Plant Knowledge.
Cultivate Skills. 

Grow Leaders.

Developing the next generation of leaders is like planting a tree for tomorrow when it comes to success for your community bank. The Academy for Excellence in Leadership is here to help with one of the most results-driven programs in the industry.

The Academy for Excellence in Leadership

The Academy for Excellence in Leadership (AEL) is an innovative two-year leadership development program uniquely crafted to help retain and grow strong leaders within the community banking industry. The Academy is led by Cain Ellsworth Company, LLP, a respected community banking partner and consultant.

“It’s great that Cain Ellsworth is making this effort to grow our young community bank leaders. AEL is better than any other program I have seen!”

Don D Nolan

President/CEO, Rivers Edge Bank

“We were challenged to look at our organization from different perspectives than we had before and resulted in four clear strategic initiatives that actively guided our actions in subsequent years.”

Stephen Fopma

President / CEO, Leighton State Bank

“This past year has been a tremendous learning experience and we are excited to see how year two evolves. We really threw ourselves into our project and we are proud of the results and effort put forth by our team.”

Tim H

Participant, Community Bank

Two Year Schedule

The AEL offers convenient, flexible online learning opportunities paced out over two years with summers off and excellent results.

YEAR ONE:
September – May

Leading Yourself and Cultivating Customer Relationships

Informative and impactful one-hour monthly seminars include topics such as:

  • Time management
  • Working genius
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Customer service
  • Personal mission and core values

YEAR TWO:
September – May

Building Strong Teams & Expanding Leadership Influence

Leadership-focused one-hour monthly seminars include topics such as:

  • Providing feedback
  • Coaching people
  • Inspiring underperformers
  • Intelligent delegation
  • Working smarter, not harder