Jill Geisler
Leadership Group Leader

You know you're doing something right when you hope that 100 journalists will turn out for a first of its kind regional news leadership workshop, and 126 show up.

You know you've done something wrong when you realize you haven't provided them with morning coffee.

But after the caffeine 911 was sent out at Cleveland's Downtown Marriott hotel this past Saturday, our caffeinated guests charged through the day's workshops with energy and enthusiasm.

We know that, because they talked back to us, both in person and in their written post-session evaluations. And that's just what we wanted.

"We" are the Poynter Institute, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Radio-TV News Directors Association. Each organization had recently made leadership and management training a priority. Poynter saw a natural marriage opportunity, and brought the groups together to offer a day of high-quality, low cost training. Sessions were open to newsroom managers and those considering a move into management.

As Poynter's group leader for leadership and management programs, I was as interested in hearing from these news leaders about their needs as I was in teaching them. Here are some insights drawn from spending a day in their company, and reviewing the evaluations they returned to us at the end of each session.

• Newsroom leaders know they need to be better coaches. Two separate coaching sessions were heavily attended. "Thanks for pointing out how face to face succeeds much better than interface," said one participant who now plans to give story feedback personally rather than electronically.
• Newsroom leaders don't want to be lectured to. Fortunately, we learned that from praise, not blame: "Nice conversation between people rather than being talked at" and "Interaction among the participants and the leader serving more as a moderator than presenter made the session more effective" were typical comments.
• Newsroom leaders need help handling newsroom conflict and difficult employees. Said one news manager: "Part of the problem in solving a problem might be me, too." That's what lots of people in the room learned at the NNLW.
• Newsroom leaders are working harder than ever. Keynote speaker/RTNDA president Barbara Cochran asked a sea of managers to raise their hands if they believed their job is getting easier these days. Not a hand, not a pinkie moved. Not a surprise.
• Newsroom leaders want concrete examples and teaching tools. Handouts were the currency of the day at workshop sessions. Perhaps it is a journalist's basic need for verification or their passion for collecting documents. They wanted tips and tip sheets to take home.
• Newsroom leaders want practical advice and inspiration. Compliments paid to high rated sessions: "Very practical and relevant," and "It provided inspiration, which is hard to come by on the job, and got me back in touch with the values that sometimes get buried in tough times."
  
  The "tough times" theme was inescapable. Among us were managers still hurting from having to cut staff, news hole, travel and training budgets. One editor at the event brought a team of her news managers-and paid their registration out of her own pocket. All the training money at her paper has disappeared.
  
  When times are tight and training is a luxury, news managers really need to be the best leaders they can be. When managers can't afford to get information, insight and inspiration, the journalists they lead and the journalism for which they are the stewards can be weakened.
  
  On a Saturday in Cleveland, we saw 126 such stewards get a little stronger-and a little hungrier for more training. The most significant negative feedback on several sessions, from building better newsroom cultures, to coaching, to time management was: "Could have used a bit more time." Or, as another journalist put it "Left me wanting more."
  
  We're already planning for another NNLW in 2002. We'll give you more. And coffee, too.
  
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  Also from the Cleveland workshop: Gregory Favre on leading in the hard times.