Walton College Executive Education Hosts Inaugural Cohort for Leadership Circle for Banking and Finance

by Alondra Cruz, student intern Walton College Executive Education

Walton College Executive Education has continued its partnership with Milestone Leadership to host the inaugural cohort of Leadership Circle for Banking and Finance. The six-month program is designed to provide industry leaders with skills, experiences and connections that create a lasting personal, professional and industry impact. The leaders were given the opportunity to build a diverse and state-wide industry network of meaningful relationships while receiving expert content facilitation and personalized coaching from successful industry experts and facilitators.

The program consists of small cohorts that are designed to interact through an intimate

peer-to-peer format. The program remained resilient through the complications and restrictions posed by COVID-19, by transitioning the course to a hybrid-style format.  The participants successfully pivoted and adapted to facilitation and group work on the Zoom platform.

With access to honest, constructive and developmental feedback the leaders acquired knowledge on how to become an inspiring leader by learning how to create strategic partnerships, influence the internal organization on a larger stage, manage stress to sustain high performance and use data and the analytical process to drive decisions.

The leaders from the cohort gathered in person for the final session, using the state mandated COVID-19 guidelines, to receive their Leadership Circle certificates. The program concluded successfully with a panel discussion comprised of CEO’s from the participating institutions.

Walton College Executive Education is continuing to host Leadership Circles for professional development within industry sectors. Plans are underway for the third Leadership Circle for Healthcare cohort. The cohort will meet from October 2020 – April 2021 and will be held live online through Zoom. The program includes six, half-day cohort sessions, three Power Hours with guest speakers and four hours of assessment-based executive coaching. The deadline to nominate a participant is September 25. Please contact Debbie Davis, associate director of Walton College Executive Education, at ddavis@walton.uark.edu, to learn more about the program or nominate a participant.