End of Week 1, Ft. Lauderdale

Well, we made it through the first week of class..tomorrow starts off a long weekend of field trips. We had lots of learning experiences this week: building a raft; talking about change-the phases of change (gut reaction, denial, bargaining and negotiating, anger, and acceptance); feelings (the "f" word) and behaviors; the norms of leadership, communication, and decision-making; the stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing, and de-forming); the keys to empowerment-on an individual level and on a work team level; VALUES-value assessment (what's really important to us in both our work and personal lives); definitions of purpose, objectives, and goals; setting up our work team norms for leadership, communication, and decision-making; setting up our class team norms for leadership, communication, and decision-making; and finally, our guest speakers.

We talked with Ely Doron about anti-terrorism in leadership; being prepared, being aware, and being educated. Mr. Doron is a dual citizen (US and Israel) and talks with groups about leadship and how to be a leader in the face of terrorism.

We also had the opportunity to visit with Tom Waters, Chief of Planning and Policy at HQ. He spoke about the current work climate and culture, the importance of retaining/maintaining Planning Capabilities within the workforce, the importance of Planners-the job automatically calls for leadership..it was a great afternoon of listening and talking with a Senior leader.

And today, one of our own PAs, Martin Gonzalez, did a presentation over the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), which ties in very well with our upcoming field trips to the Keys and to the Everglades.

Tomorrow, with a very early start I might add (we meet at 0545--yes, that's AM!!), we're off to Islamorada. On Saturday, we hit Pennekamp State Park, Key Largo, and a possible excursion to South Beach on Saturday night. Sunday is a trip to Key West, followed by the Everglades on Monday. Phew! I think we'll all be ready for class again on Tuesday! Looking forward to exploring Pennekamp on Saturday..I think I may be able to explore via canoe!!

Hope everyone is doing well back home..heard we got some much-needed rain! Keep reading and I'll post again soon!