As a 2021 "30 Under 35" Award Winner, I wanted to get involved in more NAED conferences and training that would help elevate my leadership skills and strengthen my passion for growth. I signed up for NAED's Leadership Development Program in the hopes of doing all those things, but what I've truly been able to take away is so much more.
In our training, I was able to identify what type of leader I am and how that type of leadership can motivate or push away teammates. Becoming more conscious of the environments I create and how I influence others has been a big takeaway and something that you consciously work on during the entire program. What you focus on is what grows—positively or negatively—and I'm lucky that this program helped me see that I make a choice every single day on how I act and react to changes, relationships, and my own self-doubts.
The Capstone Project has been one of my favorites. Each program attendee is tasked with choosing an improvement project to drive business results to their organizations. Throughout the course of the program, we work directly with the NAED and Dale Carnegie staff, as well as other attendees that you are paired with based on your personality traits, to discuss and provide feedback on your capstone. I've enjoyed so much meeting all of the other attendees in the program. We have become very close, sharing successes and failures, working together, and becoming good friends. We even went beyond the NAED LDP meeting requirements and scheduled our own time to spend together online to chat and catch up.
All in all, I would recommend this course to any up-and-coming professional to help with self-recognition, navigate changes, motivate others, and truly demonstrate what it means to be a great leader.
Kerith Richards
Regional Sales Manager, Northeast U.S. and Canada
Service Wire Company
The spring 2022 Leadership Development Program class is forming right now. You can get more information and sign up your future leaders at www.naed.org/leadership
Kerith Richards
Kerith Richards is the Regional Sales Manager for the Northeast United States and Canada for Service Wire. She is also a 2021 winner of the tED magazine 30 Under 35 Award.