Tempo Milwaukee recently launched a new professional development series for its members and their guests.
The new series, in addition to the organization’s regular monthly programming, will be held four times in a calendar year and will focus on professional development, skill-building and problem solving.
“We’ve been talking about doing something like this for a while,” said Kimberly Kane, Tempo president. “The real genesis is what we were hearing from our members. These are high-level executives who wanted this type of resource, and we decided there were things we could do to offer it for them.”
According to Tracy Johnson, Tempo executive director, the development series will focus on four main areas, including leadership, career development, communication and networking.
“We’ve grown so much as an organization,” Johnson said. “We’re always trying to bring forward programming that benefits our members and meets the needs of their businesses.”
According to Kane, the programming was developed in part by talking with members to find out what they were looking for from a professional development series.
“As member businesses, our members want access to people in a broad range of industries for networking purposes and the same is true for the development series,” Kane said. “They are looking for programming that is applicable across industries but that can also act as a supplement to the professional development they may or may not be doing internally as a company.”
Kim Wynn, shareholder at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. and a member of the Tempo program planning committee, led the discussion on programming for the series.
“Our focus is to develop programming that will not only be beneficial to women but to men as well,” Wynn said. “So far the series has focused on making the program for discussion general topics of interest. Our primary focus is not women-centered programming although some interval programming along those lines might take place in the future.”
Three out of the four programs in the series for 2011 are already decided, Wynn said. Future programming however will not be on a set schedule.
“Through our focus groups we’ve learned that having some wiggle room in the programming to account for trending topics and scheduling is sometimes optimal,” Johnson said. “It’s nice to have a little bit of wiggle room that allows us to respond more adequately to the feedback from our members.”
The first program in the series will be held on Friday, March 11, at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee.
Christine Harris Taylor of Marquette University will discuss leadership skills for building consensus and reaching agreement.
“It is important to us to provide high-quality, high-level speakers and information at these programs,” Wynn said. “We wanted to address issues that were applicable to a high range of people and industries, and we certainly feel like we’ve done that with these first few.” The second program in the series will feature Kathleen Rinehart from Whyte Hirschboek Dudek S.C., who will discuss leadership tools and communication tools to prevent conflict in the workplace. The third series, planned for fall, will feature Christine McMahon, an independent business strategist and BizTimes Milwaukee columnist, who will discuss what she calls leadership “plasticity,” or the ability to adapt efficiently and embrace ever-changing market conditions.
Program topics will be developed with feedback from future and existing members, Wynn said.
“Our target area is employer members who want to expose their employees to broader experiences,” Johnson said. “This program series is a way for employers and employees to learn in the community, from the community, and get exposed to an even greater knowledge base they wouldn’t normally be exposed to. We are looking forward to receiving feedback.”
For more information on the Tempo Professional Development Series or to register for the scheduled programs, visit www.Tempomilwaukee.org. Cost to attend is $30 per person.
