Shaping the Next Generation of Leaders

Categories: Articles & Corporate August 11, 2021
Group Development image

PDI Introduces a New Management Development Program for Frontline Managers

PDI has invested in a new Management Development Program (MPD), designed to develop managers into successful organizational leaders. The program, which launched in June, selected 17 PDI associates, across the company, to participate in this six-month program which helps them identify and master their leadership style, as well as advance their leadership skills.

Leading the group is Chuck Speight, Senior Director, Talent Management Organizational Development / Learning, Human Resources, who built the program utilizing best practices and guidelines from published and established learnings. Chuck provided some insight (and excitement) on the launch of this program:

Q.Developing associates is a critical part of ongoing professional growth. Why is this program important to the success of PDI?

Chuck: Managers are key links between PDI and its associates, playing an important and evolving role in our organizational success and growth. To help our associates perform, managers are expected to carry out many different roles, including managing performance, providing development opportunities, communicating with associates, and keeping them engaged and motivated.

Now more than ever, how our managers work with our associates is important.  Disruptions to the work environment, such as the shift to remote work that we have experienced over the past 16 months, means our managers must learn new ways of working, communicating, and engaging with their direct reports. The unexpected business disruptions have led our managers to face difficult decisions and communicate difficult messages, often while being expected to do more with less.  Investing in our managers to take on these recent challenges and additional issues, that may be on the horizon, is critical to our company’s success.

Q. How is the management development program structured?

Chuck: The program is based on Gallup’s Q12 engagement framework. Over a six-month period, managers will participate in monthly sessions in a formal classroom setting. Each month, the groups will focus on specific engagement drivers – participating in a group practice, feedback, and skill-building, as well as action planning and development through experiential learning and identified feedback loops.

Q. What do you hope managers will get out of the program?

Chuck: The framework and development opportunities will help PDI managers fully integrate each item’s concepts into spontaneous conversations, meeting agendas, formal and informal performance evaluations and team goal setting.  Instead of employee engagement being ad hoc, it will become an integral part of PDI’s daily culture by leveraging the learnings from the program.

PDI congratulates our Associates selected to participate in the inaugural program!

Group 1: (from left to right): Megha Patel, Jillian Maisano, Chuck Speight (Program Director), Delphine Patterson, Kate Janes, Faisal Akrami, Kristen Fiore, Zachary Galderin, Susan Zachariah.

Group 2: (from left to right): Mark Kriegel, Raquel Medina, Lauren Capobianco, Amanda McGarry, Chuck Speight (Program Director), Ludjane Carvalho, Rhiannon Johnson. Not pictured: Jenna Conner