Founder's Welcome

Look around. The workforce is changing right in front of us and two groups of people are about to take over in leading our organizations. One group has been working faithfully yet passed over for opportunities to lead. The other group, Millennials, are about to become the largest majority in workforce by the year 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Who will recognize them and prepare them to lead?

We will. We founded The Emerging Leaders Conference (ELC) to be more than a resource for developing leadership skills. We created ELC to become a movement, a catalyst for positive change and a recognized gathering place for future leaders who will not be satisfied with continuing broken mantras and philosophies about the world of work. The Emerging Leaders Conference will be the preeminent meeting for individuals who are transitioning into next-level leadership to build their competency, confidence and connectivity.

From cohorts sponsored by organizations, to individuals and small business leaders who are looking to develop their leadership, the Emerging Leaders Conference provides certification training, workshops and panel discussions with recognized leaders across industries to help equip participants to lead. The ELC is also a place for emerging leaders and thinkers to exchange their ideas and views about what leadership in the future of organizations should be like.

As organizations transition to greater levels of remote work, as workforce and stakeholder groups become more diverse, and as technology integration disrupts old processes and business models, novel ways of doing work will evolve. New positions that don’t even exist today will become the most sought-after careers. This will require a different way of leading than what we do today. It will require new ways of leading that create work environments of inclusion and cultures of belonging despite being geographically dispersed. Leaders will need updated models of leadership that can handle the complexity and change in our societies today. We will need leaders who can meet the moment of this era with a balance of respecting healthy traditions while ensuring agility to appropriately respond to change.

The future is here for these emerging leaders. Their time is now. Let’s get ready and prepare the way for them so they can create an enduring society and workplace far better than the ones they inherited.

Dennis Kennedy
Founder and Chairman
National Diversity Council

Julianne Robbins-Cenac
Executive Dir., Organizational and Talent Dev and Program Dir., The Leadership Institutes
UTHealth