LEADERSHIP CENTER LURES PARTNERS

A group photo sits in Kathy Karmazin-Calin's office at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Standing in the picture around Karmazin-Calin and her associate Jim Kline aren't other United Space Alliance colleagues, but Boeing employees.

The photo is of recent graduates of Leading From the Middle, a development program the Boeing Leadership Center in St. Louis offers. In June, Karmazin-Calin and Kline attended the program as part of a new Center initiative called Valued Partners in Programs. The initiative involves designating up to 20 percent more space in the Center programs and seeking increased participation by the company's customers, suppliers and partners.

"Through this program, we want to build the same kinds of bridges, best-practice-sharing mechanisms and cultural understandings that Boeing did when it brought the heritage companies together," said Steve Mercer, former vice president of Leadership and Learning at the Leadership Center. "It's an enormous competitive tool. It binds Boeing to its customers, suppliers and partners in a positive way."

For Karmazin-Calin and Kline, the opportunity to attend one of the Center programs was a privilege. "United Space Alliance is sending 34 people to the Leadership Center this year, and it's very competitive to be selected," said Kline, a senior manager on the Space Shuttle Upgrades Development Program.

Of the 10,000 United Space Alliance employees, 750 are managers. The company, a limited liability company owned equally by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is the prime contractor for the NASA Space Shuttle Program and is responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet.

For Karmazin-Calin, an information systems manager, the design of the curriculum that allows networking throughout the day is one benefit of attending a Center program. "The opportunity to interact with people in and out of class, over dinner, in the fitness center and recreation areas opens up a gateway of contacts," she said.

John Grubb couldn't agree more that establishing a network within Boeing is a sizeable benefit.

Grubb, a recent graduate of the Boeing Executive Program, is an Australian Government employee. He is the resident team leader on Project Wedgetail, the Australia Airborne Early Warning and Control program. A Boeing-led team is designing and developing the AEW&C system.

Grubb's attendance was a result of the partnering relationship that has developed among the customer, the Royal Australian Air Force and Boeing. "Participating in the program provided a unique opportunity for me, the customer, to meet with Boeing senior management and gain good insight into their thinking, values and ways of doing business," Grubb said. "Conversely, for Boeing employees, it was an opportunity to better understand the customer and really see them for who they are."

Valued-partner participation isn't just for managers. Just ask Jean Clegg, executive assistant to the office of the Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft. In May, she was one of 28 participants to complete the Executive Support Program. The course is new in 2003 and offered for select executive office assistants.

"Microsoft doesn't have a formalized training program for executive assistants, and I knew there weren't many Fortune 500 companies that did. So I was excited when I heard about Boeing's program," Clegg said.

Clegg's participation was a benchmarking experience to harvest best practices, which she took back to Microsoft and will use in developing an executive-assistant training-program there.

The Executive Support Program is one of several programs offered to non-managers. Others include Achieving Market Leadership, Essentials of Business at Boeing and Team Strategic Action.

While Boeing doesn't restrict partners from any of the 30 Center programs, partners must make some course selection on a case-by-case basis. Even with those options, the heaviest outsider concentration is in the four core Center programs. These programs are at the heart of the curriculum and address the needs of leaders in four pivotal points in their careers.

For first-time managers there's the "First Line Series," which consists of two courses: Transition to Management, a computerbased, virtual learning course, moderated online, and First Line Leadership, a one-week residential program at the Center.

The Center offers two programs to help middle-level managers develop the skills to navigate the business environment from their position of managing managers. Leading From the Middle is a one-week required program for all new Boeing mid-level managers. The second course, Strategic Leadership Seminar, is a two-week nomination program designed for emerging E-series executives.

The Center designs a variety of programs to provide continuous developmental opportunities for Boeing executives, examining everything from basic business leadership to developing and implementing global strategies. The Boeing Executive Program and Boeing Executive Program 2, both two-week residential programs, are courses Boeing requires at the executive level.

For Boeing to consider companies for a program, they need to be part of the extended Boeing business family. In addition, their participation requires sponsorship by a Boeing business-unit executive.

"Beyond that, the requirements to participate are few but the benefits are many," Mercer said. "With Valued Partners in Programs, we're forging a new path that leads Boeing and its partners to business success."

Boeing employees who wish to participate in any of the Center's 30 programs should visit the Center's curriculum Web site: http://leadershipcenter.web.boeing.com/

All courses are listed, as well as prerequisites, requirements, registration and contact information. Employees can be waitlisted for programs that are different than their current level.

—Carrie Thearle