ATLANTA, Jan. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- More than 100 business women from the southeast gathered at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter in January for the launch of the 19th class of the Pathbuilders Percepta® program. Pathbuilders, an organization that specializes in cross-company mentoring programs, company-specific programming, and gender diversity consulting, has been a trusted resource for Atlanta-area organizations to develop their female talent since 1995.
Mentoring is the core of Pathbuilders' unique approach to developing female talent. Percepta is one of Pathbuilders' four unique mentoring programs that combines a group mentoring model with interactive developmental workshops and peer networking. Percepta matches women to one or two peers who have similar developmental needs and are facing similar challenges. After a mentee group is matched, Pathbuilders then finds the mentor best suited to help the mentee group achieve its developmental goals. Percepta mentors range from senior managers to vice presidents with diverse professional backgrounds and experiences.
At the January half-day kick-off, the cohort of 100-plus women gathered to meet and learn more about their mentoring groups. The kick-off covered areas which laid the groundwork for the mentoring partnerships, including the unique mentee and mentor roles that exist in a formal mentoring partnership, how to set goals for their own development, and how to agree upon a common set of expectations for their partnership.
For the Spring 2019 class, 27 organizations from an array of industries sponsored women with proven track records of professional success to take their careers to the next level in the Percepta program. Women who are selected to participate in the program are emerging leaders learning to think broadly, manage others, and make conscious choices.
"The kick-off session touched on so many topics we'll cover in the next six months, topics we're confronted with as leaders and women in business. Percepta is a powerful resource that I'm looking forward to leveraging. I already feel challenged and encouraged by my mentoring group, and I'm excited for us to support one another as partners," said Kristen Ream, field sourcing manager at Veritiv Corporation.
Over the course of the six-month program, Percepta mentees learn to deliver results in complex work environments. The participants discuss topics such as managing their personal brands, giving and receiving feedback, managing results, and understanding corporate culture from subject matter experts with an average of 25 years of experience in organizations such as Assurant, The Coca-Cola Company, and Comcast, to name a few.
Many of the women who volunteer to serve as mentors are graduates of Pathbuilders' Achieva® program, a year-long one-on-one mentoring program that positions mid-level female leaders for senior leadership responsibilities in their organizations. These women value the mentoring experience and want to give back to those who are following behind them.
"I am incredibly excited to serve as a mentor this year," shared Dianna Suggs, senior director of program management at Cox Communications, Inc. "The high energy kick-off and the skillful mentee-mentor matching sets us all up for a rich experience. As a repeat mentor, I am continuously amazed at the talent in the mentoring groups, the expertise of the guest speakers, and the content which supports the mentoring during and between the sessions."
For nearly 15 years, mentees and mentors from companies such as Turner Broadcasting System, Cox Communications, Mercedes-Benz USA, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, The Coca-Cola Company, Gas South, and The Home Depot have shared professional successes through the Percepta program. These and other organizations of all sizes continue to send their top female talent through the Pathbuilders programs year after year.
"We continue to be inspired by the commitment so many organizations are making to developing their high-performing women," stated Helene Lollis, president and chief executive officer of Pathbuilders. "These organizations clearly understand the overwhelmingly positive benefits of gender diverse leadership, and by investing in their high-performing women, they are taking the necessary steps to achieve it."
Pathbuilders is delighted to partner with these organizations to develop their female talent in the Spring 2019 Percepta class:
ADP, LLC
Atrium Hospitality
Avanos Medical
Colonial Pipeline Company
Comcast Corporation
Cox Automotive, Inc.
Cox Communications, Inc.
Cricket Wireless
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Equifax, Inc.
Fallon Benefits Group
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
FISERV INC.
Genuine Parts Company
Global Payments, Inc.
HD Supply
Imerys
Novelis, Inc.
PowerPlan, Inc.
Printpack, Inc.
RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc.
Scientific Games
Slalom, LLC
Solvay Specialty Polymers, LLC
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Kroger Company
Veritiv Corporation
Additional information about Percepta and the other mentoring programs offered by Pathbuilders for the four career stages may be found at http://www.pathbuilders.com or by calling 770-261-6570.
About Pathbuilders, Inc.
Pathbuilders transforms top talent into high-impact leaders who move business forward. Through customized programming, Pathbuilders leverages a model that effectively combines mentoring, educational workshops, and interactive peer exchange to accelerate the career growth of individuals and directly contribute to the bottom-line success of client organizations. Pathbuilders was founded in 1995 with a unique focus on developing the potential of high-performing women and creating gender-diverse leadership teams. Today, Pathbuilders leverages the corporate experience of its team to develop impactful developmental experiences for high-potential women and men in forward-thinking organizations. Pathbuilders has worked with nearly 4,000 professionals from more than 400 client organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and government agencies.
SOURCE Pathbuilders
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