Want to develop leadership skills? Check out these 14 orgs

And just as there are many different types of leaders, there are different approaches to cultivating emerging talent.

Some orgs emphasize early exposure to professional challenges to get folks comfortable with the work they’ll need to do on a day-to-day basis. Some encourage developing communication skills through public speaking and networking opportunities. Some focus on building a sense of community and responsibility through civic engagement.

What most agree on is that no one becomes a leader in a vacuum, and that coaching and mentorship can be essential even for established leaders. Whether you’re a technologist or tech-adjacent professional, at a startup or ecosystem-supporting org like universities, law firms, accelerator programs, economic development groups and corporate entities, there are resources available to help you become the leader you want to be.

For the month of December, Technical.ly’s reporting has explored the theme of Leadership Development for our editorial calendar. For some additional perspectives, we asked our Technical.ly Talent and Ecosystem Builder companies the following question:

How is your org cultivating and supporting the next generation of leadership?

Here are some replies from their teams, and if you like what you see, follow the links to companies’ Directory Pages to learn more and explore ways to connect.

Arcweb Technologies

Arcweb Technologies is on a mission to democratize digital healthcare through open source solutions that expand the delivery and lower the costs of care. In pursuit of this goal, we focus on forming long term partnerships with health and wellness companies and leveraging decades of experience to solve their most pressing software product challenges.

“Arcweb strives to grow the next generation of leaders by encouraging staff to participate in conferences and speaking opportunities. This year, Solution Architect Nadya Sultanik spoke at a women in tech conference hosted by Chariot Solutions, and Head of Engineering Colin McCloskey addressed a group of college and university leaders as part of a panel on tech talent initiatives. We also celebrate our own team’s growth as leaders in their field by promoting from within our own organization (engineer to senior engineer to architect). Finally, we love celebrating our team’s growth as leaders, such as when Head of Design Len Damico was recognized as a Delaware RealLIST Engineer.” — Marley Kropp, project manager

Ballard Spahr

Ballard Spahr is a national, full service law firm with more than 600 attorneys spread across 15 offices. Our attorneys work with entrepreneurs and emerging companies from ideation through exit and understand how to provide expertise while offering our broad network to help businesses grow and achieve great heights. Our ECVC lawyers also advise venture capital funds and angel investors to help seed ventures from the most nascent stages.

“Ballard Spahr has cultivated a dynamic environment for young lawyers that extends beyond traditional legal education. Recognizing the indispensable skill of effective communication in the legal profession, the firm places a premium on honing the public speaking abilities of its associates by encouraging them to engage in educational seminars, sit on panels and support research initiatives with internal speaking opportunities on a regular basis. Through our BASE program (where associates play a critical role in supporting our pro bono emerging growth clients), Ballard Spahr not only equips young lawyers with legal knowledge but also hones their business development and relationship building skills by putting them in front of real clients at early stages of their careers.

Ballard Spahr also recognizes that true leadership extends beyond legal expertise, emphasizing a commitment to civic engagement. The firm’s unique culture, deeply rooted in fostering a sense of social responsibility, encourages pro bono activities and community involvement. This enables young lawyers to establish themselves professionally while contributing meaningfully to the communities they serve. We have found that by enabling lawyers to bring their interests and community commitments into their workplace, we are able to foster an environment where our lawyers can express themselves authentically and leverage their profession to be leaders in many sectors of their lives.” — Kimberly Klayman, partner

CubeSmart

CubeSmart is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded self-storage companies. Our mission is to simplify the organizational and logistical challenges created by the many life events and business needs of our customers — through innovative solutions, unparalleled service and genuine care.

“We believe that career growth and personal development are important to our teammates’ personal and professional success. We train and coach our people leaders to build their skills, in addition to offering a variety of formal and on-the-job training opportunities. This positively impacts our Teammate Engagement Survey scores and boosts our longer-term succession plans. Many teammates have been promoted and also made lateral moves internally across all teams and view CubeSmart as a place where they can grow their career. This is a direct result of strategic coaching and development.” – Megan McCaffery, director, human resources

Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce

The DEBCC is dedicated to the business development and economic empowerment of the Delaware economy, particularly the African American communities throughout the State of Delaware, via entrepreneurship utilizing educational models, shared best practices, business resources and technical assistance.

“At DEBCC, we are deeply committed to nurturing emerging leaders through various initiatives. Our programs include mentorship opportunities, educational initiatives, networking events and internship programs. We actively advocate for inclusivity and diversity in business.

This past summer, we collaborated with Interise and received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to run a five-week leadership program for business owners. Through hands-on experiences, valuable connections and a supportive environment, we empower aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders. Our dedication to the next generation is unwavering, and we consistently seek innovative ways to support their professional journeys.” — Ayanna Khan, founder and president/CEO

Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership (choosedelaware.com) leads Delaware’s efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and support employers in place-marketing Delaware to potential employees.

“Through Startup302, which we coordinate with partners from throughout the state, Delaware Prosperity Partnership helps boost underrepresented entrepreneurs by connecting them with mentors and industry contacts that can help them develop as company leaders. We also feature Startup302 winners and Delaware leaders — from Claymont to Selbyville — across DPP’s communications platforms to highlight their successes as inspirational examples and to share their insights and recommendations to encourage others along a trailblazing path. Finally, DPP CEO/President Kurt Foreman is an annual speaker for Leadership Delaware, and DPP supports members of our own team who want to develop their leadership potential by going through the Leadership Delaware program.” — Susan Coulby, senior manager, communications

Fastmail

For as little as $3 per month, the Australia-based independent email provider offers completely ad-free products and services — unlike “free” email providers that get paid by selling your data to advertisers. Your inbox stays clear of unwelcome solicitors, and your privacy intact.

“At Fastmail, we view leadership as a skill to be developed; many of our leaders retain a leadership coach to keep growing and keep being a student of leadership. Many of our senior contributors, technical leads and individuals whose primary responsibility is management are folks who we’ve promoted — in part, because of our attention to cultivating these skills.

In addition to our internal efforts, Fastmail also sponsors events local to Philadelphia, like the Philadelphia JavaScript Club, and, recently, BarCamp 2023, in order to ensure that there’s space in Philadelphia for folks to practice and develop their skills.” — Joe Woods, head of engineering, US

Fearless

Fearless is an impact-focused digital services integrator. Through human-centered digital solutions and organizational transformation, we unlock the power of people, organizations, and tech.

“At Fearless, we encourage our leaders to set goals around coaching and developing their team members. That’s the first step (of many) in creating a world where the cultivation of leadership happens in-line with the work we do.

Creating the next generation of leaders for each level isn’t going to be shipping people off to week long training. As a government contractor, we don’t have the time nor the money for long, expensive, ineffective, passive leadership training. We see development in the daily coaching from leaders at every level to pull up the leaders that are below them.” — Jon King, director of talent and development

Kleer

Kleer’s mission is to liberate dental care for the provider and the patients. Through its own cloud-based software, Kleer (pronounced clear) allows dental practices to create fully customized care plans that they offer directly to patients as a subscription-style care membership without interference from insurance carriers.

“At Kleer, we are dedicated to not just meeting but anticipating the ever-evolving needs of our diverse team. Through personalized 1:1 coaching sessions, transparent performance management and cross-functional collaboration on projects, we guide individual growth and strategically plan career paths with our employees. A large part of Kleer’s culture is encouraging our team members to own their work, push themselves outside of their comfort zones and motivate employees to achieve their goals. This proven approach has inspired our employees to push the boundaries of growth and aspire for leadership responsibilities, resulting in 11 internal promotions this year alone.

Future leadership and talent retention will remain a core priority heading into 2024 so we will be offering thousands of free training courses for our employees to upskill and reskill, as well as an offsite leadership development course as part of our enhanced benefits package.” — Sarah Colletti, talent acquisition specialist

Morgan Lewis

Morgan Lewis’ team of more than 2,200 lawyers and legal professionals provides comprehensive corporate, transactional, litigation and regulatory services in major industries, including energy, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, retail and ecommerce, sports, technology and transportation. We focus on both immediate and long-term goals with our clients, helping them address and anticipate challenges across vast and rapidly changing landscapes.

“We know that fostering an environment where knowledge and innovation are shared is the only way we can help clients reach their goals — and it is the only way for us to grow personally and professionally. Through the Morgan Lewis Institute, we provide comprehensive live and on-demand professional skills training for all associates that is fully integrated with our core competency model. Associates also have the benefit of robust mentoring, coaching and well-being support — all of which are available in-house. Further, our associates have active roles in junior leadership positions within our industry, practice and affinity groups, through which they have input on firm policy and develop leadership skills as the next generation of firm leaders. In addition, our dedicated Attorney Coach works with associates individually and in groups on everything from practice management to career planning. Through the external programs that we offer clients — the annual M&A Academy, Start Up & Accelerate series, Global Public Company Academy and Marathon series — we provide educational opportunities for clients, especially those in-house who are at the starting point or mid-level in their professional careers. Offered virtually and in-person we see these programs as helpful tools for the next generation of in-house leaders.” — Brian Slough, of counsel

NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers

Shulman Rogers is a full-service law firm with more than 100 attorneys working from our offices in Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. Our attorneys work collaboratively across practice groups to support national, regional and local clients and respond to all of their legal needs.

“As a firm, we are committed to nurturing and developing the next generation of leaders. With a strong focus on creating and maintaining an inclusive culture that is welcoming, collaborative and supportive of professional and personal growth, we invest considerable time and resources on leadership training, coaching and mentoring. We are intentional about providing younger attorneys opportunities to participate in important firm initiatives, including recruitment and planning the strategic direction of our firm. By working with the next generation of legal professionals to move our firm forward with emotionally intelligent leadership and cohesive principles based on traditional firm values that are informed by the passions and sensibilities of our colleagues of the next generation, we believe we have created a model that will propel us forward and position us for continued success.” — Kimberly Mann, shareholder, co-chair funds practice, co-chair attorney development committee

Susquehanna International Group, LLP

SIG is a global quantitative trading firm founded by a group of friends who share a passion for game theory and probabilistic thinking. This approach is integral to our culture, where you will find relentless problem solvers within each of our core disciplines: Trading, Technology, and Quantitative Research. From offices around the world, our employees collaborate to make optimal decisions and are driven by the desire to achieve winning results together.

“Leadership at SIG exists in many different roles throughout our organization; we believe that many SIG team members have the capacity to lead regardless of role. SIG fosters a culture where ideas can come from anyone. Leadership exists in the mentorship and training of others as well as in driving projects and initiatives — as colleagues, influencers, thought leaders and managers. We also have leadership development programs for our employees to build self-awareness and core leadership skills. Most importantly, we develop leadership by expanding capability and scope through work experiences, relationship building and an environment that encourages employees to challenge the norm and offer new ideas that help us continue growing.” — Gina Pinotti, chief information officer

TEDCO

TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, enhances economic empowerment growth through the fostering of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. We identify, invest in, and help grow technology and life science-based companies in Maryland.

“For the past three years, TEDCO has been increasingly investing into the growth and development of the entire team through various mechanisms. Some of these opportunities include professional development funds, our leadership sponsoring team members to participate in statewide and national professional development programs and other initiatives to allow the team to explore different paths of enrichment and growth. We’ve also implemented various new tools that encourage identifying improvement areas and applying new techniques to support personal and team development. In tandem, we provided the team with various leadership and team development books to support the journey to personal and professional growth.” — Troy LeMaile-Stovall, CEO

University City Science Center

The Science Center is Philadelphia’s premier catalyst of entrepreneurial activity, healthcare innovation and economic growth. Established in 1963, the nonprofit has been recognized by The Brookings Institution as a best-in-class investor, mentor and economic development partner for young technology companies.

“The Science Center sees the next generation of leadership as anyone who is moving along their leadership path, regardless of age, generation or experience. We look across levels of the organization and create customized approaches to what each level of the organization may need, whether it’s coaching and supplemental training resources, new experiences in their role or even new career levels and pathways within the organization. These approaches change as our organization grows and matures, and as what is needed in the region and beyond shifts.” — Kristy Traylor, vice president of people and culture

Vanguard

Transitioning so deftly into a virtual workforce has put a spotlight on Vanguard’s evolution from a traditional investment institution to a fintech company reimagining the industry. Above all else, it’s a human-centered organization that puts clients, employees and their communities first.

“At Vanguard, we have a long-standing, relentless focus on advancing our crew and leaders through continuous learning and development. We’re committed to empowering our crew to reach their full potential, and offer a number of tools and resources so they can continue to thrive both personally and professionally:

• Our signature rotational culture enables crew to contribute to all areas of our business, developing new skills in their areas of interest.
• Through internal conferences, we regularly bring together influential business and technology leaders to share their expertise and spark thought-provoking discussions.
• Our carefully crafted onboarding program provides entry-level crew a solid foundation of Vanguard’s technologies, ways of working and culture of care.
• We provide comprehensive continuing education programs, from online courses to take alongside their current role, to tuition reimbursement opportunities for formal learning.

Importantly, we believe that celebrating a culture of continuous learning and development is intrinsically linked to our mission of providing investors with the best chance of investment success. We believe it is what spurs innovation, new ideas, and — ultimately — better outcomes for our clients.” — Mike Carr, principal, chief technology officer

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Want to become a leader in your local tech community? Check out all the Technical.ly Talent and Ecosystem Builder companies here, and find out about their missions, cultures and opportunities.

P.S. If you’re curious about Technical.ly’s services for your own org, find more info here and connect with us.

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This sponsored content is a part of Leadership Development Month of Technical.ly's editorial calendar. The organizations appearing in this article are Technical.ly Talent and Ecosystem Builder clients.