Graduates Experience Life-Changing Classes
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (August 6, 2002) – While most graduates are lying on the beach, interviewing for a first job or gearing up for college, one local class of graduates are already on the job putting their newly learned skills to the test.
This special set of graduates encompasses all ages and genders who were actually learning “on the job” at Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation as part of a tailor-made leadership training program founded by company Senior Vice President Beverly Finney. The program included Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute instructor Elizabeth Power.
As part of her oversight of the public and employee relations area of the electric cooperative that serves over 64,000 consumers in northwest North Carolina and includes a heating fuels subsidiary, Finney formed the “Blue Ridge Leadership Institute” for employees seeking to strengthen their leadership and management skills. Classes began last August and recently concluded with graduation, where Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson spoke and presented certificates.
Managing change was one of the most important things students said they learned.
“Change is going to happen, no matter what, but I had gotten relaxed in a certain way of doing things and (resistant) to change,” said Mike Kincaid, a Caldwell County native who works as a Watauga district lineman. “These classes reminded me of what I was like the first five years I was here. There was nothing I was afraid to try…I knew how to do my job but was open to the idea that there might be a better way to do things. This has reminded me that you have to come out of your comfort zone to accomplish things. You have to prepare and be ready for change,” Kincaid said.
Students said they also learned how to better work with others.
“I have begun to stop and look more thoughtfully at the types of personalities and what drives people before being too quick to react or criticize,” said Karen Ford, adminis-trative assistant at the cooperative’s corporate office in Lenoir.
“The ‘personal styles survey’ we took helped us recognize our own strengths and challenges,” added Glenda Christian, business development director of Blue Ridge Energies. “It helped you to see yourself as others see you. We all found areas of strength and areas we could improve upon. This process helped us step out of our comfort zones, which was important because each of us had to stand in front of the class to make presentations, work in groups, and do self-study such as developing our own mission and vision statements to share with the class. Recognizing the differences in people helped us better work together and relate to each other more effectively,” Christian said.
Learning a systematic way of solving problems as presented by Blue Ridge Electric’s Chief Financial Officer Lee Chase was also a helpful tool to carry back to the workplace.
“I’ve already begun using the decision making process Lee presented and it’s helped us come up with solutions in several situations,” said Kevin Clark, the company’s lead meter technician who deals with power quality and reliability issues in his job. “The method is a systematic way of objectively gathering information to help you make better decisions; it helps you explore various options to get to the most beneficial result,” Clark said. “There was probably two years’ worth of college courses in this training program, and learning this process was particularly helpful,” he added.
Other practical course in the program included supervision skills.
“For years I’d worked by myself in service work, and then went straight to leading four linemen on a crew,” said Ben Hurley, Watauga crew leader. “The type of work we do can be stressful at times, and the classes have taught me a lot of ways to relieve and manage stress,” Hurley said.
“The classes helped me improve my leadership skills and it would have been worth the effort just to see the growth in the men who report to me who are also in the Institute,” said Robert Kent, Caldwell operations manager. “Our group has always worked well together, but after being taught leadership skills, I see them using these skills on the job and taking on more responsibility. They also have a better understanding of how the company operates and the role management plays,” Kent added.
Most students described the training program as a “life-changing” experience.
“This experience brought focus to what I am doing,” said Reba Brewer, Automated Mapping-Facilities Management-Geographical Information Systems manager. Brewer’s work includes coordinating the cooperative’s global positioning system (GPS) project for electronic mapping as well as overseeing a variety of strategic databases. “I’d been stuck in my cubicle for years—many projects are long, drawn-out processes for me. This (class) was a chance to get energized and helped me feel like a team player again.”
Brewer said the class work on practical career advice, which included setting specific and measurable career goals as well as internal “mock” interviews for positions students found interesting, was especially enlightening.
“The interview process helped me to see how to better prepare myself to support whoever steps into that position and helped me consider what I really want to do with the rest of my life,” said Brewer. In the meantime, Brewer is studying to take the professional engineer’s certification exam.
While there was no guarantee that class participants would automatically advance in the company, participants say the program has prepared them to step into advanced leadership roles…or perhaps more importantly, to be a leader in any position.
“I’ve learned to be a leader where I am now or if I advance in the future,” said Eric Laws, a Caldwell lineman. “You can be recognized as a leader even though you don’t carry a specific title. It’s all about the effort you put into anything you do.”
