The Leadership Development Program’s mission is to make good leaders great. But, also to inspire participants to believe they can lead. The first module of the second series of Leadership Development Program was focused on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each participant. It was also focused on how to create a recipe which can nourish a team’s culture and one step towards transforming yourself from a good leader to a great leader. The following data was developed with surveys throughout the first training.

Of the 18 participants we had 13 females and 5 males. The average age was approximately 27 years old. The most interesting part of this is the correlation between the amount of participants who said they know their leadership strengths and those who said they use their leadership skills each day. This data is a small example of why more opportunities need to be available to young adults to use their skills in Kovel. But, the desire is here. The community simply does not provide enough outlets for young adults to use their skills.

The most important information which was extracted throughout the day was a leadership assessment form which comprised of 100 different leadership skills. Each participant was tasks with rating themselves on each skill (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.)

Then, after they finished participants were given an assessment form which is similar to the chart below. The numbers below are the overall scores for our group. Shown below is the cumulative data collected from the entire group. Our group’s greatest strength is seeking wisdom and our greatest weakness is self-awareness. The next step for this group is to develop their weaknesses and learn how to better utilize their strengths.

The participants where taught  a golden rule in leadership before leaving the room. Each good leader can succeed. However, the difference between a good leader and a great leader can be found in whether they look to others in the light of success or to others when the darkness of failure looms. The next two months will be a challenge for the participants, project managers, and trainers. Throughout this time we will all hold onto the thought that magical bonds are formed in the presence of team success.

*These are the thoughts of Richard J. Roman and are not those of the Peace Corps or its affiliates.