LEADING WITH PURPOSE
MEET BERNARD ADEBAYO-IGE, P.E., LEED AP
Bernard is an enthusiastic leader working to advance a positive work environment, respect, and culture. He has 30 years of experience in corporate leadership and is currently the Public Sector Program Advisor at Southern California Edison (SCE). Bernard gives back to his community in many ways, such as organizing the “Excellence in Transition” program for local eighth graders transitioning into high school and the “Blossom with my Gifts ” program for youth to help them realize and maximize their strengths.
In 2018, he was awarded the Emerging Leader Award from our Business Resource Group for African American employees, Networkers, and later in 2020, he received the SCE Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award. Bernard now serves as a board member for Networkers and was the Leadership Development Team Chair from 2017-2020.
It was during his time as a Networkers’ Leadership Development Chair that he worked to create the Ladder Leadership Program, a six-month leadership development program that leverages principles and practices to bolster employee performance. He recently worked with California State University, Fullerton and Human Resources and SCE’s Federal Credit Union to make the Ladder Program equitable and accessible for hourly employees.
When did you first get involved with Networkers and what impact has it had in your life and career?
I got involved in the Networkers in 2016 when I responded to a meeting notice related to professional development. After the meeting, I emailed the presenter, who was the Networkers’ Chair of Professional Development at that time, to request a 1-1 with him. We had lunch at the cafeteria, and he invited me to join him in designing and executing the Networkers’ Professional Development program. Later that year, I helped design the Ladder Leadership Program, and in 2017, I became the Chair of the Professional Development Networkers’ team. My involvement has made a considerable impact not only in my career, but in revealing more of “my calling.” Through participation and leading the program, I discovered a confirmation that my purpose is to help people blossom by understanding their gifts and strengths and encouraging the maximum use of those gifts. The program has also enriched my own growth as I must continually learn to lead and take the program to higher levels each year. Finally, it increased my influence and connected me with people from various organizations in the company.
What is the Ladder program?
The Ladder Leadership Program is a six-month training that helps our members build their leadership skills while leveraging principles and practices to enhance employee performance. During this period, the program touches upon the fundamentals of leadership, diversity training, communicating with impact, emotional intelligence and problem solving. Participants complete a team project and are exposed to SCE leaders and executives in various settings to gain wisdom and insight from their expertise.
How were you able to identify that there was a gap to be filled as it relates to the Ladder program and why was it so important for you to help bridge that gap for your peers?
The third cohort of the Ladder program graduated in November 2019. After the ceremony, two graduates who were senior analysts from the Call Center approached me and enumerated the program’s impact on their work. They wanted to discuss how other employees at the Call Center could benefit from the program. After our discussions, we realized that the Ladder Leadership Program’s execution model would not work for other Call Center employees due to their working operations and schedules. This presented an inclusion and equity gap within the Networkers’ program. I immediately discussed with my team and began looking at possible solutions. One of the solutions I found was to approach a university to run a leadership program during off-hours. This way, employees of the company who couldn’t attend the Ladder program during office hours could participate.
What does the Cal State Fullerton extension of the Ladder program offer that the traditional programming does not?
The Leadership Institute for Tomorrow (LIFT) of California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) accepted our outreach. LIFT and Networkers collaboratively developed a new curriculum for a 50-hour program on “Leadership and Diversity.” The program incorporates even more leadership content and provides continuous education units. The CSUF program is designed to include more practical application of the classroom content and has a full day dedicated to diversity training. Networkers also collaborated with the SCE Federal Credit Union (SCE FCU) to provide a signature loan, which provides equitable access to all SCE employees who wish to participate. This is an initiative where CSUF provides education, Networkers does the outreach to SCE employees, and SCE FCU provides financing. The program also qualifies for education reimbursement through SCE’s education reimbursement program, making it easier for participants to repay the loan after completing the CSUF program.
Any words of encouragement or wisdom you have for others looking to extend resources or programming to a wider community like you have?
This is a novel initiative that has opened doors for more of our stakeholders to collaborate; thereby resulting in inclusion, equity, and access for all. SCE FCU intends to advertise this program on their website. I hope other financial institutions, higher education systems and employers of labor will use this model to enhance their employees’ leadership development, and most importantly, inclusion of everyone.
