NED: Executive Development Program

Leaders today need increasingly sophisticated and agile mindsets characterized by maturity in perspective taking, the ability to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity, comfort with challenging assumptions in self and others and the capacity to learn and integrate new understanding.

To truly develop this capacity, we need to move away from focusing on what leaders know, towards understanding how leaders make sense of the things they know. This requires mindset development - investigating beliefs, biases, habits and autopilot behavior. The majority of leadership development time and money is invested in the realm of skill development - preparing leaders to successfully achieve stated objectives; building mastery in areas with relatively well defined and agreed upon outcomes (e.g. sales, hiring skills). To develop mindsets to match the demands of today, a different approach is needed.

Why? We are wired to avoid change; and brain research suggests our largely unconscious habits of mind drive our behavior. This means 90% of our decisions, motivations and reactions are influenced by automatic, unconscious processes. We naturally default to familiar solutions and processes, even when they no longer match the new or changing environment. Therefore, we need experiences that disrupt habitual ways of doing things to open our minds. We also need exposure to different worldviews and a process of reflection to integrate and make sense of new perspectives.

Neuroscience on “sticky” learning tells us that deeply meaningful learning over time is critical to gain the impact we seek from leadership development programs. Additionally, research has consistently demonstrated that people develop in relationship with others. Sustainable learning and growth happens when people feel they are in a safe community, when they are challenged and when they are engaged in connected and authentic (or deep) dialogue. To accomplish mindset development in NAIOP, it needs to occur in a cohort over time.

The NAIOP SFBA Executive Development (NED) Program is pleased to partner with these outstanding faculty members.

• Dr. Julie Chesley

  Dr. Julie A. Chesley is a Ph.D. and an associate professor of organization theory and management at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Dr. Chesley's teaching focuses on personal and group transformation as well as the critical thinking and analysis required to successfully lead change. Dr. Chesley has also been on the faculty at the United States Air Force Academy and at Colorado College. 

  Julie has been deeply involved with the NAIOP Young Professionals Group (YPG) program for a number of years as an instructor, has enjoyed working with NAIOP and is extremely enthusiastic about being involved in this next step of self-development for mid-career professionals.

• Terri D. Egan, Ph.D.
  

  Terri D. Egan, Ph.D., is an associate professor emeritus at the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and co-founder of the SyncUp Leadership Group. She has taught graduate and executive courses in leadership, team effectiveness, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and organizational change and development. Her award-winning research has been published widely.

  At the SyncUp group, Dr. Egan and her colleagues translate the benefits of neuroscience research into practical, scalable approaches to developing brain-friendly organization cultures and agile leadership mindset. she and Dr. Chesley have customized this work to address the unique challenges and opportunities facing NED participants as they face an ever changing and dynamic environment.

• Rita Williams

  Rita is currently a Facilitator, Consultant and Instructional Designer for Power Speaking Inc., leading 1 and 2-day intensive presentation skills training courses. As a Senior Consultant she has led presentation training for DeFinis Communications since 2007 and media sales training for Noll & Associates since 2005. Those topics include Negotiation, Business Development, Presentation Skills, Conflict Management, Key Account Management and Time Management.

  Prior to facilitating training and immersing herself in the communication arena, Rita spent 15 years selling in the broadcast industry. This includes 7 years as VP National Sales at Univision Television Group, and 7 years for Cox Communications TV Stations and Rep firms. She was focused on new business development and tapped her resourcefulness crafting creative marketing solutions. Her background in media and sales allowed her to learn about many other industries, and she now facilitates programs among many of them, including real estate, law, finance, engineering, hi-tech, medicine, art, travel and the public sector.

  Rita is a Board Member on the Lincoln Park Homeowners Association, volunteers as a mentor for Women Unlimited, is a San Francisco City Guide, and runs a speech program for youth to build confidence in elementary and middle school. Rita is a Northern California native, graduated from UC Berkeley in Political Science and Economics, and lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.