Engineering Inc. magazine
After the Loss of a Dynamic Leader, the Member Organization Looked to its Emerging Leaders Committee to Help it Retool and Reprioritize
It can be tough for an organization to adjust and prosper when a long-term leader retires. But ACEC of Connecticut (ACEC-CT) has found its footing by tapping its deep well of talent.
In 2016, the Member Organization’s executive director retired after 28 years in the position. “We volunteer members had to keep the lights on and do everything to run the organization. We were struggling to retool,” says Rob Yirigian, now ACEC-CT’s national director.
Those remaining on the Board of Directors recognized that ACEC-CT had been operating as an extension of its former executive director. They decided they needed to reprioritize the Member Organization’s focus and looked to those on the Emerging Leaders Committee for help. “We leaned on them to run the organization,” Yirigian says. “We threw them into the deep end of the pool, and it couldn’t have worked out better.”
A NEW GENERATION STEPS IN
The Emerging Leaders Committee attracts member firms’ employees who are on the leadership track. “It’s a way to get them involved in committees so they can grow in their company and ACEC-CT, and help grow the profession at large,” explains Tricia Dinneen Priebe, co-executive director of ACEC-CT. The group meets monthly, hosts social events and speakers, and has representatives who attend board meetings.
When the Emerging Leaders Committee was initiated in late 2016, Steven Drechsler, now ACEC-CT’s president, was chosen to chair the program along with Jake Argiro. There were about 10 to 15 initial members. They started by identifying gaps and concerns they saw in the organization.
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