Introduction
For years JCI has invested time, energy and funds to develop outstanding trainers, who have been successful, not only inside the organization but also outside its boundaries. Now our organization needs to change its focus and make an important investment in the development of a process that can help us guarantee that the leaders we are preparing at the local, national and international levels have not only the competencies required in this new millennium, but also the JCI awareness and ownership that we need to create the expected positive impact in their communities.
The latest trends in leadership development, both in the corporate and political arena, have shown that it's impossible to train excellent leaders without an adequate learning and coaching process designed and based on detected needs and required profiles. This process must be simple, practical, dynamic, professional, updated, and technology-friendly. In our case, it must be a process that we can access personally and also virtually. It must be high-tech and adaptable to reach the challenged local and national organizations in developing countries.
Based on this urgent need and pursuing a higher level of training to develop better leaders in our organization, 2002 JCI World President Salvi Batlle and the Executive Vice Presidents delegated the responsibility to design and test the process to a team of past and current officers.
We, the designers, invested an important amount of time and energy reading, studying and reviewing the latest research about leadership development in corporations, communities, governments and NGOs. We chose several practical models from prestigious universities and learning institutes. The product was JCI Lead.
JCI Lead is the process that any local officer willing to advance to the Local President Position and further will have as a tool to develop the core competencies to excel as a leader. The same will apply for national officers that want to become national presidents. Anyone participating in the whole process will complete an assignment on the web before the course, attend the course in any Area Conference or World Congress, and complete another assignment after the course. The participant will then be entitled to receive a certificate. That local leader will go through a mentoring-coaching system in his or her national organization and advance to higher levels.
JCI Lead is not only a course or a seminar. IT'S NOT JUST THAT! It is part of a development and certification process conducted by experienced past or current JCI officers who have shown high levels of performance at the local, national and international arenas. It includes a Mentoring and Coaching System to follow up the “high-flyers,” young Jaycees who, when taking part in JCI Lead, show a great potential for a future career. Their mentors will be recognized past or current JCI officers.
This is a major change. We do not develop competencies through seminars alone. Participants need to apply what they learn, and a basic, practical way to insure they do it is to create a third phase to each level.
The process also includes placing the entire program in what we call a “webinar” – a seminar on the web. This way, the graduates can always go back to follow up with reinforcement sessions on the web from their homes and offices.
This process is made for you, the young leader at the local level, who creates great impact in the community on behalf of JCI. We want you to be recognized, not only by your members but also by the influential people of your city as an Impact Leader, as a leader that is able to produce outstanding results in an orchestrated fashion.
We want you to be a climber! You are a person competent enough to attract a team of people, co-create a vision, inspire it, plan and execute the right actions, in order to arrive at the top of the mountain that represents your dream, as a chapter president, national president or business, social or political leader
We are here to be your trainers and coaches, but the walk… the climb… the effort must be done by YOU.
We hope that you will leave this first part of the process, saying “I am a JCI Leader,” but most importantly, being recognized as such by your team members and followers.
Fernando Sanchez-Arias, ITF 031
59th JCI President
Head Designer
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