Policy issues critical to the baking industry took center stage at the ABA Convention in Orlando, Fl., on Monday, as speakers pointed to a quickly changing landscape. The day’s sessions also spotlighted the topics of leadership effectiveness and community service.
Identifying Actionable Strategies for Leadership Success
Outstanding leadership is about inspiring teams, driving innovation and creating a culture where people can thrive, according to speaker Simon T. Bailey, who presented at the Convention’s ATBI Leadership Session.
Bailey has worked with a wide range of organizations over more than two decades to accelerate leadership effectiveness. He draws on these experiences, including his tenure as Sales Director at the Disney Institute.
Among key points he made:
• People want to work for leaders who inspire their brilliance and challenge them to become better.
• Leaders can spark excellence by improving the employee experience, realizing they create a lasting impact, committing to coaching and genuinely appreciating everyone.
• Employees want to understand their future career paths. In the baking industry, a dough mixer or line operator might wonder about their career growth, Bailey said. Similarly, a packaging associate may have questions about the path to being a team lead or production supervisor.
• Employees on paths to leadership roles need to explore where they’ve been in their careers but especially where they are headed.
Spotlighting Community Service as Bakers Give Back
The ABA Convention continued its tradition of community service through the “Bakers Give Back” volunteer opportunity and luncheon program. Attendees assembled men’s and women’s toiletry kits for Fisher House Orlando, which helps serve military and veteran families, and created baking kits for A Gift for Teaching, a nonprofit dedicated to providing local students with hands-on classroom learning experiences.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to come together as an industry and make a real impact on the Orlando community,” said ABA Chair Bill Quigg, President and CEO of Richmond Baking, in remarks to attendees.
Audrey St Onge, president and GM of Lallemand Baking, which was the platinum sponsor of this program, said the Bakers Give Back event has been growing in attendance and engagement. St Onge said its focus lines up with the community service mission of her company and the baking industry overall. She was joined at the event by Lallemand colleagues Shamla Moodley, Marketing Manager, and Jim Griffin, Vice President of Sales and Logistics. Lallemand also sponsored a pre-convention community service outing to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida that drew an engaged group of ABA Convention attendees.
