Goering Center news

By Lisa Jonas

Since joining forces with Leadership Excelleration 16 years ago, the Goering Center for Family and Private Business has “graduated” 460 up-and-coming leaders into Greater Cincinnati’s family and private business community. Every March we welcome an eager new class into our Leadership Development Institute — a mix of high potentials and seasoned but evergreen owners, presidents and CEOs who are committed to continuous development. What an impact we have made. Today, 62 new leaders join the program annually. Most years, there is a waiting list. Those who take too long to commit are often closed out and have to wait an entire year to try again. Each year, they do.

Why is that? Why have we earned this reputation for excellence?

Paul Verst is the CEO of Verst Logistics, a 3PL service provider to the top global brands. The company was founded by Paul’s father in 1966 and today, his son, Chris Verst, and nephew, Kyle Stadtmiller, are being groomed to carry on the family business. In their early 30s, both have earned the right to be called high performers in their respective roles. Paul is doing a great job exposing them to the many functions within the company, and both are being mentored by Verst’s leadership team.

It was Chris and Kyle who approached Paul in 2018 and asked Paul to invest in their professional development. Kyle was a new father, had a new role in one of the plants, and found himself managing a team for the first time in his career.

“The biggest benefit that I took away from the class was understanding how I am wired as a leader so that I can be conscious of the positives and negatives that come with it,” Kyle says. “In the past I have taken on too much responsibility, did not hold others accountable and ultimately, did not create a culture where team members can grow. Since the class, I have been working on letting others take on more responsibility. Now I allow them to fail and learn from their mistakes.”

Diane Egbers is the CEO of Leadership Excelleration. She developed the program and will be the primary presenter in the 2020 class.

“The strengths assessment is critical. We spend about 75 percent of our time in those top two or three strengths. So it is really important to know when that is effective for others and when it is not. You must understand how your style is impacting the people you are challenged to lead,” she says.

When Chris joined the Verst team, he was fresh out of the Navy. He had leadership experience, but knew he was going to have some challenges coming into business.

“I was looking for a program to help transition my leadership skillset from the Navy to the private sector, and the Goering Center was the answer,” he said. “And I also wanted to build connections in the family and private business community with leaders of all levels and from different fields. Here you learn from the people in the class and it is also facilitated by experts who have done this for years.”

Diane says that the right time to take the Leadership Development Institute is when you are serious about growing as a leader.

“Sometimes you may already be managing a team and you are seeing what is working and what is not. Other times, you know you are about to step up into a new, more challenging leadership role.”

“It was very satisfying for me to know I had the confidence of my dad and the leadership team to put us in this environment and give us the tools we need to continue moving up in the company and hopefully someday lead it,” Chris says.

The Leadership Development Institute will kick off March 11. At each of the 10-session, half-day workshops, participants gain self-awareness, learn how to maximize their effectiveness as a leader and apply that knowledge in ways that optimize their company’s performance.

If you are serious about growing as a leader, the time to register is now.  Because for the Leadership Development Institute, our “wait list” means you are waiting until next year.

LDI consists of 10 half-day sessions. The concepts covered build upon each previous session and provide continuity for development in multiple leadership disciplines.

Topics include:

•  Strengths based leadership
• Personality style preferences
• Performance coaching
• Relationship management: emotional intelligence
• Relationship management: conflict and negotiation
• Team effectiveness and development
• Cultivating a culture of team engagement
• Leading change
• Problem solving and decision making
• Leading for high performance

Featured image at top: From left, Chris Verst, Paul Verst and Kyle Stadtmiller. Photo/Jay Yocis.

Lisa Jonas is program director for Goering Center. Reach Lisa at lisa.jonas@uc.edu or call directly at 513-556-7403.