With Lydia Nieuwenhuis, Human Resources Manager
One of the most critical parts of a successful company is recognizing in an employee the talent, the charisma, and the call to be a leader. The opportunity to develop leadership skills with employees on the rise is a chance for a company to ensure success and longevity. Leaders that emerge from within the ranks carry with them experience in different aspects of a company’s core business. Along the way, they’ve earned the respect and admiration of their co-workers as well as their supervisors.
At Ipsen, we invest in these leaders by engaging them in a leadership program through our membership at MRA – the largest employer association in the United States. Our emerging leaders participate in a program called “Principles of Leadership Excellence Plus.” This eight-week program includes in-person and hands-on training.
Cultivating Leadership and Career Growth
On a regular basis, between two and four Ipsen employees are nominated by the Ipsen Executive Board to attend the program. These nominations are based on the leadership potential they’ve shown during the course of their tenure, taking into account the career track they’ve chosen.
Nominees will engage in sessions built around topics ranging from Building Trust in Relationships, Communicating Clearly for Results, Navigating Conflict, Fostering Culture and Motivation for Engagement, Setting Expectations and Coaching for Success, Creating Collaboration and Effective Teams, and Leading and Thriving Through Change.
“As a graduate of the program, I was able to build relationships with other leaders in varying roles from other companies.” Nieuwenhuis explained. “Lessons were built around getting to know each other and working together on group projects, all while learning different approaches from one another. I was able to better understand my own work style and learn new skills in engaging with people from different backgrounds while covering different topics.”
Of the nine graduates from Ipsen over the past four years, eight have continued with our company, and three have enjoyed recent career advancements – Matt Clinite, Christina Connelly, and Jennifer Nash. “Our Director of Finance, Steve Nelson, graduated from the class that Matt and I were in, and he is now a part of our Executive Leadership Team,” said Nieuwenhuis.
Importantly, leadership education doesn’t end once the program is completed. Graduates build a resource binder throughout the course. “I’ve referred to mine several times since graduating from the program. In 2025, we have begun scheduling a quarterly gathering of graduates to review the topics that were covered in the program and discuss how we’ve applied those topics in our roles within Ipsen,” Nieuwenhuis added.
“Ipsen is proud of the commitment to developing leaders from within our ranks. The investment in leadership education has proven that the program went beyond keeping us engaged with Ipsen’s direction as an industry leader, but also ensured that we would have the tools to flourish in our careers.”