Meet Josh Labrie (PLSP-ECMC Foundation fellow)
Meet Josh Labrie, director of NOVA SySTEMic at Northern Virginia Community College. Labrie’s interview appears as part of a spotlight series on 2020–21 fellows in the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation.
What leadership skills do you hope to develop as part of the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation?
Taking the time to think about how developed leaders work and lead a program, college or team — this helps me reflect on my personal approach to work, people and leadership. I’m able to observe how senior leaders from a variety of institutions present their programs and interact with personnel. I want to ruminate on their management styles and interpersonal interactions to improve upon my natural tendencies. I also hope to improve my communication skills as well.
How do you anticipate your participation in the program will better equip you to support career and technical education (CTE) students, particularly underserved groups, toward career success?
As a part of the Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation, an institutional improvement plan is developed with feedback from program leaders and your mentor. This process — identifying a problem and developing a solution with measurable outcomes — helps to improve CTE programs for students while also developing leaders who utilize data and long-term planning to execute strategies more effectively.
As a part of my participation in the PLSP-ECMC Foundation, I’m evaluating efforts to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through outreach, and exploring how the activities align — through NOVA’s Information and Engineering Technologies division to career.
In your opinion, what are the most important elements of professional development for postsecondary leaders?
I believe the most important element of professional development for postsecondary leaders is to have a plan for growth. It is demanding enough, just to go to work and complete tasks day in and day out, to manage and develop a program, but it takes dedicated time and effort to create a development plan that aligns with your desired growth areas and the strategic mission of the organization. Just as important is to encourage your program leads and staff to pursue professional development that will help them grow.
Learn more about the PLSP–ECMC Foundation.
The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation presents a yearlong professional development experience. The program is intended to develop the organizational leadership and management skills of postsecondary CTE professionals, with an emphasis on addressing the needs of underserved populations. Applications for the third cohort accepted Oct. 1–Dec. 15.
