This FREE 10 week course was developed by volunteers for volunteers. The course is intended to help you to develop leadership skills and build strong communities. You will:

• Increase your confidence and interpersonal skills
• Improve your involvement in causes in your community that you are passionate about
• Receive a certificate at the completion of the program
  

Mondays 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm starting March 29

North Woodside Community Centre, Dartmouth

                                   OR

Tuesdays 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm starting March 23

Cole Harbour – Location TBA    

*Dates, Locations & Times are subject to change!

Session 1: Come as you are
Session 2: Planning for your passion
Session 3: Team Up
Session 4: Understanding Diversity
Session 5: Embracing Diversity
Session 6: All Aboard - The Legalities / All Aboard - The Practicalities
Session 7: Meeting Manners, Meeting Matters
Session 8: Conflict as Opportunity
Session 9: Speak Up, Speak Out / Board Activity
Session 10: Graduation!

Purpose
Come as You Are sets the stage for participation in the Step Up To Leadership program. You are encouraged to voice your expectations and what you hope to learn while developing commitment to the program and to each other. The first session is intended to enhance self awareness, develop sensitivity to others and highlight leadership qualities. Participants will create the ground rules to make the step up to leadership classroom a safe, supportive and comfortable environment.

Learning objectives
- Recognize why grass roots participation on boards, committees and in the Community is important
- Explore interests, strengths and challenges
- Understand how group diversity strengthens performance
- Identify skills that lead to empowerment

Purpose
The purpose of Session 2: Planning for Your Passion is to provide an opportunity to identify what you are passionate about doing in your community. You will become familiar with planning as a process to help clarify your goals and direct your choices. You will see the importance of having a vision, explore the values that motivate you, learn how to set goals and create inventories of your personal strengths.

Learning objectives
- Understand the stages in planning for the future
- Explore the importance of having a vision
- Identify the values that influence decision making
- Learn to set goals
- Take stock of personal strengths
- Create an action plan for your passion

Purpose
The purpose of Team Up is to model a new type of leadership B collaborative leadership. You will gain a better understanding of working as a team and how to collaborate. You will learn to recognize phases of group dynamics typically experienced when people work together. You will explore two key elements of collaborative leadership B power and trust.

Learning Objectives
- Understand elements necessary to work as a team
- Recognize positive and negative dynamics people working in groups typically experience
- Learn benefits of collaboration
- Become more aware of the importance of power and trust for effective leadership

Purpose
The purpose of this session is to create deeper understanding about what we mean by Adiversity.@ You will become more aware of your own beliefs and feelings associated with different social groups. You will learn to recognize the negative impact of prejudice and injustice. You will also explore ways to build a more inclusive community.

Learning objectives
- Share respectfully in the group thoughts and feelings about diversity, prejudice and injustice
- Question our own assumptions about social groups
- Understand the cyclical process of socialization
- Make personal commitments to build an inclusive society
- Gain a more profound understanding about ourselves

Purpose
The purpose of this session is to demonstrate ways to share life experiences with those different from us, and to build the relationships necessary for creating an inclusive community. Embracing Diversity, therefore, requires you to focus on connecting with people one-on-one. Regardless of belonging to the same social group or not, each one of us is unique. If we are to truly respect this uniqueness B to value diversity B effective communication is essential.

Learning objectives
- Increase our ability to empathize
- Recognize defense mechanisms that interfere with our ability to build relationships
- Practice communication that reduces defensiveness in others
- Learn how to receive criticism
- Learn how to interrupt offensive remarks and behaviour
- Experience positive effects of reconciliation

Purpose
All Aboard: The Legalities provides an understanding of how nonprofit organizations work and the legal standards board members must follow. This session reinforces the principle that grassroots voices are needed in community. Community organizations can provide great benefit to their communities if run effectively.  Effective organizations happen when newly elected members are provided with sufficient information and are confident in their roles. These principles are presented in practical terms.

Learning Objectives
- Learn what an organization is and the varying types
- Understand the difference between incorporated and unincorporated organizations
- Learn how to form and organization
- Understand what a Board of Directors is and the responsibilities
- Learn the legal duties of directors and how to practice risk management

Purpose
In the previous session, All Aboard - The Legalities, you learned about the legal standards board members of non-profit organizations are expected to follow. In this session, All Aboard - The Practicalities, the same principles are presented, but in practical, concrete terms.

Learning Objectives
- Learn key responsibilities for the board of directors
- Understand the different job descriptions for board officers and members
- Identify what to look for in a board member manual or orientation packet
- Know how to review budgets
- Learn advantages to the board working as a team

Purpose
Meeting Manners, Meeting Matters provides information on how to plan and conduct meetings. You will learn the basics of parliamentary procedure as explained in Roberts Rules of Order. By following Roberts Rules of Order, individuals representing a wide variety of viewpoints can discuss significant matters and make decisions about how to proceed. Roberts Rules of Order provide structure in meetings  from setting an agenda to taking minutes, or from discussing controversial issues to electing officers of a board. Not every meeting needs to be conducted under the formal rules of parliamentary procedure, however. You will also learn how to prepare for and conduct informal planning meetings.

Learning Objectives
- Learn about things that go wrong in meetings
- Practice planning and conducting effective meetings with Agendas, Meetings, and Rules of Order
- Learn tips for better listening.

Purpose
Effective leaders must be able to work through conflicts without losing sight of their goals. Most people have the tendency to either attack someone we disagree with or avoid them altogether. Today=s complex world demands a wider range of responses and greater skill at resolving conflict. This session provides information and strategies that will help participants turn conflict into opportunity.

Learning objectives
- Learn to view conflict as a problem to be solved,@ not a battle to be won
- Apply analysis and understanding to conflict situations
- Recognize different responses to conflict and know which response is most helpful in any given situation
Become aware of how to manage anger
- Understand why conflict escalates
- Use a step-by-step process to resolve conflict

Purpose
The purpose of the session is to present tips on how to speak effectively and persuasively. These tips apply whenever you hesitate to speak at all, or say so much people stop listening. You will find lessons in Speak Up, Speak Out particularly useful as you prepare a presentation about your passion for the final session, and the graduation celebration.

Learning Objectives
- Learn general guidelines for giving speeches
- Understand reasons for giving a speech and how to best formulate different types of speeches
- Learn tips on giving impromptu speeches
- Practice planning and giving speeches in preparation for the graduation celebration presentation about your passion

Purpose
Stepping Out celebrates successful completion of the Step Up to Leadership program. Graduation provides an opportunity for family, friends, co-workers and community partners to congratulate you on your achievement.

Learning objectives
- Reflect on knowledge gained
- Enhance partnership networks
- Demonstrate public speaking ability
- Learn from others about their passions
- Sustain the inspiration.