News

What is the difference between the Leadership Training and the Supervisory Certificate?

The fundamental difference is learning to lead vs. learning basic supervisory skills.

The Leadership Training is much more in depth training to develop both personal and professional leadership mindset. The commitment to Leadership Training is The Basic Leadership Principles 4-hour module plus four more modules, each with 16 hours of training (4 hours per topic). While some of the topics are similar, the Leadership Training modules discuss each topic more thoroughly and spend more time practicing the learning. This concept is to actually change behavior by learning and applying the new leadership mindset everyday.

The Supervisory Certificate is more basic training that introduces potential supervisors to basic leadership skills for supervisors. There are six, one-day courses that cover key concepts and allow some time for group discussion and practice of the concepts. However, one day of class may not impact a change in behavior as readily; it’s more like taking a drink from a fire hose! The courses include: Supervisory Leadership Skills, Leading the 21st Century Workforce, Human Resource Basics, Performance Appraisals, Teaching and Coaching, and Effective Counseling and Discipline. These would be considered minimum skills required for supervisors to be effective in supervising subordinates. The Leadership Training goes beyond minimum skills to developing leaders.

Of course, there is also a cost difference and time commitment difference. That is why MREA has continued both programs – we don’t want to leave anyone out and hope that all supervisors would receive the minimum training. Each co-op has a different commitment to training budgets and travel allowances. I would certainly recommend the Leadership Training as a first choice.

MREA also plans to do an Advanced Leadership Training series beginning next year to provide both a refresher for graduates of the program and further develop leadership qualities to prepare employees to achieve greater career goals. With impending retirements at our co-ops there is a lot of opportunity to progress to leadership positions. People who demonstrate Leadership Skills will be noticed and sought for promotion.

MREA Annual Fishing Tournament Proceeds Awarded to Powerline Programs at Tech Colleges

This past June, the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) hosted its 5th annual walleye fishing tournament at Break-on-the-Lake Resort near Cass Lake, Minnesota. The day-long fishing tournament is held as a fund raiser for three technical schools in Minnesota that operate lineworker training programs. MREA member employees and directors participate in the day long tournament for the benefit of the three powerline programs in Minnesota. MREA recently presented checks for $700 to each of the 3 schools: Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Jackson, Dakota Count Technical College in Rosemount and Northwest Technical College in Wadena.

MREA Member Center

MREA has built you an enhanced Member Center, that has a live connection to the MREA database. Each member employee and director with an email address will receive (by email) a login and password. This will allow you to:

Employees and directors can search the on-line directory to find contact information for their Minnesota co-op peers. MREA has taken great care to secure the site for members only and even then, to limit the available information to what can be found in our annual printed member directory - excluding home addresses and phone numbers.

The new on-line registration area allows individuals to register and pay for different meetings at one time. And even better, the designated key people at the co-op can register and pay for multiple people all at once. Credits cards will be needed to finalize and submit the registration in our secure area.

CEOs and co-op directors will also be able to view who has paid ACRE and REPAC for their entire co-op. MREA will also use the site, which has a live connection to the MREA database, to streamline the updating of the organization’s annual printed Member Directory. Key people at the co-op were given access to the new member center and their security allowed them to update employees and directors within their co-op.

MREA Manager of Marketing and Communication Alison Deelstra projects that in the future MREA will further enhance those connections. We are planning to customize an area so that apprentices can submit their CDL and Merchant OJT hours on-line, view quiz scores and order training videos. We also want to expand the site into an eCommunities setting, allowing members to communicate with each other directly and have even more in-depth resources right at their fingertips.

MREA News

What is the difference between the Leadership Training and the Supervisory Certificate?

MREA Annual Fishing Tournament Proceeds Awarded to Powerline Programs at Tech Colleges

MREA Member Center

Providing service and leadership for electric cooperatives.