This event is brought to you by Wildfire Labs in partnership with Elevate Rapid City.

You don't need a title, a corner office, or years of management experience to lead well. What you need is a clear, personal understanding of what leadership actually means, and the confidence to put it into practice as your team grows around you.

In this session, we'll get hands-on with the fundamentals every new business owner and entrepreneur needs before they can lead with confidence: what leadership really means beyond the textbook definition, how your own experiences shape the kind of leader you're becoming, and how leadership needs shift depending on the organization you're building.

Key Takeaways

• Define It For Yourself: Start with the definitions everyone already knows, then go further. Draw on your own experience as a leader and a follower to build a definition of leadership that actually fits how you work.
• Know Your Style: Explore research-backed leadership definitions and see how different leadership styles show up in real organizations, then pinpoint which ones fit your line of work best.
• Context Changes Everything: Compare how leadership demands differ across start-ups, established companies, nonprofits, and government organizations, so you know what to expect as your own team grows.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Gene Coughlin

Dr. Gene Coughlin is the Founder (2018) of Resilience-Building Leader Program Inc. (RBLP). RBLP is the only nationally recognized series of leadership certifications. He is responsible for the vision, purpose, mission, and core values of the company. Dr. Coughlin previously held program management positions at SAIC, American Red Cross, and AECOM.  He is a military veteran, having served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1987-2007. Dr. Coughlin holds a BA in History from American Military University, an MA is Military Studies from American Military University, an MBA from National University, and an EdD in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology. 

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