In the fall of 2022, USAble Life launched the recently renamed Alexus Bramwell Leadership Academy, which includes Leaders on Deck and Tomorrow’s Leaders programs. The program is designed to prepare high-potential leaders for growth and leadership and has levels of development from leads to vice presidents. Through the academy, we continue to honor the legacy and impact that Lex Bramwell had in developing the program as the 2021 Committee Lead for the team focused on Diversity in Leadership, recognizing the fulfillment of the program’s purpose in the development of our leaders. So far, we’ve enrolled about a quarter of the management team for participation in 2023.
Leaders on Deck and Tomorrow’s Leaders programs take place at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., and lay the groundwork of foundational leadership practices from supervisor to executive levels. Margaret Cooley, a facilitator of the executive-level programs, extended the impressions of the Eckerd College team. “We’ve really enjoyed working with the leaders from USAble Life. They come prepared and engaged and leave with a plan of attack; the program and these leaders are a credit to your organization.”
Recent attendees completed the program between November 2022 and February 2023, including our first Leaders on Deck and Tomorrow’s Leaders attendees. They returned with best practices, inspired to make a difference in our organization. We caught up with some of the leaders in post-program interviews, and they shared the practices that they look forward to bringing to their roles.
Misty Philpott, director, strategic account executive, and several others shared the importance of Direction, Alignment, and Commitment (DAC). “The activities forced us to rely on our teammates. It emphasized how critical it is to have direction as an organization, to create alignment within the team, and gain commitment from others. I look forward to seeing how each of us can use what we learned and help create this alignment across our organization.”
Laurie Shell, director, creative services, returned from Tomorrow’s Leaders in January and also mentioned the DAC model as well as “the value of resilience as a leader and the impact of communication; sometimes, all it takes is a conversation to get back on track.”
Additional participants in Tomorrow’s Leaders programs included Ryan O’Dell, Matt Paulus, Barbara Page, and TJ Mali.
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