Apr 1, 2015

By: Laurie Gethin, Director of Education, Food Marketing Institute
Future Leaders
More than an event or conference, Future Leaders @Connect reaches grocery employees far beyond those who attend. Since the program’s inception in 2009, more than 4,800 current and aspiring grocery executives have progressed through Future Leaders. Proven to be very effective in recognizing and rewarding top performers at companies with valuable training and experiences outside of the normal store routine, the Future Leaders experience is more than the average conference. This year, we’ve brought even greater value to Future Leaders. Co-located with our annual industry gathering, FMI Connect, attendees gain free access to the show and have the opportunity to gain even greater industry-wide exposure.

To make the most of Future Leaders, we strongly encourage our attendees to do some pre-conference “homework”. We recommend attendees hold pre-conference meetings with their supervisors to outline specific goals and objectives for the event, such as skills that need to be addressed or important areas of learning to focus on during the conference. To assist with this, we’ve developed the following resources:

Before Future Leaders – The Planning

  • Self-Assessment Tool – Skills described in the self-assessment tool correspond with areas of importance typically associated with successful retail management. Working with their supervisor, attendees can assess their level of competence in each area and its relevance to their current professional situation or goals.
  • A Learning Plan - Using the results of the self-assessment, attendees can list skills they want to improve through participating in Future Leaders @Connect. Upon reviewing he agenda for Future Leaders and FMI Connect attendees can identify education sessions and activities that will help support development of those specific skills.

During Future Leaders – The Experience

  • Guide for Company Teams – These tips help companies maximize their Future Leaders and FMI Connect experience and drive effective group engagement for attendees. Company leaders can customize or complement the company’s plans, activities, communications and references.
  • Onsite Notebook – A workbook is given to attendees to take notes, track their learnings and list peers they’ve met through the education sessions and networking opportunities during the event.

After Future Leaders – The Follow Up

  • Action Plan – Applying what was learned from Future Leaders and FMI Connect and working with their supervisor, attendees can use the Action Plan to outline their top S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives to bring knowledge, skills, or techniques back to their workplace.
  • Teach-backs – Teach-backs are information-sharing sessions about topics from Future Leaders @Connect where the attendee takes responsibility for sharing the key points and applicability of a session with colleagues who did not attend the event. Teach-backs can reinforce participants’ learning, achieve broader dissemination of knowledge, provide opportunities for conference participants to assume a leadership role and strengthen cross-departmental relationships.

With pre-planning and post event follow up, Future Leaders is more than just a one-time event for food retail professionals—it’s an experience sure to help guide your career. For more information and registration details, please visit: www.fmi.org/futureleaders.