Lakewood Leadership Academy

Lakewood Leadership Academy logoThe Lakewood Leadership Academy is designed to educate and develop effective community leaders to take an active role towards building a stronger Lakewood. 

It's an opportunity for recent college graduates and working professionals to learn about the City of Lakewood and improve their communications, team-building and management skills  to advance their careers and become leaders in the Lakewood community.

The first session was held Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

The application period has closed for the 2024 cohort.

If you have any questions, please email Frank Ontiveros or call 562-866-9771, ext. 2125. 

The Academy is sponsored by the City of Lakewood and with the following partners: 

Lakewood Leadership sponsors and partners

Goals of the program

  • Educate attendees about the depth and breadth of the city government and community-based organizations that serve the Lakewood community.
  • Teach attendees how to balance work and personal life demands, develop effective communication skills, build great teams and value the importance of diversity, inclusion and tolerance in their workplaces.
  • Encourage attendees to serve the community in leadership roles.
  • Expand and enhance networking and relationships.

Program format

Participants meet monthly for nine sessions from 5 to 9 p.m. Dinner will be provided.

Each session will cover a different topic and include a combination of lectures, panel discussions and hands-on activities relevant to that session's topic.

During each session, experts on the topics addressed are invited to share their insights and views.  

Learn more

Apply to the Lakewood Leadership Academy

Apply below. Be sure to have a PDF of your resume handy to upload.

Program Schedule

2025 Schedule

All sessions are held on weekday evenings from 5 to 9 p.m.

Dates are subject to change with advance notice.

Dinner will be provided.

Jan. 29 - Wed Getting to know city government (Part 1)
Feb. 27 - Th Achieving Work/Life Balance
March 26 - Wed Getting to know City Government (Part 2)
April 24 - Th Developing Leadership Skills
May 28 - Wed Leadership & Ethical Decision Making
June 25 - Wed Team Building & Team Communication
July 30 - Wed Effective Communications Strategies
Aug. TBA Lakewood Center Mall -- Behind the Scenes Tour
Sept. 18 - Th Summary, wrap-up and evaluation
Sept. TBA Presentation of graduation certificates at City Council meeting  

 

Updated 02/20/2025

Session descriptions

A total of nine evening sessions will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., once a month.

The format for each session includes a combination of lectures, panel discussions, and hands-on activities relevant to that session's topic. 

Experts on that evening's topic are invited to share their insights and views. 

Modules 1 & 2: Getting to know city government 

  • Orientation and overview of the sessions.
  • Introduction of attendees.
  • Functions of city government and how government at different levels work.
  • Importance of civic engagement in the democratic process.
  • Getting to know our city officials.
  • Activities and discussion.

Module 3: Achieving work/life balance (quality of life)

  • Address burnout & how it can affect work/life balance.
  • How to create an effective schedule that manages work & life.
  • How to establish boundaries between work and personal life.
  • Activities to do outside of work.
  • Activities and discussion.

Module 4: Developing leadership skills

  • Different types of leadership styles.
  • What leadership style best fits you, your business and employees?
  • How to manage leadership responsibilities (employees, stakeholders, clients, etc.).
  • How to create future leaders in the workplace.
  • How leaders can reward their employees for a better work environment.
  • How leaders can control overall culture within the organization.
  • Activities and discussion.

Module 5: Leadership & Ethical Decision Making

  • Democracy of ethical leadership
  • Conflict with decision making
  • Risk Management approach to ethics
  • The organizational side-gig favor
  • Leadership Paradigms
  • Driving Systematic Ethical Change
  • Group think challenge
  • Peer pressure
  • Positive vs negative Influence

     

    Module 6: Effective Communication Strategies

  • Different types of communication styles.
  • Listening as a key factor in communication.
  • Communicating/listening with a specific audience (employees, stakeholders, clients, etc.).
  • Benefits of effective communication and listening.
  • How to respond to different situations through communicating/listening.
  • Activities and discussion.

    Module 7: Team Building and Team Communication

  • Quality of communication within a team
  • Discuss strategies for building a more cohesive team through mutual respect and communication
  • Identify organizational cultures and behaviors that hinder our ability to maintain a cohesive work environment
  • Identifying blind spots of communication
  • Define how individual perceptions and perspectives impact the process of team objectives
  • The filtering process of information
  • Identifying a process a team follows to achieve goals and task

Module 8: Lakewood Center Mall -- Behind the Scenes Tour

  • Take a field trip to the Lakewood Center Mall.
  • Meet mall official and take a behind-the-scenes tour.
  • Learn the inner workings of the mall and all that goes in to making it run.

Module 9: Summary 

  • Bringing together how all successful leaders use the tools and resources explored and discussed in the program. 

Payments

A nominal fee of $100 will be due upon acceptance to the program. 

Candidates accepted to the program will receive a confirming email with a link to pay the program fee online. 

Payment is due by end of day on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.

 

Materials from Past Modules