How to Build a Leadership Pipeline
The Promise of Leadership Academies to Grow and Mentor Potential Leaders
Summary
There are a ton of leadership books. There are even more leadership practices, theories, and frameworks. Leadership is an imperfect, and somewhat rare, art; I value the tried and true: people with strong vision and beliefs, people who are decent and open, people who practice learning, people who can build and sustain coalitions, and people who are consistent and decisive.
I’ve come across a handful of great leaders in my career and most of them weren’t the person at the top of the organization. They were somewhere in the middle. They were the ones who knew how to effectively develop and run a reliable department. They were hardworking connectors who get things done across boundaries while trudging meaningfully toward the future.
This article addresses how associations can create a leadership academy. It doesn't necessarily need to be called this, but it should be a formal program leading to a pathway of hard skills, soft skills, and peer learning. Though it can be used to prepare volunteers for board service, my real intention is to help associations train their members how to build leader academies for their members. In this way, depending on the focus, we can create a leadership academy for basketball coaches, apple growers, supply professionals, or librarians.
I lead the product community, a product development learning community designed specifically for associations. Let’s compare ideas and build something great.
Why Leadership is Important
“[T]he greatest predictor of success for leaders is not their charisma, influence, or power. It is not personality, attractiveness, or innovative genius. The one thing that supersedes all these factors is positive relational energy: the energy exchanged between people that helps uplift, enthuse, and renew them.”
Emma Seppälä and Kim Cameron
Leadership is tapping instincts, managing complexity, communicating with decorum and directness, and setting and building teams to achieve a vision.
All professions and all industries need a steady stream of future leaders. One of achieving this is to develop and offer a leadership academy. For associations, it is a ‘kill many birds with one stone’ effort. How?
It helps association members enhance and sharpen their leadership skills
It helps prepare members for an unknown future.
It helps associations create a robust leadership pipeline.
It helps associations invest in, and align, their member learner journeys.
It helps member get to know, and learn from, each other
It helps the association create a robust new revenue line.
It’s fairly easy to develop and manage.
Yes, there are many other definitions of great leadership so I won’t focus on being comprehensive. My real purpose is to describe how an association can design, develop, and execute a leadership academy for their members. A leadership academy is one way of growing a pipeline of leaders in a particular field or industry. Creating a leadership pipeline is crucial for association success and member development.
An association's leadership pipeline cultivates the next generation of industry leaders who will shape our field's future. By identifying and developing emerging talent within our membership, we create pathways for professional growth while ensuring our association remains vibrant and forward-thinking.
A robust leadership pipeline transforms members from participants to stakeholders, giving them opportunities to contribute their unique perspectives and expertise. This progression to industry thought leader benefits both the individual and an entire professional community.
Leadership development provides members with skills that transcend our organization—they become more effective advocates, innovators, and decision-makers within their own organizations and throughout their field. This creates a ripple effect of excellence that elevates an entire industry.
By investing in our members' leadership journey, we strengthen our relevance, increase engagement, and fulfill our mission of advancing professional standards. The leadership capabilities we nurture today will drive innovation and excellence in our field tomorrow.
A Model Leadership Academy
“When you lead, your real job is to create more leaders, not more followers.”
Kevin Kelly
The Forestry Leadership Academy is a premier year-long development program designed to identify and cultivate the next generation of forestry industry leaders. Through a structured blend of online collaboration, immersive retreats, and applied learning projects, participants develop essential leadership competencies while building a lasting professional network.
This competency-based cohort combines formal instruction from industry experts, peer mentoring, and real-world problem-solving to address critical challenges facing forestry today—from sustainable resource management and ethical decision-making to strategic foresight and stakeholder engagement.
Participants meet virtually three times monthly for intensive skill-building sessions, supplemented by two weekend retreats and a transformative week-long summer immersion experience in forest environments. Throughout the program, professionals work on applied leadership projects that deliver tangible value to sponsoring organizations while demonstrating their growing capabilities.
The Academy not only prepares participants to advance their careers but also strengthens the forestry profession by creating a pipeline of leaders equipped to navigate complex environmental, social, and economic challenges. Graduates emerge with enhanced leadership skills, a powerful professional network, and the confidence to drive innovation and excellence in forestry management and policy.
Here's a comprehensive, 12-month curriculum for a forestry leadership academy that balances core leadership competencies with industry-specific challenges:
Program Structure
Online Sessions: Three 2-hour Zoom meetings monthly
In-Person Intensives: Two weekend retreats (Spring/Fall) + One week-long summer immersion
Learning Components: Formal instruction, peer mentoring, applied projects, field experiences
Month-by-Month Curriculum
Month 1: Foundations & Self-Leadership
Session 1: Program orientation and cohort building
Session 2: Personal leadership assessment and forestry career pathing
Session 3: The forestry profession's current landscape and future challenges
Assignment: Complete leadership strengths assessment; draft personal development plan
Month 2: Communication & Vision
Session 1: Effective communication for forestry professionals
Session 2: Creating and articulating a shared vision for sustainable forestry
Session 3: Storytelling as a leadership tool in environmental fields
Assignment: Prepare a vision statement for a forestry initiative
Month 3: Ethical Leadership in Natural Resources
Session 1: Ethical frameworks for decision-making
Session 2: Case studies in forestry ethics (land use conflicts, indigenous rights)
Session 3: Environmental justice and leadership responsibility
Assignment: Analyze an ethical dilemma from your workplace
Month 4: Building & Leading Teams
Session 1: Team dynamics in field-based operations
Session 2: Managing diverse perspectives and backgrounds
Session 3: Remote team leadership (critical for dispersed forestry operations)
Project Launch: Form project teams for year-long applied leadership project
SPRING RETREAT (3-day weekend)
Field leadership exercises in forest environments
Facilitated discussions with senior forestry leaders
Team-building activities and outdoor challenge course
Project plan presentations and feedback sessions
Month 5: Conflict Resolution & Negotiation
Session 1: Understanding conflict sources in resource management
Session 2: Negotiation strategies for stakeholder engagement
Session 3: Practical conflict resolution scenarios
Assignment: Role-play exercise addressing common forestry conflicts
Month 6: Financial Leadership & Resource Management
Session 1: Budgeting fundamentals for forestry operations
Session 2: Grant writing and funding opportunities
Session 3: Financial decision-making and resource allocation
Assignment: Develop a mock budget for a forestry project
Month 7: Strategic Planning & Innovation
Session 1: Strategic planning processes and tools
Session 2: Innovation and adaptation in forestry practices
Session 3: Technology adoption and digital transformation
Project Checkpoint: Mid-year project assessment and peer feedback
SUMMER RETREAT (Week-long immersion)
Intensive leadership workshops with industry experts
Field visits to exemplary forestry operations
Focused project work time with mentors
Networking events with industry leaders and potential sponsors
Month 8: Policy & Advocacy
Session 1: Understanding the policy landscape affecting forestry
Session 2: Advocacy skills and influence strategies
Session 3: Building coalitions and partnerships
Assignment: Develop a position paper on a current forestry policy issue
Month 9: Change Management & Resilience
Session 1: Leading through industry transitions
Session 2: Building personal and organizational resilience
Session 3: Managing resistance to change in traditional industries
Assignment: Develop a change management plan for a forestry initiative
Month 10: Board Relations & Governance
Session 1: Governance structures in forestry organizations
Session 2: Effective board engagement and management
Session 3: Preparing for board leadership roles
Assignment: Simulate a board presentation on a strategic forestry issue
FALL RETREAT (3-day weekend)
Leadership reflection and growth assessment
Advanced skills workshops based on cohort needs
Project refinement with industry mentors
Career advancement planning sessions
Month 11: Community Engagement & Public Relations
Session 1: Stakeholder identification and analysis
Session 2: Public communication strategies for forestry leaders
Session 3: Building community support for forestry initiatives
Project Preparation: Final project refinement
Month 12: Leadership Legacy & Graduation
Session 1: Measuring leadership impact in forestry
Session 2: Creating your leadership legacy
Session 3: Final project presentations to industry leaders
Graduation Ceremony: Celebration with sponsors, mentors, and association leadership
Applied Learning Project
Throughout the year, participants work in small teams on real-world forestry leadership challenges provided by sponsoring organizations. These projects serve as the practical application of learned skills and culminate in presentations to industry leaders.
Evaluation Components
Leadership competency assessments (pre/mid/post)
Peer and mentor feedback
Project outcomes and presentations
Participation and engagement metrics
Personal development plan achievements
Post-Academy Engagement
Alumni network with quarterly virtual meetups
Mentoring opportunities for future cohorts
Feature articles in association publications
Speaking opportunities at industry events
Leadership is Practice
“Feedback is a gift, not an attack. The best leaders proactively seek out criticism — both of themselves, and their products — knowing it’s key to staying grounded in reality. They don’t just tolerate dissent; they mine it for insights to fuel their learning. By stress testing their vision against opposing views, they identify potential pitfalls early — while they still have time to adapt.”
Avi Siegel
Leadership is always in short supply. This is more true everyday. When people are losing trust in our institutions and our political and corporate leaders lack the courage of conviction, it is time to act boldly by creating and sustaining cohorts of next generation leaders.
Leaders aren’t lone wolf geniuses who direct underlings. They are people with instinct and conviction who know how to create coalitions of the willing. These coalitions desire strong leaders. They simultaneously want clear direction and the freedom to act with agency to collaborate, shape, and solve tough problems.
There are many forms of leadership and leadership training. Our job is to create and grow a pipeline of emerging leaders to lead our association’s industry. A great way to do this is to create a leadership academy, which can help position your members for navigating an increasingly complex world.
I lead the product community; we are a learning community because we believe great relationships help us create the value our members want. Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny.
About the Author
James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning. Please contact me for a conversation: james@productcommunity.us