By Danielle Robinson
TMCF Government Relations & Marketing Intern
Plenary: John Deere: Leading from a Different Lens
On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the morning plenary session was presented by John Deere— Leveling Up Your Leadership IQ: Leading from A Different Lens.
John Deere representative, Andres Carberry, kicked off the plenary with an energetic presentation that left the TMCF Scholars in awe. Andres believes that leaders must lead by example, by recognizing who you are as an individual and then use these traits to help you lead.
- You must always be yourself ––because everybody else is taken. Instead of pretending to be someone else. Be your authentic self from the start and represent you well.
- Recognize how powerful you are as an individual. People will make assumptions based on their perspective and experiences. Remember that though you are Black in America, race issues are not yours to own, and are not yours to solve!
- Never underestimate the value of respect and your upbringings. Be sure to treat everybody with respect regardless of their title.
The takeaway from the Wendy’s plenary to TMCF scholars/future leaders: Your core values act as a moral compass and steer you through your leadership journey.
Wendy’s believes that a leader’s values must align with their leadership approach. Wendy’s Values are known as Dave’s Values and are as follows:
Concurrent Session: Wells Fargo
In Wells Fargo’s concurrent leadership session, Damon Ford shared that be believes leaders must practice taking ownership of their mistakes and work on finding solutions. Good leaders create a balance in communication and are able to meet their teams half way.
Real Talk presented by TEK Systems
The Leadership Institute’s annual Real Talk session was presented by TEK Systems and hosted by the amazing Michelle Horton. Other speakers included:
Medtronic – Telaireus Herrin
Wells Fargo – Erica Miles
Wendy’s – Alyvia Johnson
Apple – Tracie Ellis
Boeing – Nathan Brooks
The speakers engaged the TMCF scholars in an intense and exciting discussion about real life work situations. They dropped pearls of wisdom from their personal experiences on the job.
“Emotions have no place in business, you must be grounded in order to keep a clear thought process” – Michelle Horton