Date: September 11, 2015
Location: District Architecture Center
Time: 12:00 pm – 5:00pm
Led by: CKLDP Committee
Summary:
The 2015-2016 class of the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program kicked off with a bang at the AIA|DC District Architecture Center. The class was welcomed by the CKLDP Executive Committee, outlining the goals and expectations for the program.
The keynote address came from Mr. Michael Ayles, AIA, Principal at Antinozzia and Associates in Bridgeport, CT. Mr. Ayles inspired the class with his talk about the Importance of Leadership. Mr. Ayles focused on service and involvement within the community as being a key component to leadership. Mr. Ayles left us with some important final thoughts: prepare thoroughly, figure out your passion, practice humility, parlay what you can and most importantly, maintain a proper work-life balance.
The next portion of the session was dedicated to a Pecha-Kucha style presentation from each scholar. The sixteen participants each had 90 seconds to present three slides describing themselves the type of leader that they are, and the type of leader that they’d like to be.
Following the Pecha-Kucha, the scholars were broken up into groups of four to brainstorm potential topics they’d like to address over the course of the program. After presenting their findings, the scholars were further broken up into teams of two. These teams were each assigned one topic to plan for the program and given time to break out and further develop ideas.
The final lecture, Leadership, Architecture and You, was presented by Ned Cramer, editor-in-chief of ARCHITECT magazine. Ned was very energetic and shed some light on the differences between leaders and managers. He left us with some great advice: it’s not about you, surround yourself with people smarter than you, listen to them, ask them questions, set clear expectations, be transparent, explain why, let them fail, let yourself fail and make them proud. The discussion continued over drinks at happy hour at the nearby Iron Horse tavern. If the excitement and sheer energy of the day are any indicators, this is going to be a fantastic class!
Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program 