NEW LEADERSHIP FOR A NEW PITTSBURGH

Coro is creating a leadership pipeline by helping diverse groups of people create solutions to critical challenges facing businesses, governments, and communities. Coro leadership training is organized according to three basic ideas: experience-based learning, whole systems thinking, and a facilitative leadership style.

EXPERIENCED BASED LEARNING

Based on over 60 years of training individuals for effective organizational and community leadership, Coro recognizes that learners appropriate knowledge more fully when it derives from experiences that are both challenging and personally meaningful.

The figure below (right) illustrates Coro’s experience-based learning model. Each program revolves around a series of challenging experiences, where participants are forced outside their comfort zone to adopt new ways of thinking and acting. To facilitate learning from experience, Coro provides participants with assessment tools and strategies that help them identify strengths, weaknesses, and action steps to help improve their performance. Assessment is conducted in a supportive environment to help participants manage the discomfort and frustration that accompanies challenge.

WHOLE SYSTEMS THINKING

In order for individuals to be effective in leadership roles they must be able to understand the system at a deeper level and to be able to engage the system to achieve important organizational or community goals. Training modules focus on helping participants to see systematic interconnections among individuals, community groups, and organizations. Participants then begin to help members of the system to better understand how they can work together to achieve common goals.

FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE

Leaders must draw upon a wide array of resources in order to bring about collective action in organizations and communities. Coro participants develop the skills of effective facilitators. They learn to engage diverse people in making collective decisions that will be owned and implemented by members of the group or community.