Leadership Program Offers a Boost to Professional Growth
A group of talented professionals with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds graduated from the CPAC-TD Leadership Development Program (LDP) and were awarded with certificates of completion at the graduation ceremony held at CPAC Conference Hall.
The CPAC Leadership Program, supported in part by TD Canada Trust, was developed to address the need of professionals for continuing advancement before and after transitioning into management roles. “Canada is a country of immigrants. Immigrant professionals have done well with their career in Canada and made great contribution to the Canadian society. However, I believe immigrants are still under-represented in many areas of leadership positions in our society,” said Eric Xiao, President of CPAC. “The CPAC LDP is the first of its kind in the immigrant community. We are proud to be able to assist immigrant professionals to further their leadership skills,” added Mr. Xiao.
Contributing to the success of the program is the lineup of high-profile instructors who are senior consultants, executive advisors and university professors from well-known consulting/training firms and educational institutions. They have brought to the program a wealth of experience, knowledge and industry insights for program participants to draw on in managing their teams with confidence and efficiency.
Dan Ju, a new graduate, shared her experience of the program at the graduation. “I started using positive comments with my staff more often about three weeks ago. I put my comments in writing as quick feedback and send them out. From those who responded to my messages, I can tell they are happy and motivated,” said Ms. Ju with excitement. “I’ve also noticed that whenever I ask for help with work, they tend to say yes sooner with little pushback or hesitation. More importantly, the work quality is better than before!” she continued.
Another graduate, Stephen Chan, told a similar story. “Dealing with people has been my weakness but after the five weeks of intensive training, I feel I have gained a lot of confidence. This program has opened up my mind and brought me onto a journey to explore and continue to gain knowledge and skills in order to become a better leader,” said Chan.
Mentoring is a value-added component of the program, in addition to classroom training. Now the graduates will be matched with mentors from a wide range of industries and sectors, including engineering, accounting, finance, IT, Marketing, entrepreneur and government, etc. They are CEOs, Senior VPs, or Directors who have years of senior management and professional experience, as well as valuable insights into their respective industries that they will share.
The uniqueness of the CPAC-TD LDP lies in its three-component structure: in-class training, mentoring and the leadership club, which serves as an all-round, continuing learning, networking and growing platform for established professionals to advance their careers and become leaders in Canada.
“We are proud to support CPAC leadership program,” said Ms. Rachael Wong, District Vice President of TD Canada Trust. “And we are proud of the accomplishments of CPAC and congratulate the program graduates on their success. This program helps professionals develop skills necessary to excel in the workplace, and allows them to achieve their personal and professional goals,” continued Ms. Wong.
