PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On Wednesday, March 21, 16 individuals from various businesses in Aroostook County met for the third of seven classes in a professional development course aimed at promoting positive leadership strategies in today’s local workforce.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 11th annual Young Professionals Institute, typically held in the campus’s professional development center, made a special exception for the March 21 class. Students met at MMG Insurance in Presque Isle for a lesson in building unification among co-workers, taught by MMG Data Architect Javed Siddiqui.
Due to the interactive nature of YPI, students spent most of the two-hour class participating in activities that simulated a real work environment and gave them a better understanding of how to take advantage of all team members’ skills, knowledge and input.
The first activity focused on company meetings. Both teams acted as a school board that had to decide how to utilize a $20,000 “grant” to benefit security enhancements, special needs students, and technological improvements and to designate a budget to hire a part-time school counselor.
Students spent six minutes discussing how to best use the funds. But Siddiqui was less concerned with where their money went and more interested in their ability to make all group members feel valued and decide on solutions together.
“It’s easy to think that if no one said anything against a suggestion then everyone was in agreement. But that’s not always true,” Siddiqui said, after one student used that as an example of how their group came to a final decision. “Unification takes more than working toward a common goal. Sometimes a person can have other concerns that you’ll need to address.”
Siddiqui’s second challenge for students was called, “The Project Team.” Both teams discussed details regarding a company trip that would allow them to escape the cold County winter for one week. What they did not know until later was that one group had the additional challenge of figuring out where they would travel to while the second group had specific instructions to figure out an activities schedule, packing list, hotel arrangements and the trip budget.
“What helped you become unified?” Siddiqui asked the class. Many students noted how they considered everyone’s travel limitations and what would be an “ideal” vacation for them. The second group in particular stated that knowing their end goal from the start helped them decide on vacation details quickly.
“When you have a definition of what ‘done’ looks like, your group can get a project done faster and everyone feels more comfortable,” Siddiqui explained. “Your definition won’t be perfect, but you can make it better the next time.”
The activities concluded with a tour of MMG, from the company’s “Timeline” on the wall of the front entrance to the cafeteria and workout room to special areas designated for team meetings and department collaborations.
Back in the classroom, many students commented on how the building’s open layout, bright colors, and offices for both individuals and teams seemed to aim toward creating a warm environment for all employees. They also noted the “Timeline” and “Our World” areas that showcased news stories of MMG giving back to the community.
Siddiqui stated that he gave the tour to show how companies can take steps toward unifying all employees despite differences in background, expertise or their preferred way of taking on work-related tasks. He said that although all companies accomplish unification in different ways, the important thing is creating a culture that values teamwork and encourages employees to step up as leaders and help others.
“In a workplace meeting or project team, no one is more important than the other. When we recognize what makes each of us unique, we can create something greater than what we could’ve done on our own,” Siddiqui said.
YPI student Melissa Dahlgren, an employee of Katahdin Trust Company in Caribou, said after the class that the skills and strategies she has learned through other professionals thus far will be useful in her own career.
“I think the tips and tricks that we learned about meetings and projects can help keep everyone at work on the same page,” Dahlgren said.
Young Professionals Institute is a seven-week course geared toward helping employees refine skills that can help bring about further leadership and development opportunities in their careers. Each class offers insight from various business leaders and UMPI business professors regarding a chosen topic related to professional development.
The 2018 theme for YPI is 21st Century Leadership. The remainder of the course will dive into topics such as resilient leadership, leadership wellness and strengths-based leadership. The course culminates in a finale on Wednesday, April 11, in which students will present a showcase to past YPI graduates, and business and community members about the leadership skills they’ll bring into their current workplace.
Visits to local businesses and on-site team assignments are two of the many aspects that Kim Jones, director of UMPI’s Employer U program, said make YPI a unique professional development course for Aroostook County employees.
“The format of YPI is hands-on with very little lecture that allows people to practice what they talk about in class,” Jones said. “Our advisory committee is made up of people from Central Aroostook businesses who know what our region’s needs are. This year, we felt that 21st Century Leadership was a relevant topic considering how leadership demands are very different now than they were 20 years ago.”
YPI is held every spring. To apply for the course, employees must nominate themselves or have their employer nominate them before the designated deadline in January. For more information about UMPI’s Employer U program, contact Jones at (207) 768-2928 or kimberly.a.jones@maine.edu.
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- MMG Insurance Data Architect Javed Siddiqui (left) gives UMPI Young Professionals Institute students a tour of the company’s Presque Isle building on Wednesday, March 21. Siddiqui incorporated the tour into that day’s YPI session as an example of how companies can use their office spaces to unify employees and encourage all to become welcome participants in team projects. (Melissa Lizotte)
