By Rachael Pfenninger, director of strategic execution, AMBA
Succession planning is a topic of critical importance to American mold builders. Without it, the continuity of individual companies and the mold manufacturing industry at large is in jeopardy. But as many company owners know, experienced mold manufacturers aren’t growing on trees – which means that skills development (in management and otherwise) needs to be deliberately cultivated, often across the entire organization and within every generation.
Most often, these individuals seeking or receiving training are considered “emerging professionals.” But in order for a company to truly flourish, management teams are best served by spreading professional development opportunities throughout the organization and offering employees growth and learning opportunities, no matter their current role, age or experience level. This was most clearly seen during AMBA’s recent virtual series, “Three Tactics for People Management.”
It’s easy to think that material like this benefits only a particular individual – someone overseeing other employees, for example. But really, both the attendees joining this session and the content shared demonstrated the flaws in this perspective. “This series highlighted the soft skills needed to manage people – but that doesn’t mean this content should only be shared with current managers,” explained Kym Conis, AMBA managing director. “How often do employees find themselves managing peers as well as subordinates? Or managing up, as they work alongside supervisors and executives?”
Conis continued, sharing, “The conclusions from this series demonstrated how universal these themes are, and they reinforced a single takeaway: everyone – individuals and companies – benefits from professional development, particularly when that includes strategies to work alongside colleagues, consider new perspectives and build up the skills of every employee.”
This virtual series indicates a larger trend, identified by none other than AMBA’s own board president. “I cannot speak highly enough of AMBA’s recent efforts regarding its support for up-and-coming leaders in our industry and its continued development of the AMBA Emerging Leaders Network,” stated Tom Barr, TK Mold and Engineering and recent Tooling Trailblazer of the Year award winner. “Although many of these opportunities started as targeted, under-40 events, they’ve since grown to impact all generations within our membership across many functional areas. This continued programming encompasses what any good leader should already know – we never stop growing and we never stop learning.”
AMBA agrees – which is why, for the first time, the AMBA Emerging Leaders Pre-Conference session is open to all AMBA members attending the conference, rather than only those who are under a certain age or in a certain kind of position. The session will highlight management skills, both at the supervisory level and at the peer level. Regardless of age or position, every attendee will have the opportunity to walk away with strategies that will improve project management and communication skills, as well as conflict resolution strategies.
To properly prepare for future business growth and transition, it’s more necessary than ever for employees, executives and everyone in between to take advantage of structured development and learning opportunities. AMBA members can stay in-tune with what the association has planned for emerging leadership, management teams and executives by visiting www.amba.org/events.
Programming for AMBA Conference 2024 – Engage. Elevate. Evolve. – will feature sessions that target a variety of functional areas and supervisory levels.
More information: www.ambaconference.com, www.amba.org/events
