Leadership Austin has been connecting and elevating established leaders in the community since its founding in 1979. However, over time we recognized the need to serve young and emerging leaders who were just beginning their career and public service journeys. How could we prepare them to become the kinds of leaders who excel and thrive? We created the Emerge program in 2007 to fill this gap.
In the 13 years since, we have welcomed 682 Emerge graduates to the Leadership Austin alumni family. Justin McCarty joined our team as the Director of Learning and Engagement in August 2019 and brought a wealth of new ideas and fresh perspectives to the program. As he enters his second year of working with cohorts and guiding the development of the curriculum, we asked him to share what the experience has been like and how Emerge is changing for the next generation of leaders.
“So, what are the most critical things to include in a civic leadership program aimed at rising leaders?” That was the question that I asked almost daily for a year after stepping into this role. It wasn’t as if there weren’t already some solid answers in place. The original DNA of the program has produced incredible fruit in the lives of program alumni! But the realities for young leaders in 2020 are, in many ways, light years away from those the original class faced in 2007. My challenge was to capitalize on the strengths of the existing program while continuing to experiment and evolve in order to meet the unique needs of (and opportunities available to) rising leaders today and into the future.
What’s New
Core Competencies
One of the major pivots we made was to reconstitute the original program objectives into three clear civic leadership competencies that correspond to 11 civic leadership skills. Based on research, experience and the original Emerge curriculum, these skills rose to the top of the list for leaders to master. But it’s not enough for a leader to just be acquainted with ideas or theory! The curriculum was then recrafted to measure the development of these skills and their corresponding competencies, in order to demonstrate a quantifiable impact that this program is making in the lives of participants and, subsequently, their spheres of influence.
Personal Leadership Project
Historically, Emerge featured a “group project” that was a source of great team and relationship development, but often didn’t translate into lasting impact in the community. In a nod to the best of this legacy and with an increased emphasis on personal development, the exercise has been transformed into a “personal leadership project”. Over the course of a year, participants will craft their own “leadership experiment” and attempt to bring about a desired change in their own sphere of influence. The exercise is important in helping develop skills to create measurable change through leadership. We have seen a huge burst of creativity around this because participants are able to develop an idea that is personally meaningful while also enlisting the help of and soliciting feedback from the rest of their cohort.
New Issues
While the emphasis of the Emerge program remains very much the same as it has since its inception – relationships, skills and issues (in that precise order) – we realize that some of the specific societal issues facing rising leaders today needed to be included in the curriculum in an overt way. To that end, we are weaving some new threads into the program:
Conversations about race – A full class day is now spent in Introduction to Courageous Conversation™, the primer for Courageous Conversation: Beyond Diversity™.
Self-care – Too many leaders (both rising and established) are finding themselves spread thin and teetering on burnout. We are centering this discussion to help participants develop sustainable practices over a lifetime of leadership.
Generational Intelligence – The changing dynamics that new generations are introducing in our culture are impossible to ignore. How can all generations work together, build community together, and lead our region together? We believe understanding generational intelligence, specifically in civic engagement, will be a game changer for future leaders.
We recognize that issues like these are constantly changing and our curriculum must continually evolve in response. We are intentionally leaving room for experimentation in this space.
Virtual Format
Leadership Austin got the the same curve ball that every other organization did in 2020: no in-person meetings. That was a huge shift for an organization that is rooted in relationships and regularly convenes groups of between 50 and 200 people to learn and connect. We are pleased to report that we were able to pivot to a virtual format and the first ever virtual cohort has adapted phenomenally well.
Everything has moved online for the current cohort – class discussions, group meetings, even signature Leadership Austin knees-to-knees conversations and Walk & Talks. This seamless transition reveals what’s always been true about Leadership Austin alumni: they are incredibly resilient!
Some Things Never Change
While the issues we cover or the way we meet might be new, the central emphasis of the Emerge program has been and will remain relationships. The dialogue, the personal sharing of lived experiences, the inclusion of varied perspectives, all shared through rich conversation and meaningful connection is a hallmark of Emerge. Our goal, year after year, is to send Emerge graduates into an ever-changing world anchored by thriving relationships with a diverse community of civic-minded leaders. If we get that right, we have succeeded in creating a stronger and brighter future for Austin and beyond.
Learn more about the Emerge program. If you are interested in applying, or know someone who should be in the 2022 cohort, please let us know.
