REBUILDING BUCYRUS

Crawford County emphasizes leadership

Mark Caudill

BUCYRUS – When it comes to leadership, Crawford County is progressive.

The Supervisor Boot Camp recently started in the Partnership Building in Bucyrus. The six-week program meets once a week, focusing on a different topic each time. Two of the most important are conflict resolution and communication.

Crawford: 20/20 Vision is the organization behind the initiative, now in its fourth session.

“The retention and expansion surveys alerted us to some of the workforce issues that our companies are having,” said Michelle Failor, communications coordinator for Crawford: 20/20 Vision. “We noticed that a lot of turnover is due to the relationship with the frontline supervisor.”

Supervisor Boot Camp trains the frontline supervisors. The sessions are more interactive than they are lectures.

“It helps them feel more confident about handling things in their jobs,” Failor said.

But the camp is only one of the leadership investments taken by Crawford: 20/20 Vision.

“Leadership is something that Crawford: 20/20 Vision invests time, heart and other resources into daily,” Failor said. “It’s one of the most important ways we can move forward with our plan to make Crawford County a more sustainable place to live and work.”

The group’s leadership development team coordinates the following events each year, focusing on strengthening the leaders in the community and building the leaders of tomorrow:

•Leadercast is an annual simulcast that gives Crawford County leaders a chance to learn from leaders around the world. This year’s event will take place May 8.

•Crawford Conversation is an ongoing lecture series that occurs twice a year — or as needed. It focuses on various leadership topics. The next one takes place April 22 with a focus on how to lead people out of poverty.

•Crawford Unlimited Leadership is a nine-month program designed to strengthen leadership within participants and how to better serve the community and their organization. The curriculum focuses on developing 21st Century workforce skills.

Supervisor Boot Camp also has a spinoff through SPARK (Supervisors Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Knowledge). The mini boot camp is only one day for people who can’t devote six weeks to the regular version. This year’s mini boot camp, taking place May 20, will focus on communication.

“Leadership goes across everything we do,” Failor said.

Debbi Gifford, chair of the Leadership Development Team for Crawford: 20/20 Vision, agreed.

In 2010, she said county officials concluded what was missing was the next group of leaders.

“Leadership is instrumental in positive change in so many different levels,” she said.

Crawford County starts early. The Leadership in Me program employed in some schools starts with kindergarteners.

“It’s one of the most exciting things happening in the county,” Gifford said. “You have to have leaders to continue forth.”

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill