Education is the mother of leadership, goes the adage, and for LeadingAge and its members, that’s certainly true. From national offerings like the Larry Minnix Leadership Academy to state-partner-led initiatives like LeadingAge California’s EMERGE Leadership Development Program or LeadingAge Texas’ Leadership Collective, or member-created efforts at organizations large and small, nonprofit providers’ commitment to leadership development is clear.

On-the-job training and development opportunities, research shows, have a positive impact on retention. Reducing turnover and building the talent pipeline—critical not only to the success of individual employers but to that of the sector as a whole—is a focus of LeadingAge’s September 2024 National Workforce Development Month observation. An investment in developing leaders, says Wendy Green, head of leadership development programming for LeadingAge, reaps benefits. Programs help to build capabilities like a broadened perspective, for instance, enabling leaders to attend to daily tasks while maintaining their vision for the future.

For Julie Thorson, president and CEO of Friendship Haven, a single-site continuing care retirement community in Ft. Dodge, IA, leadership development is a never-ending project. The self-described “head coach” of the Friendship Haven Leadership Development Program, she takes a continuous hands-on approach at every level: “This is a way for me to develop relationships that are meaningful and strong,” she says. “I’m not as involved day-to-day in [employees’] work. But leadership development—I see that as a big part of my role.”

At the other end of the size spectrum, Acts Retirement-Life Communities, a Pennsylvania-based provider operating 27 campuses across nine states, has a large, in-depth staff development program called Acts Corporate University (ACU) with options for staff at all levels.

For young and entry-level staff, for instance, there is GED support, tuition reimbursement, citizenship reimbursement, scholarships, and many more educational and benefit opportunities. New and emerging leaders (supervisor level and above) can participate in Acts Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA), geared towards developing management competencies and leadership practices. Current leaders interested in exploring best practices can join the Advanced Acts Leadership Academy (AALA). “The emphasis is on personal reflection, dialog, and collaboration,” says Jo Anne Hartman, managing director of Acts Corporate University. For new executive directors, administrators, and corporate directors, Acts LEAD is an intensive one-week in-person program taught by Acts leadership team members, and helps new leaders “to really have a true understanding of our mission, what we do, and how we do it,” Hartman says. ACU also includes succession planning for multiple positions, not only in the C-suite; it is done for executive directors, administrators, and directors in several key clinical and operational areas.

Whether programs serve hundreds or a handful each year, the investment pays off, says Mary Helton, chief human resources officer for A.G. Rhodes, an Atlanta, GA-based skilled nursing and rehabilitation provider. Its leadership development program—which grew out of an equity and inclusion committee created to tackle the lack of diversity in the organization’s leadership team—is tailored to frontline staff. Participant activities include shadowing sessions with A.G. Rhodes C-suite leaders plus online clinical or business-focused college coursework. Helton says that over half of the 14 participants so far have been promoted as a result of the program. “We realized that our elders are going to get great care when our employees and our care partners are at their best,” says Helton. “This allows our frontline staff to develop relationships with leadership and see the value of networking, and [it creates] the kind of opportunities that typically they would never have.”

Interested in boosting your own workforce programming? Share your stories of leadership development initiatives during National Workforce Development Month using our toolkit of turnkey resources.

Photo: Graduates of the A.G. Rhodes Leadership Development Program celebrate. Photo courtesy of A.G. Rhodes.

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