Personal Leadership
Development Plan
Instructor: Ted Szaniawski
A visionary creates paradigm shifts in organizations as a change agent. Creating an organization and a plan to address systemic problems in how disenfranchised youth are treated is a great challenge. To extend this vision as a potential for changing global paradigms is probably on the verge of what many would call delusions of grandeur. A charismatic and transformative leadership style empowers a visionary to paint the picture that allows others to see the vision, embrace the mission, and achieve the goals and objectives. Although we all desire expeditious results, sometimes even a lifetime is not enough to accomplish great goals. The living of one’s life as conscious, intentional and sincere regardless of tenure is most important. Some tend to be overachievers and skoptics (skeptic and optimist) with an overzealous desire to accomplish.
The environment of change affects the youth and the adults transform as a natural part of the process. Spectrum Academy is a practical beginning in creating a model community designed to engage mind, body, and spirit in a demonstration of holistic education; learning how to work together in new ways. These new ways include the development of sustainable living and working environments that produce future thinking individuals who contribute to the paradigm shift from competitive patterns to collaborative processes, which results in the demonstration of a better living awareness and holistic view of life. The following addresses personal leadership plans in order to meet the demands of such a vision.
Career
Goals:
Continue
to establish mentors and professional contacts
Create
non-profit educational/leadership organization
o Spectrum Academy development and implementation
Create
for-profit educational/leadership
consulting company
o Change agents for hire – small and medium sized businesses
Create
and deliver a paradigm shift in patterns of practice:
o
Residential
o
o Community Technology Center w/ data storage and delivery system
Obtain
Doctorate in Community/Educational Systems Development and Instruction
Facilitate
creation and development of a model educational
village/community
Become
recognized leader in Community, Education, and Treatment Systems Reform
o Consult for development of similar communities worldwide
o Featured speaker at conferences and symposiums worldwide
Action Plan
3 – 6 Months:
Join
several industry specific professional organizations
Research
doctoral programs, locations, and funding
Design
and get approval for doctoral program
Acquire
funding for doctoral research and development
Enroll
in the perfect program with funding for research
Teach
upper level college classes using accumulated skills set
Expand
existing Be The Dream website
o Reach 3,000 new visitors per month with 15% return visitors
o Generate $1,000 to $2,000 revenue from affiliates/product sales
o Receive 150 to 200 new reciprocal link partners
6 – 12 Months
Develop
spectacular multi-media presentation about
o Submit and receive grants for start up of $500,000
Complete
and submit community technology center grant application
o Acquire matching funds required for CTC grant
o Receive $300,000 to $500,000 CTC start-up grant
Create/hire
initial leadership team for
o Craft an architectural design plan
o Complete educational and treatment program templates
§
Acquire treatment center certification from
State of
§ Acquire charter from State Board of Charter Schools
o Create policies and procedures for organizational plan
Expand
existing Be The Dream website
o Reach 5,000 new visitors per month with 15% return visitors
o Generate $2,000 to $5,000 revenue from affiliates/product sales
o Receive 250 to 500 new reciprocal link partners
1 – 3 Years
Complete
Doctoral Program
Open
small-scale Spectrum Academy within Phoenix Metro area
o Serve 75 - 150 students with 20 – 30 from RTC
Complete
construction on initial facility for
o 500 to 750 student capacity with 100-bed RTC
Develop
CTC/data center business to $50,000/month gross revenue
Expand
existing Be The Dream website
o Reach 5,000 new visitors per month with 15% return visitors
o Generate $5,000 to $10,000 revenue from affiliates/product sales
o Receive 500 to 1000 new reciprocal link partners
3 – 5 year
Spectrum
Academy in full operation
o Reach peak capacity in year 5
6
-12 satellite sites in process of development
$100,000/per
month CTC gross revenues
Expand
existing Be The Dream website
o Reach 10,000 new visitors per month with 15% return visitors
o Generate $10,000 to $20,000 revenue from affiliates/product sales
o Receive 1,000 to 2,000 new reciprocal link partners
Brief Narrative & Overview of Plan
The condensed version of the Plan includes several areas of focus. Personal leadership development continues through a doctoral program, receiving funding for Spectrum Academy, building an empowered ‘Dream Team’ for Spectrum Academy and Genesis II, and webmeistery for the continued development of the Be The Dream web presence. Notoriety within the fields of education, youth treatment programs, and community development comes through persistent determination in delivery of results and networking throughout the spectrum of organizations that concern themselves with empowering youth and developing future sustainable communities.
Initial Do Diligence
Do diligence to date includes acquiring a Master of Business Administration focusing on business development and project management, secondary teaching certification through the University of Phoenix, and now completion of a Master of Arts in Organizational Management. Articles of Incorporation for Be The Dream, as a 501 (c) (3) corporation, are written and ready to submit. The intention is to use the organization to develop and implement strategies for paradigm shifts in the application of ecological, psycho-spiritual, and scientific technology through development of model communities that reflect the practice. Spectrum Academy’s business plan, as the initial project, needs final edit and revision using feedback from multiple sources.
Using the collective expertise and knowledge base of the partnership, marketing project and organizational consulting services fulfill the need to share and the passion felt toward personal involvement in the process of education and nurturing others. Contract work for various municipalities, directly and through subcontracts, is sought currently. Further do diligence includes continued research and development of leadership qualities and an information data base of pertinent people and processes in the various industries associated with the target market. Organizing and obtaining a doctoral candidacy that develops the strategic and structural objectives of Spectrum Academy and the Genesis II communities, also on the agenda, begins after completion of the MAOM. Accessing employment/earning opportunities for repayment of school loans is an issue currently and may contribute to delay of the doctoral goal.
Web Presence and Presentation
Facilitation of this creation requires a state-of-the-art presentation package that features elements to address an array of audience preferences. A PowerPoint presentation, developed during the MAOM program, needs completion and test marketing, final edit and publishing as the next benchmark for Spectrum and Genesis II. Website development helps the global recognition of leadership in collaborative alliance development. A monthly Be The Dream Newsletter, with approximately 300 readers, began in November, 2002. As a self-taught webmeister, continual website development fine tunes the message and resources available via the Web, utilizing a global audience. The month of September, 2003 marked the 2,000 visitor per month level, with roughly 12% return visitors. Just under 75% of the new visitors stay less than a minute. The target market generally remains from 5 to over an hour, 6% of the visitors stay 5-15 minutes, 11% 2-5 minutes, and 3% longer than 15. The goal is to reach a 15% 5-15 minute stay, and/or increase visitors to 5,000 per month in the next 12 months. This is achieved through developing reciprocal link partners, search engine keyword marketing, submission to website search engine databases, and personal contacts through networking efforts.
Already a leader in some circles, it is important to establish credibility throughout the globe via the Internet, organizational, and personal references. Invitations exist to several gatherings and symposiums around the globe. Sponsorships are necessary to meet the financial requirements of travel and accommodations for these events. Proposals in development are marketed to specific organizations and philanthropists to acquire the necessary funding for two, as my partner, Robin Engel, is the official button pusher and co-presenter of the plan. Continual negotiations and resolutions are necessary in partnership, which is why the union of lifestyle and living empowers the personal and professional development required to be successful in this venture of vision, mission, insight, and magic.
Non-Profit Organization
Be The Dream, a soon to be 501 (c) (3) non profit corporation, serves as the foundation and organizational leadership for the development and expansion of Spectrum Academy and the Genesis II communities. Register initially in January, 1988, Be The Dream began as a small consultancy for ‘new age’ and metaphysically or spiritually oriented businesses and organizations. Adjusting to the growing needs of community development, addressing the disenfranchised youth first, is a natural evolution of the integrity, concern for accountability and responsibility, and proactive energy that drives the new living awareness of Culture Creatives and concerned planetary citizens. Making this process practical and pragmatic is a core competency of Be The Dream and its charismatic and transformational leadership team.
The launch of Be The Dream as a non-profit makes a larger scope of funding resources available to access. Grant writing skills, currently developing, forces the focus toward the simple and practical communication of vision, mission, and organizational plan for accomplishment. Further refining research into a well-crafted plan includes specific communication plans, financial projections and requirements, organizational goals, project plans, process and procedures to achieve the mission of the vision conceived by the Co-Directors of Be The Dream. Applying the skills set acquired to date is most challenging and exciting for the partnership, individually and collectively.
For Profit Directions
Part of the missing pieces of a better picture includes the bridging of non-profit and for profit worlds. Spectrum Academy, sponsored by the non-profit Be The Dream, includes three business units, a charter school, residential treatment center, and community technology center. Intrinsic to the nature of education and treatment, the non-profit status is important. These institutions do not produce revenue; they prepare the way for productive citizenry. The CTC, however, is expanded to include a data center for collection, storage, and distribution of various educational software packages normally overwhelming the cost of education in charter schools, community colleges, and correctional institutions. Acquiring authorized site licensing from software authors and development companies greatly reduces the costs to the Association of Charter Schools, in Arizona and across the U.S., through the intranet access capacity. The win/win is created with the producers/manufacturers of the products through a percentage of revenue being shared with each, increasing their potential customer base as well. The projected revenues from this venture support the charter school and residential treatment program.
Meeting the above demands requires continual professional development and understanding in information technology systems, resource integration methodologies, and mastery of business administration and organizational development skills. Educationally, the MBA and MAOM degrees help integrate experiential and theoretical models. The background and education to date empowers exploring new territory in the functional development of youth and adult relationships, academic and treatment programs, and business unit creation for community advancement. Further use of systems-thinking, learning organization, and supply chain management theories help to create a deeper sense of solidity as the organization develops. This opportunity presents a variety of virtuous endeavors that will attract many and require the best of management practices to be used by the leadership.
Industry Notoriety
Increasing notoriety establishes a greater ability to connect the dots of collaborative alliances throughout the immediate area, in regard to Spectrum Academy, and globally in regard to the evolution of Genesis II. Published authors/academians seem to garner the most attention through industry symposiums, etc. Establishment in any arena generally requires a Ph.D. level academic tenure as well as 15 to 20 years in the field. The time in the field prepares the way for practical dissertations, problem-solving, and rooting oneself in the industry, or industries as the case may be. In this new millennium, there are seeming voluminous requirements to meet.
To begin the doctoral program search is the next professional development step. There are several options to this journey. The best for this writer includes the ability to design a program that fits the high-level organizational view while crafting the front-line approach to actualizing the vision of Be The Dream, Spectrum Academy, and Genesis II. Integrating education, community development, treatment systems, and leadership philosophies into a single program is a must. Writing this process is a monumental task and worthy of the doctoral plunge. The Web presence being developed benefits this process as well, with some invitations to speak at various events already received via this medium. The goal is to complete the doctoral program in 3 years, while traveling to speak at these various events to continue the networking of our plan and its benefits to society.
Personal Development
Mentors are strong allies in the process of personal development, sharing key insights and knowledge in specific areas that facilitate increased awareness and wisdom. A knowledge base is only as good as the wisdom used in applying the information toward organizational and personal goals. Membership in professional organizations is another key feature of building collaborative alliances in organizational development. Continued networking amongst professional groups, through meetings, mixers, and workshops increases the contacts necessary to develop a valuable database of professional expertise and potential team members for the areas of focus. Self-assessments and specific coursework, seminars, training, and workshops empower continued growth in the leadership skills necessary to complete the goals and objectives of this plan.
Conclusion
Setting realistic goals and objectives has been difficult to achieve since the first inclination of life purpose came as a teenager. As profound as the experience was, the practical path still had to be achieved in order to make it real. Nearly 30 years later, the dream/vision is still alive and well in process toward manifestation in some very real ways. A natural charismatic and transformational leadership style embraces the changes people make while searching for their own anchor in this world. This is also a natural part of the process the writer has engaged in his flair for change agentry, creating a personal and professional plan to pummel the paradigm paralysis regarding disenfranchised youth and adults. Our world is on the brink of massive change and this one has a passion for being on the front line. The challenge is to always be vigilant of the vividness that can be created through communication and openness of purpose, which shows up as the vision and mission of the organizational development for Be The Dream, Spectrum Academy, and Genesis II.
Some literary resources… Dream about travel, too? Here's a great resource.
Update: January – 2006
Well, quite honestly I allowed secondary priorities to influence my activities for the past couple of years. I have a tendency to put others’ priorities over my own. That is not a good practice for one who wants to achieve great things. The goals are still operative, just prolonged in their accomplishment. Admittedly these goals are bigger than the short time-frame I proposed. Life sometimes takes us on other journeys.
Update: January – 2007
I spent most of last year on the road with a couple of children's stage shows. Our Be The Dream website has risen to average 18,000 visits per month, with an 'ethics' paper getting the most single page views. The site is producing minimal income at this time. Spectrum Academy is averaging about 1,000 visits per month. Neither site is producing much feedback. I am not sure why. I am getting a ridiculous amount of spam that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject material. Our non-profit status remains unfinished. We began to develop Spectrum as a non-profit, establishing it as a corporation, only to find the process cumbersome at this point. Hopefully this year will provide some growth in our network. We still feel that just by having the information available it may benefit others, increase the desire for such a place, and continue to challenge us to move forward.
Meanwhile, along with Hypnotherapy certification, I have completed a comprehensive Transformational Life Coach training and certification through the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. I’ve found a way to assist others in the development of action plans that lead them to achieving their dreams through synergizing personal and professional skills and talents.
I've finished a workbook and coursework called Transformation on the Path to Fulfillment that promises to be a stellar program. It combines personal, professional and spiritual understanding and wisdom, placing practical exercises and techniques at the center of the work. Personal growth doesn't have to be painful and I've put together a nice weave of psychospiritual processes. I still use them daily as they have become a part of my being over the years, so I walk my talk even when chewing gum.
Update: January – 2008
Last year brought some tremendous growth for me personally, aligning many threads of the projects on the Be The Dream, Life Coaching and Spectrum Academy websites. We began work on redesigning the Be The Dream and Life Coaching websites, the latter being functionally complete and operational. We'll launch Be The Dream again late in the quarter. It seems like the time I spent imagineering on the road is coming to fruition of sorts. Although website visits for Be The Dream have decreased, the Life Coaching and Spectrum Academy sites are increasing.
We've had several inquiries regarding Spectrum, including a municipal urban league that is creating an alternative school in conjunction with the city. There is currently a proposal before their board to bring me in as a consultant. I've gotten a lot of experience in partnering workshops for multi-million dollar construction projects over the last year due to the assistance of a great mentor. This year may bring our work to light in ways far more beneficial than once thought. Facilitating the partnering for such projects in multiple locations would be a better use of our expertise across America now.