August IWMFWire
Taking the Lead in the Newsroom

Advanced leadership workshop concludes IWMF series

The final program in the IWMF’s recent series of leadership development workshops for women in the U.S. media was held in Washington, DC, in June. The two-day program, Taking the Lead: Building Your Influence in the Newsroom, built on skills and information from earlier workshops and delved further into leadership with sessions on personal leadership development, team building, and coaching and performance management. All participants at this advanced workshop had already attended basic workshops in Boston, Miami, New York, San Francisco or Washington, DC.

Jill Geisler and Pam Johnson, who are on the faculty of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based Poynter Institute, which provides training and education for professional journalists, were the workshop trainers. In preparation for the workshop, they gave participants homework which included getting on-the-record feedback from supervisors, co-workers and people who work directly for them. During the workshop, Geisler and Johnson helped the journalists see this feedback as an opportunity to improve their management style and skills. They also led participants through exercises designed to help them become newsroom leaders by identifying their personality preferences through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, pinpointing their leadership styles, learning how to resolve conflict and developing an effective coaching style for employees.

For a report from the workshop, go to http://www.iwmf.org/features/7630.