Designing an Effective Emerging Leaders Program at OppFi with Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders

In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy’s guests are Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders. Erin is Mackenzie’s manager and is a senior manager of learning and development at OppFi. OppFi is a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help the everyday consumer gain access to credit. The company just recently went public.Mackenzie is a learning and development lead at OppFi. As a member of the Talent Development Think Tank community, Mackenzie made an impression on her fellow members, who recommended Andy interview her for the podcast.In this interview, you’ll hear:What it’s been like to work for a company that is transitioning from public to private and how that’s created opportunities for growth and development.Erin Killingsworth-Walker’s career background, how she landed at OppFi, and why she’s excited about working on the full life cycle of employees and creating innovative programs and experiences.What Mackenzie Saunders is currently focused on and how she got started at OppFi.Erin’s perspective on OppFi’s approach to talent development right now.Why Mackenzie thinks getting clear about expectations on the employee and leadership level helped people have clarity about what they’re supposed to deliver on.How you can cultivate a feedback culture in your organization and how that can help your employees guide their own careers.The reason OppFi developed an emerging leaders program called Leadership 101 based on foundational leadership skills and how it’s changing their workplace.Why Mackenzie saw a need for the Leadership 101 program and what led to her designing it for OppFi. How OppFi addresses the gaps needed in leadership development and Mackenzie’s advice for anyone starting a new leadership development program.Defining the gaps that can occur in leadership development and Erin’s method for beginning to fill in those gaps.The four main components of OppFi’s learning journey and what’s working well for them.The three areas they’re focusing on in 2022 on the learning journey at OppFi.Who their leadership opportunities are open to and how DEI is woven into everything they do at the organization.What practicing leadership skills can look like and Mackenzie’s role in helping employees practice those skills.How they measure results and impact and take that back to their leadership team for evaluation.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Erin Killingsworth-Walker:linkedin.com/in/erinkillingsworthwalkerConnect with Mackenzie Saunders:linkedin.com/in/mackenziesaundersMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/