MASCL: Communication AND Leadership

I thought I'd bring CSI out of retirement (which I may do from time to time) to make a brief announcement that Seton Hall University's Master of Arts in Strategic Communication & Leadership (MASCL) program launched a new Twitter site over the weekend which you can access @MASCL.  The purpose is to bring together professional communicators and leaders to share content about communication and leadership.

Why should you care?  Well, since graduating from the program and enjoying the privilege today of serving as a MASCL instructor, one of my many "aha" moments is that the more one understands leadership, the more one is equipped to provide valuable counsel to leaders.  It sounds simple and obvious, but it's very true.

So if you're a leader who's interested in being a better communicator, or a professional communicator who wants to learn more about leadership, then @MASCL on Twitter is for you!

Kudos to Blogger & LT 25!

After a three-week blogcation, I'd like to use this post to offer my congratulations to two deserving groups: The team at Blogger and Seton Hall University's recent MASCL graduates, otherwise known as Learning Team (LT) 25.

I think I speak for many of us who use Blogger that we've been hoping and pleading for new templates for a long time now. Blogger has devised a terrific system that offers the flexibility and ease of use we enjoy as "Bloggers." It only took me a few minutes or so to discover the possibilities, figure out the system, and transform my blog template from something ordinary to something much more inviting. I plan to experiment with a new template every few days or so just to showcase some of my favorites. If there's a particular template you enjoy, feel free to share in your comments. For more information about the Blogger Template Designer, please read the post from Blogger in Draft. Blogger: Thanks for listening and responding!

As many of you know, I serve as an adjunct professor for Seton Hall University's MASCL program. I teach the capstone module, Strategic Communication Planning. Our graduating class, Learning Team 25, served as a stellar example of how working as colleagues rather than competitors provides for a richer learning experience for everyone involved. It's a rigorous program that I regard as the "MBA for Communicators." I extend my congratulations and best wishes to LT 25 and offer an invitation to any communication professional seeking an advanced to degree to check out MASCL and see if it's right for you!

I look forward to getting back to my blog in earnest next week!

To Counsel Leaders, It Helps To Understand Leadership

I spent about 20 years searching for a master's degree program that would meet my needs as a public relations professional. Having worked in PR all my life, I wasn't interested in a straight PR or communication graduate program, and an MBA just didn't seem quite right for me either.

One day, I discovered Seton Hall University's Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Leadership (MASCL) online program. The university has delivered this program to 25 Learning Teams in just over 10 years, and Seton Hall's experience in providing a rich and rigorous learning experience really shows. For me, it represented the perfect combination of strategic communication, leadership, organizational change, and a host of other disciplines that are so crucial to my clients' success. Now that I've completed the program and serve as one of its instructors, I would without hesitation recommend MASCL as an ideal master's program for the professional communicator, regardless of industry sector.

That said, I'm a firm believer that you can't be at your best counseling leaders if you don't understand the dynamics of leadership and the many challenges they face today. Since I've declared 2010 The Year of Client Service Excellence here at CSI, I thought: What better place to start than to explore what each of us can do to raise our respective games? How can we take our skills up a notch so that we can provide an even higher level of client service excellence in the year(s) ahead?

The best news is that you don't have to wait. Check out the MASCL link and learn how you can be part of the next Learning Team. I also invite alums to share their experiences with MASCL and for others to share programs they would recommend as well! A prosperous 2010 will begin with you!

I AM A Pirate!

Before engaging in the particulars of how talking and blogging like a Pirate can help you in your quest for client service excellence, I should remind you that I AM a Pirate. As a graduate of Seton Hall University's MASCL program (Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Leadership), I'm a proud Pirate and pleased to promote International Blog (Talk) Like A Pirate Day on September 19th.

In the meantime, I'm crafting my Pirate client service excellence post and have enlisted the fine people at Linkedin for their thoughts on the matter as well. I look forward to receiving more answers to my Linkedin question and any comments you may have about why you believe talking and blogging like a pirate are important client service skills. Stay tuned.