SBE Leader-Skills Series

Since 1997, SBE has been sponsoring a two-part leadership seminar series. The Leader-Skills Series, is specifically designed for broadcast engineers who have or aspire to have management responsibilities. SBE offers the two-part series in cooperation with instructor Richard D. Cupka, Sr. and Rodney Vandeveer.

Cupka, who has 40 years experience in adult training, has directed and taught the Leader-Skills seminars to broadcast engineering managers, supervisors and technicians for more than 35 years. Many of the most respected broadcast engineering managers in the country today are graduates of the program and continue to send members of their staffs so that they, too, can learn from Cupka. This summer is Cupka’s last year instructing the Leader-Skills Seminars, then Vandveveer will continue on instructing the series in the following summers.

Designed to take technically-adept people and instill in them sound supervisory and management skills, the Leader-Skills Series can also be viewed as a tool for personal growth and development, even for those without prior management or supervisory responsibilities.

Course I: “Leadership – The Framework of People Skills”

2008 - September 23-25 at the Holiday Inn Select in Indianapolis

This course covers the function and nature of your leadership role; how to build stronger teams and effective internal cooperativeness; the complex differences of people; and discovery of your “natural” style of leading and how to nurture a “developed” style to help you adjust to different people in differing situations.

Course II, “Leadership – Expanding Your People Skills”

2008 - August 5-7 at the Holiday Inn Select in Indianapolis

This course picks up where Course I leaves off. In fact, those interested in Course II must either sign up for Course I as well or have attended one of the previous Leader-Skills programs sponsored by SBE or NAB (dating back to 1965). Course II explores individual behavior in groups and the dynamics of interaction between groups; the complex motivations of different people and how to deal with them; how best to handle disciplinary processes; and where emphasis should be in a leader’s ultimate responsibility over people and activities.

2008 Leader-Skills Registration Form

If you would like more information on the SBE Leader-Skills Series, please contact Holly Essex at hessex@sbe.org.