The Power of Inclusive Leadership Success Story – Part 1 (Getting Ready)
Posted by Shaun Callahan Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:38:00 GMT
This week’s Groupsite success story will be told in 3 parts and comes to us from The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) in Alexandria, VA.
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The Executive Leadership Council is “the preeminent organization that strengthens the success, contributions, and impact of African-American corporate business leaders.” The Council’s mission is to provide African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies with a network and leadership forum that adds perspective and direction to the achievement of excellence in business, economic and public policies for the African-American community, their corporations and the community at large. Visit their website at www.elcinfo.com for further information about The Executive Leadership Council.
They have been fulfilling this mission for 22 years and currently have over 400 members who are the most senior African Americans in corporate America. The Council is an active community with a purpose. What they were missing was an effective way to leverage technology to enhance their members’ engagement and productivity – until now.
The Executive Leadership Council has selected CollectiveX to power their Online Platform which will be their online member engagement tool of choice. As an Enterprise Client, The Council is using 30 sites powered by CollectiveX for the following initially:
- Secure Member Intranet
- Staff Intranet
- 3 Boards of Directors
- 18 Committees
- 4 Program Alumni Community Sites (for non-members)
- 3 Working Group Sites for Members
In Part 1 of this story we’ll look at some of the key steps The Executive Leadership Council has taken to ensure a successful adoption of this new tool. Here’s what they have done:
1. Initially they took a period of time to learn system capabilities and beta test with their technology committee and a couple other external constituencies.
2. They rolled out their staff intranet first. They even created a custom PowerPoint presentation that walked each staff member through the system’s core functionality. Getting staff members trained and up and running is a great place to start.
3. They then set up their two board groups. By making sure all staff and Board members understand the platform and have begun using it (including completing their member profiles and uploading photos) they were leading by example before launching their member intranet.
4. They also concentrated on making sure each site contained meaningful content (links, RSS feeds, Forums, Pictures, Documents, and Leader profiles) before the first member-at-large was even invited.
5. In addition, they made sure that each committee has a staff member assigned to be a member and key contact for assisting fellow committee members with using the system.
6. Finally, the member roll out will begin with an e-mail from Carl Brooks, President & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council, explaining the significance of the new secure Online Platform, a copy of the updated users guide, and a link to the CollectiveX video. He clearly communicates how the new secure Online Platform powered by CollectiveX enables significant capabilities for Enhancing Member Value, which is one of the five strategic goals outlined in the organizations 2008-2010 strategic plans.
Over the next few days, The Executive Leadership Council will be inviting their entire membership to join and begin using their member intranet. During the following months the amount of usage is expected to increase while the number of mailings and e-mail communications to the membership will be reduced. There is also an expectation that the number of phone calls and e-mail requests to the office will decrease. In addition, they expect greater communications, networking, and involvement with/between members. Thereby the new Online Platform powered by CollectiveX is expected to enhance member value, increase efficiency/effectiveness, reduce costs, and multiply the impact of The Council’s various initiatives.
We will follow-up with Part 2 in a few weeks with an update on the success they are having.
All of the right variables are in place: they have a defined purpose, an active community, they have picked the best tool and most importantly, they have taken the time to get their staff and leadership involved in being an active part of the dialogue right from the start.