Three thought-leading organizations of Oklahoma City offer a new leadership program

If you’ve been looking for a way to help your team arrive at the next level of leadership and professionalism, the Compass Rose Leadership program may be your answer. This cutting-edge experience offers academic rigor combined with experiential elements of RIVERSPORT in a structured two-day program to support leaders in reaching their full potential.

Companies are always looking for ways to invest in their employees, and now with an impressively low unemployment rate in Oklahoma City, it’s more important than ever. The Compass Rose Leadership program has launched at a crucial time for our business community, bringing together thought-leadership from three of the most well-respected organizations in our city: Leadership OKC, Oklahoma City University, and RIVERSPORT.

“The three organizations are such distinct, unique, and strong brands within our city. They complement each other so well,” said Frank Franzese who is responsible for corporate relations at Oklahoma City University. “It’s natural that they’ve created this very special program through the partnership. It just makes total sense.”

“When Frank approached us about partnering with Oklahoma City University and Leadership OKC, we knew it was a great fit,” said Elizabeth Laurent, Chief Marketing Officer at RIVERSPORT. “Our experiences take people out of the classroom and outside their comfort zones – and that’s where you get the ‘aha’ moments.”

Over the two days of activities and workshopping, individuals discover what drives their leadership style, learn to harness the power of complicated group dynamics, and leverage bucket-list experiences to emerge as a better member of their team and community.

“I am personally very excited about launching the Compass Rose Leadership Program as it represents a culmination of a vision that started several years ago,” said Mike Knopp, Executive Director of RIVERSPORT. “The Boathouse District development has gained an international reputation for innovation and has become one of the top urban water sport and adventure venues in the world. Going from essentially a blighted ditch to this underscores a real-world example of how a unified effort and focused collective leadership produce seemingly impossible results.”

This program proves nothing is impossible when you have the right people in place to set the tone, expectations, and goals which lead to success.

“Part of our role in the program is helping break the ice and create that sense of team so that people get the most out of their experience from day one,” said Christy Zelley, Executive Director of Leadership Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City University faculty believe that unlocking leadership potential begins with a solid understanding of the reasons for and motivation behind your behavior.

“This program combines rigorous experiences with rigorous academics. Our part in this effort has been supporting with the connections, assets, and people that can provide the theoretical context and framework surrounding team dynamics and leadership,” said Russell Evans, Interim Dean of the OCU Meinders School of Business. “Our management faculty really understand the theories behind leadership, management, and followership.”

OCU Meinders School of Business professors Robert Greve, Ph.D., and Justin Wareham, Ph.D., draw on their years of experience to guide participants through a process of self-discovery and reflection using the CDR assessment, a proven diagnostic tool.

“CDR delivers an in-depth executive assessment and is the centerpiece of the academic side of the program,” said Dr. Bob Greve. “We’ve done this for years within our MBA program for our students who are looking to take things to another level. It brings self-awareness and helps identify behavioral tendencies. We look at individual results and then see how they play out in a team setting with experiences with an Olympic coach. Through this process, we get real stories to tie things together with.”

Insights from the CDR are explored further during high-performance rowing experiences. Tapping into this masters-level leadership theory and diagnostics from OCU’s top-rated, accredited business school will support the future growth and success of anyone who goes through the program.

The CDR assessment is utilized to equip executives and leaders to dig “beneath the surface,” providing unique insight into key strengths and development needs in the areas of:

• CDR Leadership Character Assessment — reveals individual distinctions and measures leader acumen, vocational suitability or “best fit” roles, emotional intelligence, key strengths, and potential gaps or short sides
• CDR Leadership Risk Assessment — measures and describes inherent risk factors and related behaviors that can erode performance and lead to derailment. Gone unchecked, these “risks” can drive even the most promising careers off track
• CDR Drivers & Rewards (Personal Motivation) — describes a person’s degree of need (and aversions) for specific types of work, rewards and recognition, the optimal work environment, and culture preferred

On day one, Compass Rose Leadership begins with a quick welcome and “getting to know you” icebreakers led by Leadership OKC. Next, a deep dive into CDR results – participants will have been asked to complete the 90-minute online assessment prior to arrival.

Based on this new information, your team will have a different way to experience being both a team leader and a team member. Olympic Coach Reilly Dampeer serves as the head coach for RIVERSPORT’s High Performance Center and has worked hand-in-hand with OCU to develop rowing experiences that create those memorable aha moments. Participants will learn the basics of Olympic-style rowing in the OKC National High-Performance Center and RIVERSPORT’s indoor rowing tank. By the end of the day, everyone will have the skills and readiness to get into an eight-person rowing shell on the Oklahoma River. Coach Dampeer ensures that everyone has an opportunity to explore how their individual CDR results play into their performance both on and off the water.

At the end of the second day, your group will have the opportunity to choose which activity they want to enjoy in celebration of days well-spent. The choices include whitewater rafting, surfing with Surf OKC, alpine skiing/snowboarding with Ski OKC, or zip lining 700 feet over the Oklahoma River and back.

“The reward is seeing the looks on people’s faces as they ‘get it.’ Most people start out a little wary, but whether it’s rowing, dragon boating or whitewater rafting, we can see them stepping up, pushing the boundaries and being successful,” said Laurent.

“In that moment, it’s not just about the sport. It’s about realizing how much further you can reach if you’re open to learning about yourself and trying something you’re not already good at – which is hard for most of us.”

The Compass Rose Leadership program is unlike any other professional development training experience. Right here in Oklahoma City’s Boathouse district, your team has the opportunity to be inspired and engaged in a transformative and dynamic program.

“We are all about taking people in new directions and helping them develop the talents, skills and resilience needed to be successful, whether in sports, business or just life,” said Laurent.

Whether you are a startup looking for a way to create synergy within your team, an employer who wants to support their staff with a fresh perspective, or an individual interested in doing introspective work to help garner success, this program is for you.

“Our mission at Leadership Oklahoma City is developing leaders in the community, and this program fits right in with our existing work and helps expand our reach,” said Board President Cindy Batt.

“If you think about it, there’s not really an executive-level leadership program here locally. This fills that gap for businesses and individuals, who might not have otherwise been able to travel out of state for a professional development experience of this caliber.”

If you are interested in learning more about how you or your team can take advantage of this opportunity, reach out to Christy Zelley, Executive Director of Leadership Oklahoma City. Booking is open now.