Leadership Academy: Logistics & Workforce Development

Logistics & Workforce Development by Hunter Weber

Throughout the Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Academy our group of local leaders have been able to explore various leadership philosophies. Under the guidance of Dr. Bill Marzano – our program facilitator – we have met with various business leaders and have been able to have productive discussions about their organization’s leadership philosophy as well as their personal philosophy.

Our most recent meeting was at Amazon’s facility located here in Aurora. We met with Dave, a member of their management team who talked to us about Amazon’s leadership principles. Amazon has a unique combination of philosophies that consist of a rigorous approach to both process improvement and personal engagement that the managers must buy in to if they are to be effective in their rolls. One of the main concepts was the abbreviation APEP, which stands for Attack (the) Process, Engage (the) Person. This philosophy allows the management team to both help their employee understand what needs to be done to do their job more effectively without making them feel like they are being criticized for making a mistake. Dave, as well as the other leaders of the facility keep logs of employee interactions to assist them in connecting with their employees on a more personal level. These logs allow the manager to have a deeper understanding of what is important to their employees and to make them feel appreciated.

Hunter Weber is a commercial lender at Old Second National Bank, a community bank headquartered in Aurora, IL that has served the Chicagoland area for over 150 years. Hunter enjoys working with local business to help them meet there short-term and long-term goals.