Emerging Leaders Program – Thoughts and Insights

By: Thomas Hobbs, Current ELP class member and Retail Banking Product and Sales Analyst at Republic Bank

YPAL’s Emerging Leaders Program has been an insightful journey of self-discovery. So many times we, as leaders, accept assignments and then quickly set-off to accomplish them with whomever we can get to help us along the way.

The Emerging Leaders Program asks us to take a much needed step back and ask that fundamental question of “Why?”

• Why am I accepting this task?
• Why is it important to me?
• Why am I okay with accepting additional stress in my life over-and-above all the other responsibilites I’m juggling right now?

For some of us, myself included, we don’t always have good answers. So we stop doing them and rediscover both time and energy to dedicate to more meaningful areas of our lives. And for others, the program has been a reinforcement that we’re in the right career field or dedicated to the right non-profit that allows us to use our time and talents to maximum effect.

The Emerging Leaders Program is also giving us the resources we need to better understand our strengths and weaknesses, develop healthy mentoring relationships, and accept our failures as learning moments that will enable greater successes in the future.

The diversity of the class participants is intentional and beneficial. There are men and women from different backgrounds and career fields with interests and passions across the spectrum. And we’ve had a number of speakers from previous classes share their experiences and ‘lessons learned’ as we each plan our next steps as well.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to participate in this program and look forward to working with my classmates for years to come as we each positively impact Louisville in our own way. And I definitely recommend this program to anyone seeking a better answer to “Why?”

Now I have a succinct, relevant, and accurate personal mission statement and it’s made allocating my time, energy, and talents so much easier. Does taking on X fit within my personal mission statement and answer my “Why?” If “Yes”, then does it fit it into my prioritized schedule? If “No”, then I turn the opportunity down and never look back.

As an emerging leader, I know my conviction of purpose is going to yield positive outcomes and eager teammates and partners for years to come.

Thank you to the Emerging Leaders Program Sponsors: University of Louisville College of Business, Yum! Brands and YPAL Cares.

For more information about the next Emerging Leaders Program, click here.