From Elementary Teacher to Leadership Expert, with Dr. Brandi Plunkett
Dr. Brandi Plunkett

Dr. Brandi Plunkett is the Executive Director of the Center for Executive Development in Mays Business School at Texas A&M University where she is responsible for the overall financial performance and operations of the center as well as the strategic growth and quality of the Global Programs within the center. Throughout her 28-year career in the education and training field, Dr. Plunkett has developed programs or championed the expansion of programs across multiple areas. Her last 17 years working within the university system include graduate, administrative, and leadership roles at the system and college level, including graduate work with the Summer Seminar on Academic Administration for the College of Education and Leadership Development for the Institute for School-University Partnerships at the Texas A&M University System. As Program Director for the Emergency Services Training Institute, a division of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service that trains more than 85,000 students annually worldwide, Dr. Plunkett created and led the enterprise-based Leadership Development Program. In addition, her responsibilities included oversight of the division’s internal operations including the Curriculum Development, State and National Certification and Evaluation Programs as well as direction over the division’s marketing strategy and capabilities. Dr. Plunkett’s other professional activities include lecturing in the Mays Business School for the Department of Management, working with student groups, public speaking in her community and executive coaching. She served on the Board of Examiners for the Texas Award for Performance Excellence in 2004 and became a member of Leadership Texas in 2008. She currently serves on the Council of Advisors for the Crestview Retirement Community in Bryan, Texas and the Advisory Board for the VETTED Foundation. Dr. Plunkett was a public school teacher for 10 years, during which time she also trained teachers on the use of continuous improvement tools in the elementary classroom in both Texas and the US. She returned to Texas A&M in 2000 earning a Master’s and Ph.D. in Educational Human Resource Development in 2006. She is currently in the process of becoming an ICF certified executive coach.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Brandi's intent and purpose in her role as Executive Director of the Center for Executive Development, at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University
• Why Brandi believes in the importance of continual learning for the development of effective leaders
• How Brandi's unconventional career path began as an elementary school teacher and led her to a career in executive development
• How Brandi used mission statements and coaching even as a school teacher and how she segued those skills into the business world
• Why it is critical to be clear in your objectives and how clarity empowers you to be flexible.
• Why it is crucial to look outside current pressures to long-term consequences and use that understanding in decision-making
• Why leadership, trust, and communication are the key to making major changes within your organization
• What challenges Brandi has had to face in her career and how she overcame them through patience and self-confidence
• How Brandi's "Leading Champions" program partners with the Texas A&M athletics department to explore the overlap between athletics and business
• What lessons Brandi learned from developing the Leading Champions program
• How to learn more about the upcoming Leading Champions program

Ways to contact Brandi: