NGC Experience: Kali Klisures

NextGen Center Leader Experience: The Value of Community

Kali Klisures had just begun her position as the Operations Coordinator for Written Word Media—her first ever leadership position. Anxiety didn’t make it easy. In meetings, she tended to be quiet, rarely bringing up her own ideas and opinions. Despite being in a leadership role, the fear of asking unhelpful questions was debilitating. Her insecurities were a challenge for productivity.

Enter the NextGen Center.

What is the NextGen Center?

Specializing in leadership development, the NextGen Center was founded on the idea that emerging leaders should not be expected to have everything figured out from the starting line. Our organization emphasizes fostering skills and mental tools for leaders to build camaraderie and facilitate productivity in the workplace. We offer several programs, such as our flagship cohort-based program, one-on-one coaching, and team workshops, each of which carries its own value.

When her manager told her about the NextGen Center, Kali had her reservations. She’d be entering a space full of leaders who were leagues away from her in terms of experience. She worried she’d be left behind, unable to make a connection. However, with assurances from her boss, Kali decided to take the leap. A decision she does not regret.

The NextGen Center Experience

Ashley Glover, the Community Manager for the NextGen Center, interviewed Kali post-program to gain some insight into her experience. Kali revealed that, while she was nervous on her first day, the group setting relieved her anxiety, in part because most of the other students were in a similar place career-wise. It was incredibly validating, and, rather than being isolated and overwhelmed, Kali found herself making friends and connections.

Even in a digital setting—common in today’s modern work environment—being with her cohorts helped Kali combat the loneliness she’d been dealing with. She finally felt seen.

Awareness and accountability

The NextGen Center offers an open and supportive environment, which allows for comfortable, effective learning. Even outside the classroom, students are paired as accountability partners to keep each other on track maintaining and evaluating their personal progress, and to carry on the community environment beyond scheduled class time. The program itself focuses on the need for self-reflection and self-awareness when leading, outlining the requirements for being a good leader—and supplying students with the tools to build on and implement these qualities.

One-on-one leadership coaching

The one-on-one coaching offered a deeper dive into classroom topics and also allowed for discussion of topics of particular interest to individual students that may not have been touched upon in the classroom environment.

Kali appreciated the opportunity to converse with her coach about mental health in the workplace (a topic she is deeply interested in) and how the pressures of leadership impact on mental health and well-being, sometimes to the point of burnout. Having this one-on-one space allowed her to investigate topics that the time constraints of an online class don’t always allow for. Working with her coach, Kali was able to develop personal grounding exercises as a tool for use during the meetings she so often struggled with. Kali states:

“...I really talked about that a lot with my one-on-one coach. If I’m starting to feel anxious, I put my feet on the floor and, ‘I'm like, ‘feel below the ground underneath your feet and focus on your breathing.”

Kali explained how this exercise has really helped her to come out of her shell in meetings, reminding her that she does have important things to contribute and that there are no dumb questions.

Building confidence and connections

Kali’s goal when starting the NextGen program was to build better tools for coaching and leading her juniors, as well as learning productive communication tactics. She gained much more. Post-program, Kali is now able to speak up in meetings and better direct an effective workplace environment. Moreover, she’s made multiple strong connections with other participants. And with NextGen’s forthcoming post-program group, The Leader’s Circle, the center hopes to keep their graduates connected, even after the program has finished.

Like Kali, thousands of other people are facing their first leadership roles without the tools they need to succeed. However, with NextGen’s excellent community environment and cutting-edge programs, fledgling leaders now have the opportunity to be equipped with a toolbox of leadership techniques—and a strong community backbone to support them.

Level up your leadership skills with the NextGen Center

Interested in the Foundation for Effective Leadership Program? Click here for more information.