GEARS program graduates inaugural cohort

Organizers behind a new leadership program targeting the local manufacturing industry say the initiative will be back for a second cohort in 2027.

A total of 25 employees representing 15 businesses made up the first cohort of GEARS, a program organized by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Springfield. An informal graduation for the participants was held June 26 at a Springfield Cardinals game to provide them certificates in recognition of completing the program. Its name is an acronym for growth, education, action, relationship and success.

GEARS allows participants to sharpen leadership skills, expand their network and gain insights from industry peers through activities such as workshops, panel discussions and guest speakers, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The inaugural edition of the program consisted of six 90-minute sessions beginning in January that were hosted at multiple local manufacturing facilities.

Ben Vickers, business development manager with the Springfield chamber, said the first-year program exceeded his expectations, both in participation numbers and engagement.

“Nobody else does this, and we were really scratching our heads as to how this would turn out,” he said. “As far as the quality of the programming, the participation from the participants was just so much more than we would’ve expected. The engagement level from them was off the charts.”

Session reflections
All sessions tie into the program’s acronym, said Carrie Richardson, Leadership Springfield executive director. One session focused on foundations of leadership, while others covered topics including operational excellence, problem solving, industry advocacy, strategic communication and defining success within leadership.

Richardson said GEARS fit similarly into the organization’s other programs as a cohort-based model that includes small group work and facilitated discussions. She said Leadership Springfield did participant surveys both during and post-program.

“It’s built a strong sense of connection and belonging within the manufacturing community,” she said of survey results. “So, what that means is we have individuals working at manufacturing companies that now know each other and have connections, which was absolutely a goal.”

Additionally, tours of the facilities hosting the sessions, such as Holloway America, CNH Reman and the Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing on the campus of Ozarks Technical Community College, were included in the program. That addition was based on feedback from participants, Richardson said.

“A Leadership Springfield model is to assess what’s going on and then being able to enhance or modify what we’re doing so that we don’t have to wait until we get to the end to make the experience stronger,” she said.

Richardson said differences in generations of employees and how to communicate and work through conflict with them were frequently discussed during the sessions and survey feedback.

“These participants had questions of our speakers and our panelists. They connected with each other in small groups,” she said. “In fact, some of their feedback was that they wanted more time in those small groups and more time to connect with each other, which was a huge win for us. At the beginning session, we were concerned that this particular cohort, that might be a challenge to really make sure that networking was a factor, but it became something that they valued strongly.”

Vickers said the main feedback he received from employers and employees was a desire for additional session time beyond the 90 minutes.

“The participants want to be there longer and ... the employers are seeing enough of a difference that they want their employees to be there longer,” he said. “They want them to have more experiences like this.”

Employers are noting tangible differences in the GEARS participants’ engagement at work, Vickers said, adding they are implementing some of the concepts, such as problem solving, discussed in the program.

Christina Angle, president and chief financial officer of Erlen Group, said her company had six participants in the program.

“The feedback from the team has been overwhelmingly positive, especially with respect to the value of networking with others in the manufacturing industry,” she said via email. “For a long time, we have overlooked this group of young professionals in Springfield, despite also having a heavy concentration in manufacturing workforce.”

Angle, who also participated in a panel discussion at the first session, said Leadership Springfield has always had a reputation for designing thoughtful and meaningful courses for leaders in the region. That also applied to GEARS, she said, adding the organizers skillfully adapted content for this cohort.

“I’m really excited about the impact this program can have now that these leaders, who already have large teams reporting to them, have increased access to networking and leadership training,” she said.

Program plans
The cost for GEARS is $1,250 for chamber members and $1,650 for nonmembers, according to past SBJ reporting. Vickers said those costs will be maintained for the second cohort, which is currently planned to begin in January 2027. Enrollment provides participants with tickets to select chamber events and networking opportunities, lunches during each monthly session and membership in The Network.

Employers will have between mid-August through the end of October to secure spots for the next cohort, he said.

Several companies provided undisclosed financial commitments for the program, according to past reporting. Those included Amprod LLC, Erlen Group, Gold Mechanical Inc., Holloway America, L&W Industries LLC, Missouri Association of Manufacturers, Positronic Industries Inc., SMC Packaging Group and SRC Holdings Corp. Angle confirmed her company plans to reinvest in the program for next year.

“We’re also working on a video, as much informational as promotional,” Vickers said of the chamber. “We’re not making it to sell more spots, but just about what the program is.”

Vickers said he’s happy with the 25-person cap set for the first cohort as the size for the next one.

“I hope that it becomes big enough that we do two cohorts in a year,” he said. “So, I definitely want to keep growing this model.”