Opportunities From: NC State University

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EM/EGR 501 - Leadership and Strategic Change provides students with an opportunity to explore leadership through the experiences of professionals who have led organizations, teams, initiatives and periods of significant change.

Alumni and senior executives are invited to join the class as individual guests or panelists to have an open conversation about their leadership journeys.

Rather than delivering a formal lecture, volunteers are encouraged to share the experiences that shaped them as leaders, including successes, difficult moments, unexpected challenges, lessons learned and how their leadership approaches evolved throughout their careers.

Students will then have an opportunity to engage directly with the guest or panel through facilitated discussion and Q&A.

Potential Discussion Areas

Previous topics of interest from students have included:

Heartbreaks and Joys: The Leadership Journey
Personal stories of meaningful wins, setbacks, sacrifices, and lessons from your leadership journey, including how those experiences shaped you and the way you lead today.
Strategy Execution
Stories of bringing people together around organizational priorities, navigating competing perspectives, and translating senior or governing-board direction into thoughtful, effective action.
Change Management
Stories of navigating the challenges that naturally accompany change, building understanding and engagement, and helping teams or organizations achieve lasting transformation.

Women in Engineering Leadership: Pathways and Perspectives
Stories and perspectives on women's experiences in engineering leadership, including navigating career pathways, defining success, developing as a leader, and lessons that may help others along their own journeys.

Cross-Cultural Leadership
Stories of leading across cultures, locations, and perspectives, including navigating differences in language, communication styles, time zones, workplace norms, and expectations, and the lessons those experiences taught you about effective leadership.

Guests are encouraged to draw from their own professional experiences and perspectives rather than prepare a formal presentation.

What Students Want to Learn

Students benefit greatly from hearing what leadership looks like in practice.

Possible areas of conversation include:

How your leadership journey developed
Important career decisions or turning points
Successes that shaped your approach to leadership
Challenges, setbacks or difficult leadership moments
Lessons you wish you had learned earlier
How you have approached organizational or strategic change
How you communicate and build support for change
How you work across teams, functions and organizational cultures
How your leadership approach has evolved over time
Advice you would offer emerging leaders

The session will include time for students to ask questions and engage directly with the guest or panelists.

Volunteer Experience

The engagement is intentionally designed to require minimal preparation.

Before the class, volunteers will receive:

An overview of the course and student audience
Information about why their participation is valuable to the students
Suggested questions and discussion prompts in advance
Session expectations and logistics
Additional information needed to prepare for the conversation

The faculty member will also be available to speak with volunteers beforehand to learn more about their professional experiences and help determine the best fit for the class.

Timing

EM/EGR 501 is offered during the fall semester, with classes meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:15 p.m.

In-person participation is preferred, giving students the opportunity to interact directly with alumni and senior leaders. Virtual participation via Zoom can also be accommodated when necessary.

Professionals with significant experience leading people, organizations, initiatives or strategic change are encouraged to express interest.