MDI President Ian Kennard carries a vision. He sees a men’s organization providing the sort of training that creates powerful leadership for the organization and brings positive transformation in the men’s lives.
That overall view – with a long-term plan of building a training library of dozens of online courses – is currently presenting the 4-week “Introduction to Leadership” which started the beginning of May. (Course presently closed to registration.)
That online Zoom training is led by MDI veteran Greg Aldrich and VP of Training Matt Lyons. Promising a deep dive into Context-Purpose-Results (CPR) technology, this course in a nutshell “will teach you how to be your best self, the man you always wanted to be, in any situation at any time.” The question posed: “How would your life be different today if you had already mastered this?”
Among its intended results for participants of this course, promotional material points to:
- How to Trust Yourself as a Leader
- How to give and receive feedback
- Mature Masculine Leadership
- How to apply the power of the 4 Archetypes
- How to handle Broken Agreements
- The Power of Team
This course is part of a trilogy of sessions already developed – Enrollment Training and Team Leader Training the other two, along with an Essential Skills course presently in the process of being developed.
Kennard’s and Lyons’ vision for MDI training includes the opportunity to develop leaders who can serve the organization, and also offer the tools so men can most effectively be leaders in their own lives.
Says Kennard, “My vision is that the trainings are contemporary, engaging, relatable, interactive, professional with a high set of standards, and appealing to a more diverse audience.”
The plan is to ultimately build a library of recorded pre-package trainings ranging from 20-minute leadership guides to 2-hour CPR trainings to 8-hour, all-day trainings on specific topics. This library can be customized for specific regions and needs.
“I’ve always thought we should have flexible training where men can walk through it themselves at their own pace,” Kennard says.
Aldrich, who has been involved in delivering leadership training since 1998, says the library is an “excellent idea” that will take time to create using a professional, high-quality production.
Of the “Introduction to Leadership” course, Aldrich says he receives value himself through facilitation. “I always get value out of it. Men always bring something up that teaches me something new or reminds me of what I had forgotten.”
Aldrich believes anyone in attendance at MDI trainings will receive something different according to their needs in life and their willingness to participate.
“The value they get is up to them. Every man is in a different place. A corporate executive will get something different than a 20-year-old man just out of college. Yet there is something for everyone. My job is to deliver the content well. And I am committed to doing that,” he says.
According to MDI Executive Director Stan Snow, the results of participating in any of the MDI trainings is only limited by the participant, though he does list these potential results:
- Build a connection with men outside of your team or division, across MDI.
- Access to some of MDI’s best and most experienced trainers from across many regions, not just yours.
- Introduction to, and immersion in, technology and language used across the entire organization.
- Practical experience if you choose to do the assigned homework.
- An opportunity to hear and be heard.
- A place to get your personal and practical questions answered by trainers and other participants.
- A place to bring and apply your own experience.