throughout the span of your time at Mac. You can start it whenever you’d like regardless of what year you’re in. There are a TON of workshops available during the school year making in possible to add in a few of them into your schedule. It is extremely flexible for those with busy schedules. Also, for those of you who are currently in Hamilton for the summer, there are workshops available in June, July and August as well!

Registration is simple! Go on the website: http://csd.mcmaster.ca/leadership/index.htm

On the left side, click on Registration, and then click on click here. Afterwards, use your MacID to register. Feel free to look around the website to learn even more about the program. For those of you who want to learn a bit more about leadership this is a great learning experience! I’m about half finished and I truly enjoyed the discussions I’ve taken part in at the workshops.

The MEK (Mary E. Keyes Leadership program) is fantastic.. I've heard about it since first year but never actually got involved officially and did the core courses but i've done other workshops on student government and such. You can also do electives through ath&rec which count toward you getting the certificate.

We are in a time when educated leaders not only have the passion with in them for their cause but know how to lead effectively through communication and collaberation.

This past summer McMaster also held their very first CISL (Canadian Institute for Student Leadership). I was lucky enough to attend and had a fantastic experience which staff, students and faculty from not only McMaster but from universities across the country discussed student leadership together and how to enhance it in our own departments and institutions.

If you are interested in leadership, not only becoming an effective leader but stimulating leadership in others I recommend getting involved with MEK, CISL and reading

McGinnis' Bringing out the Best in People

Made in Canada Leadership: Wisdom from the Nation's Best and Brightest on the Art and Practice of Leadership by Amal Henein and Francoise Morissette (yes... like alanis... but not)

And now for my shameless plug... CSD (the Centre for Student Development) is having a scavenger hunt right now to promote CSD and all the glorious goodness it includes. It's not really a scavenger hunt.. just a chance to win prizes by answering 3 easy questions. You can go to the website for more details but you can potentially win an iTouch. And here's the thing by reading the previous post you can answer question #2... even though you would probably get it anyways.

so to win an iTouch go to csd.mcmaster.ca/events/scavenger... answer the questions and if you want put my name (Adam Ouellette) down as a referral.. cause then I can win prizes too!



--- live, laugh, learn.... and now... lead

Nicole, which of the workshops were the four core/required ones? Thanks.

Originally Posted by sara_h216

Nicole, which of the workshops were the four core/required ones? Thanks.

LDR 101, LDR 102, LDR 103, LDR 104

Thanks a lot!