Kelley School receives Target grant for leadership

Target will be teaming up with IU’s Kelley School of Business this fall, offering more than 1,200 undergraduate majors a chance to increase and enhance leadership skills.\nThe program, Target’s Excellence in Business Leadership, connects students with mentors who will coach them in leadership development opportunities, said Theresa Williams, director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing in the Kelly School. \nHowever, only students interested in the program will receive a mentor, as the mentors are not automatically assigned, Williams said. \nIssued by Target, the grant will reach $40,000 over a three-year period. The school will begin to create a comprehensive leadership development program, incorporating every aspect of students’ undergraduate experience, beginning with I-Core, the Kelley School’s integrated core program. \nAlthough the I-Core program has already begun this year, students interested in the program should submit an application around Thanksgiving, Williams said. \n“Target has a leadership culture that enables us to attract the best team members and help them achieve their full potential, whether at work or in their communities,” said Target President Gregg Steinhafel in a press release.\nFor three years now, Target has been the top hiring company at Kelley for full-time jobs and internships for their Minneapolis-based corporate headquarters. Many of the 865 companies that recruit at Kelley have expressed a desire for the kind of training that the Target Excellence in Business Leadership program will provide, according to a press release. \n“We are fortunate enough to have a sponsor (Target) that shares a same passion about leadership development for students,” Williams said. \nWilliams said that students were assessed in previous years, but the manner in which they were assessed was not an efficient manner. For example, an electronic video will allow students to see themselves, which is something that was never available to them before, Williams said. These videos are designed to be a record of their experiences, similar to that of a college transcript, according to the press release. Students will then be able to gain an understanding of their current level of leadership and work with a coach who will suggest specific activities to help the students develop more advanced levels of leadership. \nShe added that this new evaluation program will give a detailed assessment on each student’s strengths and weaknesses. \nInstead of having someone say “go be a leader,” this program allows students to have professional and faculty assess their skills to find out what their strengths are and what their weakness are, Williams said. \nWilliams said the Kelley School hopes to increase the number of student’s with good leadership skills. She said this program provides more of a structured environment that offers students resources to help them develop the areas of leadership they may not be strong in and celebrate the areas in which they are. \n“Every student needs to be a good leader,” Williams said. “Leadership is very important in a business environment.”