The Leadership Society of Arizona (LSA) is partnering with the professional organization, International Facility Management Association (IFMA), to create a new leadership workshop series that unites professionals and students in the Phoenix Valley. These workshops are part of a joint initiative to create an education pipeline that provides students with valuable leadership training while also connecting them with local industry experts. LSA provides activities proven to help students learn 10 times faster and discover a meaningful career path. IFMA professionals have offered to host each workshop at their facilities throughout the Phoenix Valley, and together with LSA have created a unique career preparation resource for students.
Description
This first workshop was sponsored by the IFMA Student Chapter at Arizona State University, who hosted it at the Tempe Main Campus. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from recently retired ASU professor and industry expert in the delivery of professional services, Dr. Dean Kashiwagi. Dr. Dean shared the culmination of his 25 years of research; the power of metrics.
Metrics are the language of simplicity. When metrics are meaningful and easy to understand we can decrease decision making, minimize administration, and gain a better vision for our futures. At this workshop, high school students, parents, college students, and professionals had the opportunity to develop metrics to simplify their own lives. They learned how to clearly set goals and accurately measure them. Attendees were also able to hear from Dr. Dahval Gajjar, who shared his personal experience on how using metrics enabled him to become the youngest construction manager to ever work for Harkins Theaters.
Results
Over 60 people attended Workshop 1, making this event the most popular IFMA Student Chapter event in the last 15 years. In attendance were 47 college students, 12 industry professionals, 5 high school students, and 2 parents. Attendees were asked to provide workshop feedback which can be seen below:
| Performance Criteria | Metrics |
| I am satisfied with this workshop | 98% |
| The information I learned is relevant to me | 98% |
| This workshop will help me achieve my goals | 95% |
| I would recommend this workshop to my friends | 93% |
Testimonials
“Awesome presentation! I really appreciate the hands-on application and especially the input from the student team. Thank you!” – Industry Professional | “I like how you guys are making things simple and how to get over hard situations. I like the food as well the most.” – College Student |
“Great workshop. This topic would be great for high schoolers and college freshmen: find what you’re good at THEN pick the career.” – Parent | |
Conclusion
This workshop marks the first great milestone in creating an impactful student to industry pipeline. For the first time, LSA and IFMA have been able to unite students, parents, and professionals. This event is the first of eight workshops scheduled for the fall of 2017. The dates and locations for each workshop are provided below. LSA and IFMA aim to make this workshop series a flagship leadership series for years to come.
For more details about upcoming workshops, please follow this link: http://old.leadaz.org/2017-workshops-registration/
Program Sponsors
