Free leadership seminar addresses using uncertainty to create opportunity

April 14, 2022 -- The St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center and the UW-Stout Discovery Center Leadership Institute will hold a free interactive seminar on “Leading Through Disruption: Using Uncertainty to Create Opportunity.”

A virtual session format is planned from 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, and an in-person session from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 21, at the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center, 1091 Sutherland Ave., River Falls.

There is no cost to attend the seminar thanks to partial funding from EDA CARES grant ED20CHI3070030 which supports innovative leadership for the COVID-19 pandemic response. Register at https://www.uwstout.edu/outreach-engagement/lifelong-learning/leadership-development/leadership-institute/leading-through-disruption-using-uncertainty-create-opportunity.

Sheri Marnell, director of the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center, will present along with Marya Wilson, UW-Stout assistant professor in the Operation and Management Department.

The innovation center was established by UW-River Falls, Chippewa Valley Technical College, city of River Falls, and the River Falls Economic Development Corporation. The center is a business incubator which provides management guidance and technical assistance to new business owners, as well as a variety of workspaces available for rent from cubicles and private offices to co-working rooms and industrial space.

The session will cover:

• Disruption and what has been experienced
• Leadership preparedness for disruptions
• Minimizing uncertainty and fear during a time of disruption
• Visioning the transformational possibilities for organizations

“Our whole world has been disrupted in the last two years. It has not been easy. Leading teams through it has been pretty tough,” Marnell said. “In a time when companies are having a hard time attracting talent, it is a great time to focus on training your leaders. People do not leave jobs; they leave bad leaders.”

In addition to the seminar, there will be a one-on-one coaching session with Wilson to assist those attending with specific questions about their organizations.

Marnell thrives in spaces of change. She has a B.S. in apparel design and development and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in business management.

Wilson has a B.A. in psychology, an M.S. in management technology, an M.A. in human development, and a Ph.D. in human and organizational systems. In addition, Wilson is working to complete her International Coaching Federation certification.