New Year Leadership Planning Begins Now
Various training opportunities at all levels are available.
It’s that time again.
As the end of the year draws near, you’re already reflecting on 2013 and looking ahead to what you want 2014 to be. One thing to bank on in the new year and beyond is that the fresh food industry will continue to face an evolving and increasingly global business climate. Effective leadership is a must to meet complex challenges and enhance innovation.
Whether responsible for talent management or taking charge of your own career, you fortunately have a range of PMA Foundation programs that deliver state-of-the art leadership training developed with industry focus. These programs draw upon strong global and supply chain representation that enhances effectiveness by bringing together diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Consider PMA Foundation’s new High Performance Management Conference in early December for midlevel professionals, who comprise an often neglected but critical group, with gaps in training and preparation for taking the next step forward. Numerous studies reveal that these frontline leaders possess a development need in the area of empowerment and delegation. PMA Foundation’s program is the only one in the industry to answer that need.
Kicking off the year in January, the Executive Leadership Symposium offers senior executives an opportunity to discover how to harness innovation and changes now underway to confidently position their companies for a competitive advantage today. For more than two decades, this program has delivered executive education through best-in-class speakers and allowed for the vetting of ideas and problem solving at the decision-maker level.
Because effective senior executives are made, not born, we must prepare and encourage the industry’s next generation of leaders to assume greater responsibility as business leaders in the dynamic, ever-changing fresh produce industry. PMA Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Program in March does just that, preparing high-potential leaders to embrace increasing levels of responsibility and readying them for the challenges and the opportunities that will accompany future leadership roles within the industry.
PMA Foundation’s Women’s Fresh Perspectives (WFP) Conference is the only program for women in the fresh produce and floral supply chain, with the second-annual Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference taking place in April.
According to the New York-based McKinsey & Co. management consultancy, companies with a higher percentage of women in management are on average 48 percent more profitable than their rivals. Yet despite studies consistently demonstrating how more women in leadership measurably fuel a company’s success, women currently represent only 15 percent of senior management roles in all industries. That’s too bad, because women are good for business. The WFP Conference helps businesses leverage this competitive advantage by helping to build and strengthen core leadership skills that are important for all leaders, but particularly women, while addressing the broader issues that affect women leaders.
These days, staying competitive and growing your business require investing in development for every member of your workforce. Visit pmafoundation.com to put leadership to work at all levels of your company, all year long.
Because effective senior executives are made, not born, we must prepare and encourage the industry’s next generation of leaders to assume greater responsibility in the dynamic, ever-changing fresh produce industry.