Leadership Lab Incubator Provides Productive Start
August 25, 2014 | Leadership Academy
The 2014-2015 school year officially got underway on Tuesday, Aug. 19. However, 24 UNC student athletes got a head start by spending their last day of summer taking part in extensive leadership training and development through Day 2 of the Leadership Lab Incubator. As part of the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy, the Incubator provides a vital element for the Leadership Lab program. First and foremost, it serves as the application process for the program and nominees must "survive" the Incubator to earn their roster spots.
During the morning session, athletic department staff members spoke to the student-athletes and provided mentorship for their Leadership Project, producing a three-hour Leadership Summit for middle-school athletes from local club sport teams by the spring semester. Staff mentors offered advice and recommendations to assist the student-athletes with planning and coordinating the event.
"It was really cool seeing all the inside departments that make Carolina athletics run and function," said junior Lucie Kloak of the rowing team.
The athletic department staff mentors include Dana Gelin (Athletic Communications), Carly Dressler (Compliance), John Brunner (Event Management), Cricket Lane (Facilitation), Nate Hilton (Facilities), Scott Palanjian and Michael Beale (Marketing), Laura Escobar (New Media) and Korie Sawyer (Social Media).
The final session of the Incubator featured UNC student organization False Profits - a comedy troupe that performs improve, sketch and standup comedy. Kenan Bateman and Marcie Maier, Directors of Instruction for False Profits, led the Tar Heels through a variety of improv exercises to develop leadership agility, an applicable skill for student-athletes on and off the field.
"The False Profits were really funny and showed us how improv becomes leadership," says junior Matt Williams of the wrestling team. "People have to step up and say whatever is on their mind and it made me realize that you have to have confidence no matter what you're doing."
This non-traditional method brought many student-athletes out of their comfort zone and provided lots of laughter to the group.
"It was very awesome working the Leadership Lab," said Maier. "We saw them very willing and capable to agree with each other and build together."
The Incubator makes the most of student-athletes' time, which is perpetually at a premium. More specifically, it rolls seven separate and salient opportunities into one program. Moreover, participating in the Incubator sets the nominees up to be in the very best possible position to succeed in the program and more specifically with the Leadership Project. As the name suggests, the Incubator allows a nugget of an idea for the Leadership Project to be developed to the extent which it can survive on its own. This sort of resource is the essence of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Leadership Lab offers the opportunity for continued leadership development through reflection and practical application. To accomplish this, the program adheres to the 70/20/10 Model of Leadership Development prescribed by the Center for Creative Leadership, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C.
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