Photography by Abbey Louie (April 24, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Engage. Evaluate. Influence. Excel. Embark. These words emphasize my journey of Servant leadership and the congruence I seek to inspire in others. As highlighted in my proposal, the Business Career Foundation Program (BCFP) is Boeing’s premier entry-level leadership development program. The BCFP is a two-year, entry level rotation program designed to build participants’ leadership and business acumen through a challenging, fast-paced rotation experience. With rotations in six different business disciplines, participants get hands-on, experiential challenges and responsibilities. The BCFP offers many exciting development activities, including leadership development training. My leadership project, the ImagineCreateServe Seminar, was executed from 4/24/17-4/27/17 at the Boeing Leadership Center (BLC) in St. Louis. Previously, this seminar has been coined, the “Capstone” Seminar. This seminar marked the last time the BCFP class of 2017 met as a cohort. The ImagineCreateServe Seminar was an evolution from previous Capstone Seminars for each participant was able to engage in deep self-reflection, celebrate their time in the program, and develop themselves as the future leaders of the Boeing Company.

Day 1. Engage. 

Photography by Abbey Louie (April 24, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

On the first day of the Seminar, I was feeling inspired, grateful, and prepared. Upon arrival, I met up with Abbey and we ran through the nature trails at the BLC. The release of endorphins, breath of fresh air, and calming presence of my Servant leader mentor centered me for the evening ahead.  As each BCFP program participant entered the room, it was a joy to see them light up as they reconnected with their fellow BCFPs who work and various Boeing sites across the country. I kicked off the evening by introducing the concept of Servant leadership. I highlighted the purpose of the seminar as a time for reflection, goal-setting, development, celebration, and connection. I emphasized the daily themes: engage, evaluate, influence, and embark. I introduced the BCFPs to the concept of Metanoia and encouraged them to lean in during the week for the hope that they may experience a moment of Metanoia. Together, we established expectations and ground rules for the week and I led them through a quick, silly icebreaker to get them relaxed.

Following the icebreaker, I went straight into mindfulness. I explained that mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present and not overly reactive. I introduced the science behind the right and left side of the brain and explained what makes us reactive by nature. I led the participants through an adapted version of the four breath prescencing practice from ORGL 537. In small groups, the participants discussed why mindfulness is difficult for them and tactics for how they can incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives. Participants were tasked to engage in mindfulness throughout the week by participating in a nature walk at least once during their time at the BLC.

Photography by Abbey Louie (April 24, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Once the BCFPs were present, Abbey and I co-facilitated a module on core values. The BCFPs learned that effective leaders must know themselves and their core values. Servant leaders are in tune with their core values and use their values to congruently guide their decision making. We shared anecdotes about company culture and its connection to core values. The participants were led through reflection where they were asked to journal about their meaningful life moments and about moments were they were feeling incongruent.  From there, I coached each table to identify themes, clusters and trends amongst the values they identified based on journaling their experiences.  The BCFPs learned about what happens when our values drift and strategies to mitigate incongruence. The participants were then asked to assess how well they were honoring each value by scoring their top five values on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 represents optimal congruence with their values. We closed the evening by having them make a decision between four hypothetical job offers based on the core values they identified. After a long evening of deep reflection, we all went back to our rooms after a quick drink at the BLC Bar.

Day 2. Evaluate.

Photography by Caitlin Swamy (April 25, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

As highlighted in my post “Strengths,” Abbey was the first person to introduce me to the StrengthsFinder Assessment. During the first half of day 2, the BCFPs identified their top 5 strengths based on the StrengthsFinder assessment and learned how leverage their strengths to do what they do best every day. The BCFPs were introduced to the concept of positive psychology. They were then led through a series of exercises where they had to name their strength, claim their strength, and aim for their strength (intentionally use and develop their strength).  I was able to coach the participants alongside Abbey in small group activities.  The BCFPs then went through an activity were they had to build a paper tower as team and evaluate how their strengths and the strengths of their team members were highlighted during the activity.

Photography by Matt McCarthy (April 25, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Following the StrengthsFinder Assessment, I had the joy of sharing lunch with three of my Servant leader mentors Kevin, Abbey, and MaryAnne. MaryAnne, at the end of her long and successful career as an executive coach. Kevin, a skilled facilitator with over 20 years of workshop facilitation experience. Abbey, an expert in Talent and Leadership at the Boeing Company and someone who is starting her own consulting practice. I was truly grateful to spend this time in their presence.

After lunch, the BCFPs went straight into the afternoon module on Emotional Intelligence. Kevin introduced the concept of emotional intelligence. From there, I brought back mindfulness through leading the participants through a prescencing journaling exercise. The BCFPs then broke into pairs were they had to describe a stuck relationship. They learned about Victor Frankl and his work understanding the space between stimulus and response. The BCFPs engaged in further partner work through discussing their experience of conflict as a child. They learned what pulls leaders of center and developed strategies for self-awareness and self-management. I led the group through a scenario where they had to understand how their core values and connection to others creates a framework that leads to us to be reactive. Through a number of engaging and interactive activities, the BCFPs were able to understand the difference between stimulus, thoughts, feelings and wants and how to convey them through using emotional intelligence.

Photography by Abbey Louie (April 25, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

In the evening, the BCFPs heard from a panel of diverse Boeing executives on how the topics of EQ, Strengths Finder, and systems thinking are essential to good leadership. The BCFPs asked engaging and thoughtful questions such as: What is your leadership philosophy? How do you engage in mindfulness? What are you working on as a leader? When have your core values been tested? What advice do you have for us? The responses were honest and thoughtful. At the end of the panel discussion, one of the panel members approached me and commented on the humility and caliber of the group. I was truly honored and grateful to be in a position of influence where I can develop the Servant leaders of the future.

Day 3. Influence.

Photography by Caitlin Swamy (April 26, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

The third day of the Seminar kicked off with an empathetic listening activity. In pairs, the BCFPs were to describe a moment in their life where they experienced a Metanoia. They learned that empathetic listening is about assuming positive intent, being genuinely curious, and treating the other person as an expert in their experience. The BCFPs learned that mastering empathy means not knowing all the answers and that listening is the foundation of good leadership.

Photography by Caitlin Swamy (April 26, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Starting the third day with empathy was strategic. Following the Boeing Earnings call, we kicked off the organizational workshop. As highlighted in my proposal, the Organizational workshop is a business simulation that addresses unconscious bias and incorporates a variety of organizational dynamics, particularly around structure and power. The BCFPs were assigned a role within the organization: Top, Middle, Bottom, or Customer.  There were five “days” in the simulation, each day lasting thirteen minutes. By the end of the “week” the group collectively had to create a thriving working community. They were broken out into segregated parts of the room. The bottoms had no shoes and could only talk to one another. The middles could only talk to each other and the bottoms. The Tops and Customers could move freely and talk to anyone. Along the way, the Tops had the opportunity to change the rules, but they had to clear these changes with the government (i.e. Kevin and me). The simulation taught them that it regardless of what role they were in, they would fall into the same subconscious traps. Following the simulation, Kevin led the group through a dialogue that allowed the BCFPs to identify their own subconscious traps. The BCFPs learned effective leadership strategies to maintain strategic partnerships. By the end of the simulation, everyone was ready for a free evening. We shared a meal and another couple of drinks at the BLC bar before heading to bed.

Photography by Caitlin Swamy (April 26, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Day 4. Excel & Embark.

Day 4 of the BCFP Seminar was the most fulfilling day for me, and based on the feedback from the participants, I believe many of them would agree. The first activity was a feedback circle. The group was split into four groups: two outer circles and two inner circles. In partners, the inner circle BCFP had to give the outer circle BCFP one strength they saw in that person and one thing they would like to see more of in that person. Every three minutes, the BCFPs rotated partners. At the end of the loop, the inner circle BCFPs became the outer circle BCFPs and the outer circle BCFPs were now responsible for delivering the feedback. By the end of the feedback circle activity, each BCFP had received feedback from at least fifteen people.

Photography by Kevin Bush (April 27, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Following the feedback circle activity, the BCFPs received a letter they wrote to themselves at the beginning of the program which highlighted their goals for the two years ahead. After reading their letter, the BCFPs were instructed to pick a partner and go on a dialogue walk. They were encouraged to walk along the nature trails and discuss the following questions:

• After reading your letter, how do you feel? Have your expectations/ goals changed or remained the same? Any other takeaways?
• What are your Top 5 Strengths?
• What are your Core Values?
• What is your natural approach to conflict? (Conviction/Connection)
• Based on the feedback from the circle, what actions can you take today and in the future to be more effective in your leadership?
• What anxieties do you currently have?
• What are you grateful for?

Their partner was to listen empathetically, without judgment, and coach. Both partners were encouraged to pause and take notes during the walk.

Photography by Abbey Louie (April 27, 2017, St. Louis, MO)

Once the group returned from their dialogue walk, they were asked to journal about their leadership philosophy based on what they learned about themselves and others during the seminar. They were asked to imagine that they could fast forward to the very last day of their career and address the following questions:

• What legacy do you want to leave behind?
• What would you want to be remembered for by the people you served?

I closed the seminar by leading the participants in a circle of gratitude. Each participant shared a moment of gratitude from the week and from their two years in the BCFP. It was in this moment that I could see the impact of the seminar and the program. I was humbled when many of them thanked me for my service. I was honored to hear that each of them would take this newfound knowledge and leverage it to better the organizations they serve. I feel grateful for my commitment to executing this seminar and for months of blogging on ImagineCreateServe. I feel congruent in my values, my work, and my life. Thank you to all the BCFP Program Participants, Kevin, and Abbey for your support! Without you, this week would not have been a success. Never let go of your inherent capacity to imagine, create, and serve.