2015: Leaders Evolving and Developing Program

The winner of this year’s Leadership Development Award is The Junior League of Memphis which designed its Leaders Evolving and Developing Program to provide education and development opportunities to men and women who serve the Memphis community as well as members of the League interested in pursuing positions of leadership.

Recognizing the staggering number of nonprofits in the surrounding community in need of qualified, skilled leadership, The League re-tooled and expanded its existing program known as Leadership Certification and opened up enrollment to members and nonmembers alike.

LEAD sets the League apart from other organizations in that its sessions are taught by individuals who are not only qualified in education but who also have had experience putting their lessons to the test in the real world.

Taught in two-hour increments over the course of 10 weeks, the curriculum covers essential, applicable topics such as nonprofit leadership, technology, communication, teamwork, personal and organizational branding, life/work balance, decision-making, networking and delegation. Qualified facilitators ask questions that stimulate reflection and discussion and the content is updated annually by the LEAD Chair and Committee. At the conclusion of the course, participants who have been surveyed have praised the program and indicated they would “definitely” recommend it to others.

In the last four years, LEAD has served as an affordable professional development opportunity for 150 nonprofit leaders in the Memphis community who together form a network of colleagues, advisors and friends who help each other navigate the nonprofit leadership landscape.