The Leadership Pipeline
While the old adage that “great leaders are born, not made” might be true, Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson counties have programs for young professionals to help them emerge as the civic and business leaders of tomorrow.
Officials said creating a leadership pipeline is a good way to give young professionals opportunities for service and networking that will help deepen their roots in the community.
Young professionals groups typically cater to individuals from 21 to 40 years old.
“The business community is in an all-out war for talent,” said Allen Smith, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “Communities that win are the ones that have the ability to attract talent and keep it.”
Smith said Spartanburg County, for example, has identified, as part of its development of a five-year visioning plan, talent recruitment and retention as an area where it is underperforming. He said Spartanburg has to work a little harder because of its proximity to other attractive cities, such as Greenville, and Asheville and Charlotte, N.C.
“We’ve got to start doing things to get into that game,” Smith said. “It used to be that people would go to the first community they could find a job. Now, they are choosing where they want to live instead of where they can get hired.”
Ebony Austin, leadership development coordinator for the Greenville Chamber, remembers what it was like to be a young professional in search of a place to get plugged in.
Austin moved to Greenville from Brooklyn, N.Y., before her senior year in high school. After college, she stayed in Greenville and began climbing the professional ladder.
The local company she was working for chose her to be its representative at meetings for the Greenville Chamber’s young professionals group, Pulse.
“It helped me develop the confidence to be a good leader,” Austin said. “I didn’t know anyone. I started to build up my own network… I started to form relationships.”
Eventually, Austin was appointed to Pulse’s leadership committee. She eventually became its chairwoman. Then the chamber asked her to go even deeper and assume her current role.
“Once you join Pulse, you have to engage,” she said. “You meet others who are striving to make a difference in the community. We understand the importance of engagement – being actively involved and taking strong leaps in your memberships – because that’s where the growth really happens.”
Austin said Pulse has 600 members. The group has a range of events and activities, as well as mentorship and other volunteer opportunities, for those members.
She said she hopes to take it a step further and begin working with other young professionals groups in the Upstate in order to have a regional impact.
“Right now, more than ever, it’s important that young professionals work together and collaborate to keep our region strong, vibrant and as economically sound as it can be,” Austin said.
As with many other business organizations, young professionals groups typically have a membership fee. The fees charged by groups in the Upstate range from about $30 to $125 per year. Sometimes, the fee is tax-deductible as a business expense.
Those fees typically enable young professionals groups to host events and make donations in the community.
“It’s more about getting involved than it is about paying dues,” said Naomi Sargent, director of college town and quality of place for the Spartanburg Chamber.
Sargent said the Spartanburg Chamber’s young professionals group, Spartanburg Young Professionals, has about 250 members.
Smith said the Spartanburg Chamber has started to reach out to students at the county’s seven colleges in hopes of connecting them with opportunities even before they graduate.
Monica Elmer, membership and special projects manager for the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Anderson Chamber is in the early stages of strengthening its young professionals group, the Young Professionals of Anderson.
She said the group is important given that Clemson and Anderson universities are nearby.
“We want to keep that talent here,” Elmer said. “We have a lot of young leaders who are visible, involved and plugged into the community. This is about connecting them. Giving them an opportunity to feed off of each other… As we continue, we’ll be looking for young leaders who are like-minded and driven.”
Young Professionals Groups
Greenville Chamber of Commerce
Pulse Young Professionals
Membership rates: $50 for chamber investors; $125 for non-chamber investors
Greer and Simpsonville Chamber members can join at the investor rate
greenvillechamber.org/leadership/pulse-young-professionals
Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Spartanburg Young Professionals (SYP)
Membership: $30 per year
ypspartanburg.com
Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce
Young Professionals of Anderson
Membership: $100 per year
andersonscchamber.com
Urban League of the Upstate
Upstate Network Young Professionals
Membership: starts at $25 per year
urbanleagueupstate.org/upstate-network
Rotary Club of Greenville
Greenville Rotaract
Membership: $65 per year
greenvillerotaract.org
South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association
Young Professionals Group
Membership: $200 per year
sceda.org
