2018 LEC Charms Attendees

SIOP Administrative Office

Baltimore was indeed the Charm City for the 201 people who attended the 14th Annual SIOP Leading Edge Consortium, High Potential: Identifying, Developing, and Retaining Future Leaders, held October 19 and 20. With scenic Inner Harbor views and many great shops and restaurants, the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel and surrounding area made for a wonderful backdrop to an exciting and informative event.

Preconsortium workshops got the information flowing on Thursday, October 18. Workshop 1: Identifying and Assessing High Potential Leadership Talent featured John Scott, Rob Silzer, and Matt Paese. Jeff McHenry, along with Andrew Webster, Kyle McNeal, and Lorraine Stomski, led Workshop 2: Agile Approaches to Developing Agile High-Potentials. Rounding out the preconsortium options was Workshop 3: Building Integrated and Sustainable High-Potential Talent Management Programs, presented by Allan H. Church, Laura Mattimore, and Seymour Adler, Partner.

The Graduate Student Briefing was led by LEC Committee Member David Baker Friday afternoon. Twenty-five local graduate students were treated to information provided by LEC speakers and committee members. Afterward LEC attendees celebrated at the welcome reception on the USS Constellation, the last Civil War vessel afloat. The USS Constellation is permanently docked in Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor and offers exceptional views of Baltimore’s historic waterfront. This event, sponsored by BTS, featured hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and even a cannon firing demonstration.

Friday opened with a hearty breakfast, and the program began with Marcia Avedon’s presentation on the high-potential pipeline. Following were co-chair Rob Silzer’s talk on potential and a HIP (Highlights and Insights in Practice) talk session featuringAlison Hartmann, Rafi Prager, and Joe Garcia. Seymour Adler then discussed engagement and teamwork, and David Day explained that leader identity is what motivates their intentional practice and development.

Just before lunch, the winners of the 2018 Human Resource Management Impact Awards were announced, with SIOP President Talya Bauer and SHRM Representative Mark Smith congratulating PepsiCo and Amazon on their wins.  James Scrivani, PepsiCo’s Director of Global Talent Assessment, accepted the award and presented a short video explaining PepsiCo’s Global Leadership Assessment & Development (LeAD) Program.

After a lunch featuring Maryland’s famous crab cakes, sponsored by Shaker, Cindy McCauley discussed using experience to develop high potentials. The search for top talent was the focus for Laura Mattimore, whereas Carol Surface presented research on high potentials during organizational transformation. A networking event and another HIP talk session followed, with Mike Benson, Lorraine Stomski, and Kyle D. McNeal giving case studies. Jane Ewing then discussed the search for global leaders at Walmart. Rounding out the day was David Rodriguez, speaking about how the organization’s culture sets the backdrop for empowerment before high potentials are even hired!

After the day’s educational sessions were over, it was once again time for some fun! APTMetrics sponsored the evening networking reception, and COO John Scott awarded a free dinner to one lucky attendee. After the reception, attendees who chose to do so assembled in groups to attend the networking dinners, held at some of Baltimore’s best eateries.

Saturday started with a breakfast and a marathon. The Baltimore Running Festival took over the streets surrounding the hotel, with a marathon, a half marathon, and a 5K run all taking place. The LEC attendees were in the home stretch though. 

Matt Paese started things off with his presentation, entitled Power and Perils of the Underdog. Karen Paul followed with research about HiPo failure and how to prevent it. LEC Co-Chair Allan Church discussed building a high-potential talent process with an eye toward succession. Another HIP talk session, this one dealing with accelerating HiPo talent and making the HiPo pipeline diverse, featured Julie Fuller, Daniela Calefato-Greenblatt and Darin Artman. John Scott took the program to the lunch hour with his discussion of the research agenda for high potential talent.

After lunch, sponsored by HumRRO, Ken Willner examined the legal issues surrounding high potential assessment. Last year’s LEC chair, Sandra Davis, then encouraged listeners to reconsider motivation. Bill Byham closed out the program, summarizing the 2-day event and inspiring the attendees to prioritize development needs and plans.

In addition to these events, there were several networking opportunities during the program, coffee breaks sponsored by DDI that encouraged interaction, and a new vendor space featuring many SIOP partners featuring their newest research and products.

Jack Wiley shared his wealth of knowledge during the networking opportunities, doing so here at the welcome reception with student volunteer Nidhi Ahir.

Bill Byham looked every bit the captain during the welcome reception on Thursday evening. His presentation closed the 2018 event.

SIOP Business Development Manager Susan Rogers thanks John Aymar and Howard Epstein of BTS for their support of the LEC.

Seymour Adler did double duty, presenting during a preconsortium workshop as well as the Friday session.

The HRM Impact award to PepsiCo is celebrated by SIOP Foundation Trustee John Scott, SIOP President Talya Bauer, SHRM Representative Mark Smith, PepsiCo Director of Global Talent Assessment James Scrivani, PepsiCo SVP Global Talent Assessment & Development and LEC Co-Chair Allen Church, PepsiCo Senior Manager and LEC Committee Member Rafi Prager, and PepsiCo Global Talent Assessment and Development Manager Brett Guidry.

John Scott was perhaps the busiest man at the LEC. In addition to being on the LEC committee, he headed a workshop, presented during the Saturday session, represented the SIOP Foundation at the HRMIA presentation, and represented APTMetrics at the networking reception.

Kirsten Mosier, representing LEC presenting partner Hogan, got Saturday’s program started by introducing Matt Paese.

UMBC student and SIOP volunteer Melinda Hodge kept the program on schedule by running the light box that let speakers know when their time was up.

Attendees mentioned the networking sessions as one of their favorite parts of the program.

When giving his presentation on the high-potential underdog, Matt Paese took us all back to our childhoods for a moment.

Chilly conditions didn’t deter Rob Patterson, Michelle Streich, and Stephanie Mooshegian from enjoying the food, drink, and festivities aboard the USS Constellation.

LEC Co-Chair Rob Silzer brought experience on not only the HiPo topic but also on the LEC itself, having been the practice chair for the 1st LEC in 2005.

BTS Representatives Sandra Hartog and John Aymar welcome attendees to the USS Constellation for the reception.

David Smith, José David, and Ben Porr share coffee and conversation in the vendor area.