At Walmart, a promising young
executive might attend the Walton Institute to learn about the company’s culture and beliefs, and then the Leadership Academy for higher-level executive training. “That’s where we’re trying to iden-
tify the really top performers, the people we believe have a lot of growth poten- tial,” Hammonds said.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH First, though, every new hire goes
through a standard 90-day onboard- ing process, where new transportation management employees rotate through each division of the department, getting hands-on experience with each facet and learning how all the pieces fit together. As more and more young profes-
sionals come into the trucking industry straight from college programs rather than through being raised in a fam- ily business, that kind of thorough onboarding process is especially valu- able to make sure they learn all aspects
of the industry from the ground up. “The leaders today are folks that
started at the ground level where the rubber meets the road, literally, and worked their way up through the ranks,” said Jason Wing, senior manag- er of safety, compliance, and training at ABF and chair of the Arkansas Trucking Association’s 40 Under 40 Council. “Today, they’re coming out of college right into management roles. Some companies do a good job making those people experience what happens when
the rubber meets the road, and others need to do more.” These young managers are extreme-
ly smart and bring badly needed skills to the trucking industry, Wing said, but they are much more effective if they also have a full understanding of what goes on at the street level. When Wing first hired on at ABF
after college, he spent time at a truck- load carrier as part of his training in the safety department, and even went through truck driving school. In his
“FOR PEOPLE IN MY GENERATION TO PROPERLY BE PREPARED FOR LEADERSHIP, IT’S ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT – BOTH INSIDE YOUR COMPANY AND
OUT. IF YOU’RE NOT ENGAGED IN WHAT’S GOING ON, YOU CAN’T BE AN EFFECTIVE LEADER.”
—JASON WING, SENIOR MANAGER OF SAFETY, COMPLIANCE, AND TRAINING AT ABF FREIGHT
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ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 1 2015
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