THE NALPEXPERIENCE
Elevate Your Leaders with NALP’s Executive Leadership Program
By Jill Odom
IF YOU ARE A LIFELONG LEARNER OR HAVE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR leadership team who you’re looking to elevate, consider sending them to the NALP Executive Leadership Program in partnership with UVA Darden School of Business.
This three-day intensive program is
designed to help landscape professionals enhance their strategic and leadership skills and gain actionable insights in core leadership, negotiation, conflict resolution, and financial management. Participants are challenged via the Socratic method to dive into their true motivations. “This is not a sector that lets people just get away with fluff,” says Sean Martin, Donald and Lauren Morel Associate Professor of Business Administration at UVA Darden School of Business. “It’s one of the things I really deeply love about it, and that’s something that Darden really leans into. We’re not here to talk about the fluff. We’re going to dismiss that real quick, and if you didn’t come to play, this is not a great sandbox for you.”
Spots are limited!
Next year’s
program will take place Jan. 12-15, 2026.
WHY ATTEND Martin explains that the program provides attendees a place to test their ideas and discuss with peers why something may or may not work versus implementing decisions that can seriously impact your company. “It creates this really great sandbox and
safe space for us to talk about and develop real leadership skills and abilities, but in an area where the costs actually are objective- ly less than trying to learn on the job in the company,” Martin says. “There’s a tremen- dous value proposition.” Skyler Westergard, learning and devel-
opment manager with LandCare, says he wanted to attend this event to improve his understanding of leadership and business. “I think that anytime a leader at any
level in our organization can improve their ability to lead people I think it benefits a lot of individuals,” Westergard says. “I think anytime a person in that position or who wants to be in that position can improve their leadership abilities, that’s really im- pactful on many people’s lives.” Zac Chaffin, CFO of EarthWorks, Inc., based in Lillian, Texas, says he also wanted to build up his leadership skills but also participated so he could bring back take- aways to make his teams more effective. “One of the things that I did really
like about the program is that it wasn’t necessarily landscape driven,” Chaffin says. “The things and the skills that we picked up in that class can translate to anywhere and everywhere. So, there’s the immediate need of building my skills as a leader, but then there’s also this personal aspect of building my own skills for whatever may come down the road.” Andrew Keppel, market vice president with LandCare, says he immediately said yes to the opportunity, as there’s always space to learn and grow.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND The Executive Leadership Program can be beneficial for both industry veterans and rising stars in your organization.
“For rising stars, it’s an opportunity to
learn really great mechanics of being an effective leader,” Martin says. “And for people who’ve been around for a while, it’s learning here’s how to get better, even when there’s a defender in your face, or in other words, when things are really high pressure or when things are coming down to the wire, or when you’re struggling.” Martin notes that this year’s cohort was a mix of people at different areas and levels of the business, which provided unique perspectives. “Just because you’ve reached the top
of whatever hierarchy you’re in does not mean your learning journey is over,” Martin says. “I thought there was a really cool role modeling thing there too, to see people who’ve had more experience, been in the industry longer, and might be higher up in more powerful positions, who are still will- ing to say, ‘I don’t know everything, and I’m here to learn.’ I think that level of humility is a very healthy thing for all of us.”
MAXIMIZING YOUR EXPERIENCE Attendees are encouraged to take the prep work seriously for this program as it will enable them to have richer discussions during the sessions. They should also be ready to self-evaluate and be open about their experiences.
“I think especially on the executive level,
you gotten yourself to a certain point because you made the right decisions,” Chaffin says. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean your decision is the best way or the only way. Hear other people out, and maybe somebody can help you reinvent the wheel that you thought didn’t need to be reinvented again.” Martin recommends that those who
plan to attend should not only come prepared but also be ready to share what they learned when they return to their organization. “If you really want to cement knowledge
in your mind, explain it to somebody else,” Martin says. “Don’t just learn it for yourself in the moment. When you have to go and explain to somebody what it is you learned, you find out exactly how much you retained.” TE
14 The Edge //March/April 2025
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