Developing Leaders for Life

“I feel like I just left church – so refreshing and encouraging!”

“I realize I am in the driver’s seat (of my life).”

“I will try to be more self aware of my frustrations or ignorance in conversation and how I can make changes to get more out of those conversations.”

These are just a few comments from the evaluations of a recent AmeriCorps*VISTA training session on communication. I think they express the general sentiments of the group that learning to be a better communicator is not only valuable... but rewarding!

I’ve found that nearly 25% of our VISTA members go on to be employed by their project sites or other nonprofits so I realized that we have a golden opportunity to not only improve our program but also build future leaders for our area nonprofits.

To this end, we’ve experimented with a series of professional development trainings that we call Developing Leaders for Life. They provide our VISTA members with opportunities to build their “core” skills, which are essential to success in most jobs - things like:

• good communication,
  
• clear awareness of personal strengths,
  
• an understanding of goal-setting & action planning,
  
• knowledge of group development &
  
• techniques for managing conflict, etc.

These workshops are hands-down one of our VISTA members’ favorite aspects of the program as they see the value both personally and professionally. And I just have to believe that, as a result of this program, our members deliver more for their VISTA sites. I think they'll go on to do better work no matter what they do for a job or in what capacity they serve their communities.

We are truly developing leaders for life who will make a splash on central Minnesota communities and service agencies!

Do you know of a nonprofit that could benefit from hosting a VISTA member? We're currently recruiting - check our website for more info!