Goldey-Beacom Continues Leadership Academy with Talks from Campus Professors

General | 10/12/2020 12:00:00 AM

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Goldey-Beacom's Student-Athlete-Advisory Committee Leadership Academy kicked into high gear with September talks given by Management professor Dr. Patricia Buhler and English & Communication professor Dr. Joel Worden.

"A distinctive characteristic of the Athletics Leadership Academy is the direct involvement of GBC Faculty," Director of Athletics Dr. Thomas Brennan said. "(Management professor) Dr. Nicole Evans has done a terrific job in confirming faculty participation - this year, implementing a virtual approach. The interest of our faculty has been keen; and the response of our student-athletes to these programs has been extremely positive. We look forward to expanding the influence of the Leadership Academy for GBC Athletics on an ongoing basis."

Dr. Buhler's talk, with comments from Dr. Evans, was about servant leadership and its effectiveness in our society. Those student-athletes on the committee learned the characteristics of servant leadership, which include listening, empathy, awareness, healing, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people and building community.

Servant Leadership is a leadership style that refers to those who lead by serving others. This leadership style has been adopted by the NCAA office, which has responsibility as leaders to serve the NCAA member institutions. This style becomes even more pertinent in today's society as leadership roles in major corporations continue to evolve to a supportive and less demanding approach.

Prominent companies to use this model, according to SkillPacks.com, include FedEx, Marriott and Starbucks.

"Today's organizations are experiencing a shortage in their leadership pipelines," Buhler said. "The good news is that as student-athletes, you are gaining an advantage. You may be just what our organizations are seeking. You have the potential to practice and fine-tune your leadership skills. It doesn't have to be a formally assigned leadership position. Many times you have evolved into leadership positions informally."

In the second session, Dr. Worden covered a range of communication topics related to conflict resolution. He also spoke about ownership skills in relation to working with others and the thought process involved in emotion. Worden then went into how a proper tone and body language are critical to staying calm and displaying empathy in seeing others perspectives.

Worden also asked of examples regarding how others deal with conflict and took questions from the student-athletes.

"These are just two more examples of how great our faculty members are with their commitment to the development of our students," Associate Athletic Director Jeremy Benoit said. "Our faculty truly understand that the development of our students extends well beyond the four walls of their classrooms. They've been more than happy to pitch in however they can. Dr. Buhler and Dr. Worden are both long-time professors at the College and we're lucky to have them."

The Leadership Academy sees all programming targeted to address the qualities possessed by strong leaders including strong communication, self-awareness, gratitude, learning, influence, empathy, courage and respect.

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