Evolving Leaders Series

This series is aimed at mid-level leaders who've been in a leadership role for 2-5 years or have taken courses in DMACC's Emerging Leaders program. Evolving Leaders provides a deeper dive along with applying new skills in four key topics - generational leadership, inclusive leadership, effective communication, and employee coaching.

How It Works:
Purchase a seat for an employee for $1,200, and send the same employee to all sessions or divide the series among multiple employees. Additional seats are $1,000/employee. A light breakfast, coffee and water will be available at each session.

To Enroll:
Contact DMACC Business Resources at dbr@dmacc.edu or 515-256-4913.

Upcoming Session
March - June 2020
DMACC Southridge Center
1111 Army Post Road, Suite 2004
Des Moines, IA 50315

Applying Generational Leadership

This advanced course will elevate the generational discussion to help you apply what you have learned about generational influences to impact and enhance their leadership style. We will host open conversation to provide mentorship between members (generationally) of the class to be able to better leverage perspectives and build new leadership strategies. We will also explore cultural generational diversity – touching lightly on generational dynamics and influences from other cultures and countries. Prerequisite: DMACC Managing Generational Differences course from the Emerging Leaders series.

Session Date:
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Trainer: Cassandra Halls

Cassandra Halls has been training and consulting since 2007, offering a wide variety of business consulting services to corporate, non-profit and local governmental entities primarily in the Midwest. Areas of specialty include: strategic planning, project management, research services, training facilitation, workforce recruitment and retention, generational perspectives, succession planning and operations process improvements. Halls spent 10 years of her career in public administration in Iowa, and then shifted to corporate employment, working in multiple strategic roles for a start-up technology company which grew from 20 employees to over 1,000 employees over the course of two short years! She has served in the Vice President role in both non-profit and corporate operations, utilizing her broad perspective to drive solutions to the challenges encountered in many work cultures and environments.

Halls earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from William Penn University.

Applying Inclusive Leadership

Leadership teams across the United States and the world have been investing into strategies designed to recruit, leverage and retain a diverse workforce more effectively. In this advanced session you will learn to identify behaviors and leadership commitments that can systemically enhance team performance and talent retention. You’ll leave with an improved understanding of how to facilitate dialogue about different topics with groups from diverse backgrounds. Prerequisite: DMACC Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace course from the Emerging Leaders series.

Session Date:
Thursday, April 9, 2020
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Trainer: Claudia Schabel

Claudia Schabel combines over a decade of experience as a Diversity and Inclusion strategist with Fortune 100 and 500 companies with a multicultural background to offer coaching and consulting services in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion to businesses, educational and not-for-profit organizations. Schabel volunteers and serves on multiple boards. Currently, she is a commissioner on the City of Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission, serves on the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) State Council as the Director of Diversity, serves as a trainer/facilitator for the Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery and volunteers at Blank Children’s Hospital.

Schabel earned a BA degree in International Relations from Drake University. She is a native of Brazil and lives in Des Moines, IA.

Applying Connective Communication

In Communicating to Fit the Situation, you learned about the three obstacles to connective communication and the three solutions. In this session, we go deeper. After a brief review of the three obstacles--maturity in the moment, personality styles and trait differences, and the tendency to be vague and make attitude assumptions--we will spend the bulk of our time applying the obstacles and solutions to real work situations and practicing them to build skills. Prerequisite: DMACC Communicating to Fit the Situation course from the Emerging Leaders series.

Session Date:
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Trainer: Alan Feier

Alan Feirer is a leadership trainer, Everything DiSC® Authorized Partner, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™ Authorized Partner, organizational development consultant, and author of The Group Dynamic Field Guide: 51 Ideas You Can Use Today. For the last 20 years, he has done business helping people embrace challenging work, and have less stress while getting more done. Alan works with managers, directors, leadership teams, staffs, and team members through leadership training, team-building, and communication training.

Alan lives in Winterset, Iowa, with his wife, Julie, and daughter, Mara. He holds membership in many professional organizations, including Optimists, Madison County Area Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the Association for Talent Development (previous Central Iowa chapter President). Feirer's other interests include competitive Scrabble, exercise, travel, dining, and anything Disney.

Applying Employee Coaching

Moving from the basics of supervising to having a broader and deeper impact requires some essential personal progression and expansion. Yet most leaders operate the same as when they first were given some leadership responsibilities. In this advanced course, we’ll take a deep dive into the practice of coaching team members with an interactive discussion and application of effective coaching methods in common workplace situations. Prerequisite: DMACC Coaching and Developing Your Employees course from the Emerging Leaders series.

Session Date:
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Trainer: Mike Kleis

With more than 30 years of broad business and leadership experience, Mike provides training, coaching and consulting to individual leaders, teams and businesses across the United States and Canada. A proficient facilitator, he also leads CEO peer groups in Iowa. His expertise includes direct and cross-functional team leadership experience in the following fields: marketing, sales, plant and field operations, field service, product development, and program management.

Mike holds a B.A. in Business Management from Central College and has extensive advanced training in leadership development.

Complete this form if your employer has already let DMACC Business Resources know that you are attending the program.

Evolving Leaders Series

​ Applying Generational Leadership

Applying Inclusive Leadership

Applying Connective Communication

Applying Employee Coaching

Applying Generational Leadership