Professional development
January 20, 2020
At American Woodmark, we strive to help our employees develop and grow in our pursuit of excellence. To do so, we offer excellent trainings and learning sessions, including the Leader Development Course, an interactive, personal development class.
Chelsea talks with a coworker during a Leader Development Course session held at the Corporate Headquarters in October 2019.
The program was built and piloted at our Allegany Plant in 2011 to develop hourly team leaders but quickly expanded to include clerks, training assistants and new and entry-level managers and supervisors.
“This class was extremely helpful to me in the workplace and outside of work. If you go in with an open mind and use what you are being taught, people around you will notice improvements. This class has given me many tools for any situation.”
The four-month program is a support group discussion-style whereby participants sit in a circle with workbooks, rather than traditional classroom training with presentations. Pre-classwork, structured exercises and sharing of personal information and experiences build trust within the group and create a safe environment for interaction and breakthroughs.
The class focuses on five modules: personal effectiveness, relationships, communication, leadership and emotional intelligence and each section is team facilitated by local managers of the participants.
