MDP Grooms Future Leaders

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May/June 1999 - Volume 78, Number 3

One hundred nineteen of the title industry's best and brightest graduated from the Land Title Institute's (LTI) first-ever Management Development Program (MDP) in March and gave it an overwhelming "thumbs up" for content, format, and effectiveness.

According to the management "stars" who attended the five-day accelerated leadership program at Houston Baptist University (HBU), the MDP was well worth their investment. After all, they met the challenge and came away with an LTI-HBU diploma certifying they had completed nine intensive, university-level courses conducted by HBU faculty and adjunct professors ranging from "Leadership Skills" to "Finance" to "Managing Change in the Title Business."

In the eyes of its charter graduates, the main objective in creating the MDP - to give the title industry a process to recognize, motivate and groom its leaders for tomorrow?appears to have been met. LTI asked them to offer critical appraisal of every aspect of the program. Of the 82 course completion evaluation forms returned thus far 100 percent said "Yes," they would recommend the MDP to others. When asked why, the typical responses have been:

• "Great reinforcement of management skills"
• "Very beneficial, particularly interaction with other managers"
• "I honestly believe this will make me a better manager"
• "Gave me more confidence in my management ability"

The graduates appear to have been particularly pleased with the Hartman Value Profile- an assessment instrument designed to give insight into a person's values, thereby providing greater understanding and self-assessment of their personal strengths and weaknesses. Eighty-five percent of evaluation respondents scored the Hartman Value Profile as "excellent."

In addition, 84 percent rated the university's facilities as "excellent;" 87 percent said the program materials were "excellent" or "good;" and 78 percent regarded the accommodations at the Westin Oaks Hotel as "excellent" or "good."

Separately, the MDP grads submitted nearly 700 individual course evaluation forms which found the "Communications/Listening Skills," "Managing Change in the Title Business," and "Customer Service in the Title Industry" as the top three of the nine courses offered. The next grouping included "Human Resources Management," "Principles of Managing," and "Finance for Land Title Managers." The final grouping included "Marketing Strategies," "Leadership Skills," and "The Internet and Intranet."

This year"s grads cited several things they"d like to see continued in the next MDP- scheduled for February 28 to March 3, 2000 at HBU - including:

• Grouping students together for the entire program to facilitate bonding among the graduates for the future;
• ?Hartman Value Profile;
• Having title industry speakers participate in more courses; and
• ?Bringing back many of the same university presenters.

Members of the Class of 1999 have recommended that in future years the schedule allow for some "free time" mid-week. The students experienced a jam-packed, back-to-back schedule of classes beginning at 8 a.m. and concluding at 5 p.m. For next year's program a free afternoon for shopping, sightseeing, or recreation will be incorporated into the mix.

MDP graduates are being given special name tags for use at ALTA® or state association functions so that they can recognize each other (and be recognized). Their badges will have the lettering "MDP Graduate."

(Editor's note: A more comprehensive article on the MDP will be published soon)