MLDP Recap: Kick-off Session with Leadership and Innovation Expert Darin Eich

       The Rockefeller Center’s Management and Leadership Development Program (MLDP) is off to a great start after its first session this past Tuesday.  After dinner and an overview of the program, guest speaker Darin Eich took the floor.  Eich has earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of Root Down and Branch Out: Best Practices for Leadership Development Programs.  In this introductory session, he focused on what many students shared as a goal for the program: developing networking and collaboration skills.

       Eich shared research that demonstrates that information is retained best through a combination of “saying and doing.” On that note, the session quickly transformed from lecture-based to fully interactive.  MLDP participants broke up into small groups and engaged in a series of exercises to observe how and where innovation develops.  These activities reinforced the idea that everyone has the potential to be creative. Expressing ideas and collaborating with others in a casual “judgment-free” atmosphere fosters innovation, even if that innovation comes in the form of a rather interesting story.

       After breaking into small groups, members were paired up for a speed-networking activity.  Specific, probing questions were given in each round in order to facilitate short, yet meaningful discussions.  Eich emphasized that these networking skills are not only important in searching for jobs and internships, but also necessary for effective communication and collaboration.   The interactive, hands-on approach of Darin Eich was helpful in both reinforcing our understanding of the material and introducing a different style of presenting.

-Erin Henn ‘14