John F. Kennedy said “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
That reasoning explains the success of Leading, the electronic quarterly newsletter launched in 2011 by the Center for Leadership in the College of Business Administration at Florida International University (FIU).
Between the premier issue in September and the second in December, subscriber count more than doubled—from around 1,100 to more than 2,500.
“We launched Leading to provide our community easy access to the center’s research findings on what makes for effective decisions, ethical leadership and leadership practices that provide organizations with long-term, sustainable growth,” said Modesto Maidique, president emeritus of FIU and the center’s executive director, who early on saw the potential for this forum.
Maidique added that the newsletter highlights the work of the center’s twelve research projects; The Leadership Lectures, featuring distinguished academicians and practitioners; and their four executive leadership development programs. The center’s own work is supplemented by initiatives, research, articles and news items from numerous other sources that provide significant insights on building leadership.
“It also was important for the newsletter to profile leaders with a demonstrated understanding of the impact of strong personal and professional values,” said Garth D. Headley (MS ’07), industrial psychologist and associate director, marketing and corporate relations. “Executives in the ‘Featured Leader’ column embrace the responsibility for the continuous development of their people, while conducting business in a very ethical and responsible way.”
Leading offers links to videos or podcasts by FIU faculty and includes features such as polling questions. Subscriptions are free, easily obtained through the center’s website.
Electronic media offers benefits.
“Certainly, electronic communication is more eco-friendly than printing thousands of newsletters,” said Przemyslaw “Shemeck” Filec (BBA ’11), the center’s new media manager. “We also chose electronic communication so Leading can present a wide range of resources in an engaging and interactive way in real time.”
“The pace of change in electronic media continuously provides opportunities to update our format and add features,” Headley said. “We will always aim to incorporate what works best for communicating our leadership research, programs and initiatives.”