Civic and Community Engagement.

Leadership Kokomo promotes professional leadership training in addition to civic and community engagement. Participants in Leadership Kokomo not only learn leadership skills, but also learn how to implements them and how the unique components of Kokomo and Howard County work together to support our community.

This is done by on-site tours of various organizations, businesses, government entities, and institutions as well as hearing directly from present leaders forging the way within these areas.

Civic and community engagement areas included in Kokomo and Howard County include: Government, Community Services, Quality of Life, Law Enforcement, Health and Wellness, Diversity, Business and Industry, Economic Development, K - 12 Education, Higher Education, and Workforce Development.

Civic and Community Engagement accounts for approximately 48 contact hours of the Leadership Kokomo 100 hour program.

Core Leadership Training.

Leaders at every level are concerned with developing the competencies they need to become more effective. After evaluating leading executive leadership programs across the country, Leadership Kokomo identified the top trends and core competencies being taught to professionals. The skills and abilities associated with leadership effectiveness have been scaled to size to appropriately reflect the needs of our community and will be taught to the participants in the LK program.

The core of our leadership training reflects continued evaluation of national trends in leadership theory and practice. The topics may change annually as the needs of the community change or leadership trends evolve.

The LK program begins by looking at self-leadership and how intra-personal leadership forms the foundation of how one leads by example. Following an introspective evaluation of one’s personal leadership style and abilities, participants will move into group dynamics and team management looking at what makes teams excel, human resources, and conflict management. Finally, participants will evaluate organizational development concepts and best practices. Students will also learn how to conduct a situational analysis through SWOT and PEST analysis tools.

Core leadership training will account for 40 of the 100 contact hours in the program.

Supplemental Leadership Training.

As Leadership Kokomo enrolls participants at different levels of their career and leadership knowledge, we strive to find ways to provide differentiation in the program allowing cohort members to grow in preferred areas.

Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. As in a traditional academic program, electives allow students to select specific areas of growth to specialize in.

Leadership Kokomo took this concept and included supplemental leadership training to accommodate the need for differentiation. LK participants can choose from a wide variety of professional development opportunities offered by the Greater Kokomo Chamber of Commerce, Ivy Tech, and other partners. Additionally, participants can elect to attend professional trade association webinars, seminars, or conferences. Options can vary per student and Leadership Kokomo welcomes each participant to attend professional development sessions that will support them in their individual growth areas.

Cohort members will participate in monthly core leadership trainings where they will share and discuss the supplemental professional development they attended and what they took away from the sessions.

Supplemental leadership training will account for a minimum of 12 contact hours in the program.