Concluding Seminar Luncheon
On Friday, April 30th, the cohort and coordinators gathered for the final seminar meeting of the year. First we had lunch together, and then Prof. Jack McCarthy led the Fellows through the concluding installment of a seven-part series on leadership development that has been the centerpiece of our seminar throughout the year. Prof. McCarthy emphasized the importance of gap analysis—reflecting on gaps and leveraging strengths—in the personal and professional development cycle, and he underscored the MICEE Model—the five exemplary leadership practices laid out in Kouzes and Posner’s The Leadership Challenge (first published in 1987): Model the way, Inspire a shared vision, Challenge the process, Enable others to act, and Encourage the heart.
The Fellows then undertook an exercise in which they wrote and then discussed in pairs responses to a series of questions on what they imagined they would be doing ten years from now. Here again, Prof. McCarthy emphasized, “if you can envision the obstacles, you will be more likely to achieve your goals.”
This dynamic session concluded with each Fellow and coordinator declaring to the rest of the group what they would do, starting now, to lead change and transformation in themselves and be a more principled, ethical person, colleague, and leader at BU and beyond.