University Training and Development

Welcome

NEW ! Administrative Professional Certificate Program

Our Mission

To encourage excellence and foster growth and development at all levels of leadership at Georgetown University. Learning is a life-long endeavor !

There are two ways of spreading light - to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
- Edith Wharton, Vesalius in Zante

Warren Bennis  wrote in 1959 “… the concept of leadership eludes us…with its slipperiness and complexity…we have invented an endless proliferation of terms to deal with it…and still the concept is not sufficiently defined.” We might agree with Bennis, then add --- but we know it when we see it. More importantly, an absence of leadership in the workplace vacuums morale, accountability, and excellence from even high performers.

Without a solid definition, some people assume that: 

• Leadership is synonymous with rank and title,
• Without the ‘right’ position in the University, leadership is impossible,
• Accountability only occurs if our leaders enforce it.

In fact, accountability starts with you and me. If we decide to be accountable for our own excellence, then we don’t need to have the imprimatur of those above us on the organizational chart. Our commitment to excellence is far more important than mere compliance. 

Real leaders are seldom coronated. Leaders emerge because they believe they can either be the candle or the mirror to lead others to the light.  Reflect upon your own leadership experience – or the experience you would like to have – and decide if you are a candle or a mirror.  Both are important and light the way.