SFNet has announced it is partnering with NYU Stern Executive Education to offer a course for SFNet members’ emerging leaders that will teach attendees how to recognize, develop, and master skills to become an effective and impactful leader.

The course, Impactful Leadership for High Potentials, will be held June 12-14, 2023 and introduce analytical leadership frameworks by combining a variety of learning approaches to ensure that participants learn self-reflective and supportive mechanisms for continued success on their path as a leader. In addition to the core curriculum, which comes with a certificate of completion from NYU Stern Executive Education, SFNet will introduce several guest lectures from successful leaders in the secured finance industry to speak on topics such as leading in complex systems, leading through change, the role of leadership in company culture, leading with diversity and more.

According to the  course description, “Leadership is a mindset, a set of behaviors, and a set of actions that can be carried out by individuals at all levels of an organization each and every day. In this course, participants will examine the meaning of leadership from multiple perspectives, learn about power and influence, collaboration, teamwork and networks, and develop a framework for translating leadership into effective actions.”

The course is designed for professionals with five-plus years of work experience and is ideal for those who have significant leadership responsibilities, or who have high potential for leadership. It is intended for individuals who want to improve their leadership abilities. This course is virtual, however, SFNet’s office in New York City will be open to any registered attendees who wish to attend in an in-person group setting to network and further clarify skills and key takeaways learned from the course. A daily catered lunch will be provided.

Nathan Pettit, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and Founding Director, Leadership Accelerator at NYU Stern, will be teaching Impactful Leadership for High Potentials.  Professor Pettit currently teaches core and elective leadership courses in NYU Stern’s full-time MBA Program, Executive MBA Programs in New York and Washington, D.C., and Stern’s Andre Koo Technology & Entrepreneurship and Fashion & Luxury MBA Programs. He serves on the MBA core curriculum committee and is the faculty representative for the MBA student podcast, Stern Chats. Pettit’s research broadly focuses on hierarchical dynamics and competition. His work has been published in management, psychology, and general science journals, including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Psychological Science.

The secured finance industry leaders participating in the course include: Tina Capobianco, senior vice president, Operations, J D Factors; Steven Gold, president & CEO, Allied Financial Corporation; Don Clarke, president, Asset Based Lending Consultants; Betty Hernandez, EVP & chief credit officer, SLR Business Credit and Joe Accardi, head of new business development, M&T Bank. 

"Leadership means to be the visionary who casts the vision in easily understandable terms and attainability, getting others to buy into such a vision, so that they too can envision its successes," said Don Clarke, president, Asset Based Lending Consultants.

“The status quo is dangerous…leaders are in the transformation business,” added Joe Accardi, head of new business development, ABL Division, M&T Bank. 

In introducing the new program, Rich Gumbrecht, CEO of SFNet, commented that “leadership development is an investment. It is an ongoing commitment to increase an organization's capacity for success. As leaders we are called to be stewards. It’s our hope that this new offering will not only help develop our next generation of leaders, but advance our collective awareness, knowledge and focus on this important discipline to the betterment of our industry.”

The Impactful Leadership for HighPotentials course will consist of 12 hours of live online instruction plus recorded Leadership Perspectives talks. A live 90-minute Q&A session will be held at the conclusion of the class on June 14.

Registrants who attend will leave with:

·        A bolstered roadmap on effective leadership

·        Certificate of completion from NYU Stern Executive Education

·        Two CPE credit hours

·        25% discount to any SFNet conference not previously attended

·        25% discount to any SFNet education class

·        Automatic acceptance into SFNet's Mentoring Program.  (Note: Check SFNet’s mentoring page for the 2023 Spring Program information in early 2023). 

·        Option to attend the virtual class at SFNet’s New York office with a catered lunch each day

Participants who recently completed the program that SFNet will be adapting said:

“Nate has managed to structure a leadership class with the perfect balance between interactive activities and theory/principles. He also demonstrated effective leadership throughout the course with his own teaching style. I feel I have walked away with practical understanding and skills that can be applied to not only work but also life. Thank you for a great experience.”

“Great course for a person at any level in their career and relevant to managers and individual contributors for any team. Professor Pettit makes the class extremely engaging and informative from start to finish. The material is presented in a way that's different from any leadership course I've taken and incorporates in-person simulations to prepare you for real-life situations in the future. It's incredible how much we were able to cover in two days, not to mention that great network of other professionals I now have lasting connections with.”

“It was awesome, I recommend it. I was ready to get two days of someone talking over slides, delivering either common sense advice or business buzzwords; but instead, we had very honest, straight, no-bs, learn-by-doing activities that covered latest thinking in leadership that I don't believe I'd be able to get in a book or online training. The professor was instigating, accessible and very knowledgeable, and created lessons that intertwined games to simulate group dynamics that really drove home the key points from the theory material. This short course gave me plenty to work with right away, but more importantly, put me in direction to hone in the specific leadership skills that I, specifically, need.”

For those who are considering taking the class in-person, SFNet has several events planned for the same week in New York City. SFNet’s 2023 40 Under 40 Awards will be held the evening of June 15 and the Women in Secured Finance Conference will kick off with a reception during the evening of June 14.

Class space is limited so register early and reserve your space for Impactful Leadership for High Potentials now. If you have additional questions, please contact SFNet’s program manager, Ryan Green at rgreen@sfnet.com.