The Four “A”s of Corporate Success

Institute Program Participant Testimonial “MLMS was something I didn’t even know or felt I needed but was a boost that gave me new perspective and energy.”

The Problem

Black corporate professionals are not making sufficient progress when it comes to advancing their careers.

Many qualified, competent, and high-performing Black professionals find their career advancement stalled. While they remain focused on consistently producing excellent work product, they see their non-Black colleagues pass them by on the road to the C-Suite. product, they see their non-Black colleagues pass them by on the road to the C-Suite.

Signs Your Career May Be Stalled

Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step towards resolving it. Do any of the following apply to your current work situation?

Visibility. Are you recognized for your contributions in meetings or on teams?

Sponsorship. Do you have an influential work college who is helping guide your career advancement?

Development Opportunities. Does your management recommend or support opportunities for you to build new skills?

Leadership Opportunities. Does your management provide you opportunities to lead high-profile and well-resourced projects/programs?

Promotion. Are you meeting or exceeding expectations, but not being promoted at the same rate as your colleagues?

Addressing the Career Advancement Challenge

While your reflex might be to work even harder to advance your career, we would like you to rent this idea: Hard work alone won’t take you to where you want to go; you need a proven work strategy to advance your career

At The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) we find Black corporate professionals who make progress towards the C-Suite practice a career advancement strategy rooted in the Four “A’s of corporate success: Ability, Attitude, Assignments, and Alliances.

The Solution

To make significant and consistent progress towards the C-Suite Black corporate professionals need the Four “A”s of Corporate Success: Ability, Attitude, Assignments and Alliances.

Ability

It goes without saying, but we will say it anyway: you have to be good at your job. And that doesn’t just mean being good at your job when you are hired or promoted. You need to stay sharp through training, continuous learning, fine tuning your skills. As important as being good at your job, you need to have a reputation among your colleagues for being good at your job.

Attitude

When we say attitude, we are not talking about your mood at work – we are referring to mindset and reputation.

• Growth Mindset. Coined by Carol Dweck, growth mindset refers to the belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, dedication, and learning. If you are practicing a growth mindset, then you will embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities for your growth and improvement

• Reputation. No one advances alone; peers, direct reports, and supervisors must feel like they can work with you. In most cases, that means you need to have a reputation among your colleagues as being pleasant to work with because you listen, remain focused on mutual goals, and create a culture of mutual respect.

Assignments

It goes without saying, but we will say it anyway: you have to be good at your job. And that doesn’t just mean being good at your job when you are hired or promoted. You need to stay sharp through training, continuous learning, fine tuning your skills. As important as being good at your job, you need to have a reputation among your colleagues for being good at your job.

Alliances

Lastly, there are two types of alliances that will help foster your growth, development, and progress towards C-Suite advancement.

• Internal Alliances: This is your network inside your current organization. It is not in your long-term career interest to be a “lone wolf.” Instead you need people up, down, and across your corporate ladder on whom you can call for information and support.

• External Alliances: This is your network outside of your current organization. You need this network to stay informed about what is going on in your field. Additionally, you will go to your external network when you need advice on or answers to organizational challenges.

The Four “A”s of Corporate Success

Presenters

Le’Angela Ingram Principal, The Ingram Consulting Group

Le’Angela Ingram brings over two decades of experience in a variety of private, public, and academic organizations in the areas of Change Management, Staff Training and Leadership Development, Organization Development, Human Resource Assessment, Workforce Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility. Her work efforts focus on improved organization effectiveness, staff skills and employee commitment, and increased employee sensitivity to individual and cultural differences; reduction in cycle time and cost; and increased effectiveness and efficiency of workflow. As a trainer and organization development consultant, Ms. Ingram conducts change management design and interventions for corporations nationally and internationally providing leadership training, executive coaching, and process consulting. She designs, develops, and launches customized seminars and conferences in emotional intelligence, diversity, leadership skills, change management, and team building yielding high ratings in content and quality spanning three continents.

Ms. Ingram earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing from Howard University. She also holds a Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Science (Organization and Human Resource Development) from The Johns Hopkins University, where she also completed Fellowships in Change Management and Women, Leadership and Change and holds 3 coaching certificates. She is currently completing a Doctorate degree in Leadership and Organizational Learning, Vanderbilt University, Candidate 2023. She is certified in MBTI, EQI 360, Transition Management.

She is the proud mother of two Joshua and Dannielle and affectionately known as “Nina” to three grandchildren, Kayla, Alex, and Brianna. When not working Le’Angela can be found exploring lovely blue water beaches, reading and investing time with family and friends.

Dr. Peter James Co-Founder, Power Moments, LLC

Peter A. James is an executive coach and facilitator who focuses on helping leaders and businesses transform from average to high-performing. He offers more than two decades of leadership-laden experience stretching from his service within the U.S. Army to his role as the Chair of a Business School within a major university and then as an entrepreneur. If you are looking to get to your next level and are ready to be challenged, then it might be time for a powerful conversation with Dr. James. Peter possesses a PhD, an MBA, and holds a PCC credential as an executive coach. He is also certified as a DiSC assessor, and an EQ-i & EQ-360 assessor.

About The Executive Leadership Council (ELC)

The ELC is a national 501(c)(3) organization of more than 800 members who are current and former Black CEOs; senior executives at Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies; as well as entrepreneurs at top-tier firms and global thought leaders. Established in 1986, The ELC has worked to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline. We empower Black corporate leaders to make significant and impactful contributions in the global marketplace and their communities.

The ELC Supports: Individuals

• Seeking professional development opportunities where they can bring their full selves; where the Black corporate experience is central and essential to the curriculum

• Looking to expand their network of of like-minded Black corporate professionals

Companies

• Seeking a strategic partner to help them recruit, develop, promote, or retain their Black talent

• Looking for engaging and impactful leadership development programs (virtual, in-person, off-the-shelf or bespoke) for their Black talent

ELC Department Highlights

The ELC’s Philanthropy Department provides multi-year scholarships and professional development to Black undergraduate and graduate students

The ELC’s Institute for Leadership Development and Research provides virtual, in-person, off-the-self and bespoke professional development for Black corporate professionals from early career to senior executives.

Learn more about The Executive Leadership Council at elcinfo.com

“ELC Institute Program Participant Testimonial

“I appreciate the upfront work and passion for everyone involved to make us better leaders and to show us what is possible if applied. The CEO fireside chats were very valuable. The networking experience was very valuable. The environment to allow us to be authentic was valuable. Overall, I am better as a result of this experience.”

— C-Suite Academy 2022 Participant

SAVE THE DATE

The Four “A”s of Corporate Success 2023 ELC Programming

Leadership Development Week VIRTUAL | February 21-23

DECODED VIRTUAL | March 7-9

Winter Member Meeting Manalapan, FL | March 8-10

Palm Beach Resort & Spa 100 S Ocean Blvd | Manalapan, FL 33462

Power of Women at Work VIRTUAL | APRIL 4

Black Men in Leadership

| MAY 16

Summer Member Meeting Location: TBD | June 7-9

Board Readiness Program (at Summer Member Meeting)

Leadership Development Week New Orleans, LA | June 26-29

ELC Women's Gathering at Essence New Orleans, LA | DATE: TBD - prior to Essence Festival

C-Suite Academy Atlanta, GA | July 24-26

DECODED VIRTUAL | August 8-10

Navigating Racism as Leaders VIRTUAL | August 8-10

Crucial Conversations VIRTUAL | August 8-10

ELC Member Brunch at The Vineyard

2022 ELC Institute Corporate Partners and Sponsors

3M

AARP

Accenture

Advance Auto

Alix Partners

Altria

Amazon

American Express

Assurant

AT&T

Apple

Avanade Inc

BP

Bank of America

Baring

BASF

Beam Suntory

BNY Mellon

Boeing

Bristol Myers Squibb

Capital One

Catalent

Chevron

Choice Hotels

Cisco

Citi

Coca Cola

Con Edison

Comcast

Cowen & Company

Cox/NBCUniversal

CVS Health/Aetna

Cystic Fibrosis

Cushman Wakefield

Darden

Delek Logistics

Ecolab

Estee Lauder Companies

Exxon Mobile

Facebook/Meta

Federal Express

Fidelity

GDIT

General Mills

General Motors

Genpact

Google

Grainger

Hershey

Hewlett Packard

Hilton

Home Depot

Honeywell

HSBC

Hyatt Hotels

IBM

IBX

Independence Blue

Cross

Ingevity

JLL

Johnson & Johnson

JP Morgan Chase

Kyndryl

Liberty Mutual

Linde

Lockheed Martin

Lowes

McDonald’s

McKesson

Medtronic

Metadata Solutions

Merck

Microsoft

Moody’s

NASDAQ

Nationwide

NBA

Nike

Novartis

Northwestern Mutual

Oracle

Otis

Otsuka

Owens & Minor

Pearson

PepsiCo Foundation

Pfizer

PineBridge Investments

PwC

Qurate Retail Group

Raytheon

Salesforce

Schwab

Service Now

Shell

Sodexo

Starbucks

Stanley Black & Decker

Synchrony

Sysco

Target

Trane Technology

UBS

Under Armour

UPS

USAA

US Foods

VM Ware

Walmart

WestRock

Whirlpool

Zendesk

Connect with The ELC

The Executive Leadership Council is an independent non-profit founded in 1986 that opens channels of opportunity for the development of Black executives to positively impact business and our communities.

If you are interested in…

…then contact Leadership Development Programs

Supporting scholarships for undergraduate or graduate students

Having your company develop a strategic partnership with The ELC

Having your company become a sponsor for an ELC program/initiative

Highlighting a successful DEI initiative at your company

Purchasing tables at The ELC Annual Recognition

Gala

ELC Institute at Institute@elcinfo.com

ELC Philanthropy at Philanthropy@elcinfo.com

Lori Walker at lwalker@elcinfo.com

Ebony Harris at eharris@elcinfo.com

ELC Research at Institute@elcinfo.com

Ebony Harris at eharris@elcinfo.com

ELC Institute Program Participant Testimonial

“Every single speaker was PHENOMENAL. There was also a general feeling of security. I felt safe to speak my truth. I felt cared for and I felt cared about.”

— LDW 2022: Navigating the Corporate Landscape Participant