L der

ea ship Seminr a

Mayor George Pradel, Br. Guy Jelinek, O.S.B.,

and some Members of the Leadership Core Group

A BENET LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

by Br. Guy Jelinek, O.S.B.

A restaurant chain recently opened its newest location with “New York, Singapore, Chicago – and now Naperville!”

With a population of 142,075, Naperville now covers almost 40 square miles. It’s not just a sleepy little town outside Chicago anymore. So you can understand how pleased the participants at the Benet Leadership Seminar were when the Mayor of Naperville, George Pradel, made time to talk to us about how his life experiences influenced him to become the leader he is today. We particularly enjoyed hearing about his time as a bus driver for the Academy some decades ago, and how he was reluctant to turn in the students who misbehaved on the bus because the priest at the Academy would make them walk to school for the next two weeks!

Elliott Batchelder and Author/Illustrator Mike Venezia

4 | Benet Connections Winter 2010

Te Leadership Seminar has had a variety of characters speak to us over our fourteen years of existence: parents, Tim White, authors, CEOs, faculty, principals, Tim White, alums, artists, judges, and, of course, Tim White. Some return each year (such as Tim White!);

many are prominent leaders in their field.

Chuck Schumacher speaks to seniors about stress management

It all began in 1995, when I had the opportunity to participate in a management program hosted by the Gallup Organization (pol- ling is only a small part of what Gallup does) at their corporate headquarters, then in Lincoln, Nebraska. Te sessions and seminar had upwards of a hundred participants, most from large, well-known companies. Yep, I was the only person from Benet! Findings of Gallup researchers in selection methods, management, talent recognition, personality development, and career choices were among the topics presented. We were given the task of designing a working situation or a model for our particular home environments, based on the information we were being exposed to. Tis stuff is good, I thought, pondering the possible applications available. Te decision to do something with leadership for Benet students, particularly seniors, seemed a no- brainer. I went back to Gallup programs four more times, and the Seminar meanwhile began to take shape.

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