Do you have an Emerging Leader in your business? How are you accelerating their development?

3rd October 2023

We are in the process of constructing the framework for a Sheet Plant Association Emerging Leaders Programme.  The 1st face-to-face meeting will be at SPA 108th Conference in February 2024 (BOOK NOW).

The principle is quite simple:

  • You identify those people who will be the leaders of the future in your business
  • They commit to the programme, knowing the desired outcome,

and

  • We (the SPA) create a group of Emerging Leaders (ELs) who grow and develop as a peer group and graduate from the programme in 2-3 years’ time.

The programme is for employees under the age of 35 that you believe have the capability and ambition to become leaders – whether that be a Team Leader, a Manager, a Director or even your Successor.

The SPA will prescribe some learning/development and the ELs themselves will identify areas/topics that they wish to explore and learn.

The AICC have run a very successful Emerging Leaders’ Programme in the States and have over 70 graduates to date…

Here is a quote from Rob Garvey from TCY:

“ … as an AICC Emerging Leader alumnus I hope you don’t mind my writing this but I thought you may appreciate the perspective of someone who has been in such a position, and champions the Emerging Leaders’ Programme whole-heartedly.

The simple reason is that it was a great entry point for youngsters (relatively, I was 32 when I joined) to meet with people in a similar position trying to forge their own connections and knowledge within the industry. I am sure you can understand that going to meetings ‘green’, or as a first-timer can be intimidating; you look around and see people who already know each other and with long history together, it can be tricky to make a meaningful introduction.

Simply put, the AICC EL program was a place where networking, relationship building and industry education came together and it still pays dividends for me today.

I just came home from the AICC Fall meeting in Kentucky yesterday, and there I met with several ex-Emerging Leaders from the group I was involved in back in 2014. During the time we were in the program, the majority were quite junior, but now, some 10 years later, those very same people now hold the following titles within their companies (and not all are family succession):

  • CEO
  • Executive Vice President
  • Director of Business Development
  • President (x2)
  • Packaging Specialist
  • Regional Sales Manager
  • Director of Sales
  • Executive Vice President  - Sales & Marketing"

Watch this video for some more details:

Please confirm to me, Tim Gray, Chairman of SPA, whether you have any employees that you would like to enrol on the programme. We will then have a call with you to establish your expectations and aims from the programme before we get the Emerging Leaders interns together to discuss their expectations.

We are expecting this Initiative to be heavily subscribed and places are limited  - so please give this some serious thought and get back to me by return.

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