Young Professional Leadership and Career Development in North ...

This is why I created this brief with the help of my fellow “crashers”—to
provide you with the knowledge you need in order to do
what I’ve done. I certainly hope you will join me in these efforts!
Conclusion
Each of the three career development programs mentioned in these
case studies continues to operate successfully. For our purposes, success
is defined as receiving continuous, active, and voluntary participation,
as well as having a majority of group members deem the
programs as impactful for their career development.
Furthermore, these case studies highlight the fact that the career
development of young professionals is a topic of great importance
to many in the credit union system. Still, some credit union managers
remain convinced that time and money should not be wasted
on developing young professionals, preferring instead to allow the
next generation to be wholly responsible for their own development.
Thankfully, this group is dwindling, but the claims are still worth
addressing.
First, it is incorrect to assume that time and money are wasted
on these activities. Such an assumption flies in the face of welldocumented
research, the likes of which have appeared repeatedly
in reputable sources like the Harvard Business Review (including the
research of Daniel Goleman and the Hay/McBer consulting firm).
Young professional development is closely related to the coaching
style of leadership, which emphasizes intentional long-term development
of employees over short-term benefits to the organization
(such as productivity or cost savings). In the previously cited research
gathered from thousands of business executives, “coaching” activities
were unquestionably associated with improved employee performance,
higher standards of excellence, better perception of the
fairness of corporate rewards systems, improved clarity about mission
and values, and greater commitment to the organization.
The second error is in assuming that young professionals should be
wholly responsible for their own development. The dangerous part of
this assumption is the grain of truth on which it is built. It is absolutely
true that young professionals have responsibility for their own
development. The problem is that they often have no idea where to
begin, and so a lot of time and talent is wasted trying to figure out
on their own what previous generations have already learned. The
danger in assuming members of the next generation are responsible
for themselves is in using that as an excuse not to meaningfully participate
in their development.
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