Leadership Development Course

THE
AmeriPark
LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
COURSE
PREVIEW
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
TO KNOW BEFORE
JUMPING IN
Today is yesterday’s tomorrow.
Any questions?
About that...
Does the future excite you? Does it scare you? Does it cause anxiety? Perhaps it simply bores you. What’s the matter? Not ready to
work in a cubicle for the rest of your life? Don’t know what you’ll do?
...Your Future
Do you consider yourself to be dedicated, a self-starter, a go-getter
(whatever you want to call it), and can’t seem to find the right career
path? Are you looking for the place that will give you a chance to
prove yourself?
You might find yourself pondering these questions from time to time,
and maybe you’re even looking back and wishing you had taken advantage of past opportunities to invest in your career.
Don’t let the past drag you down. There are giants to conquer right
where you stand. You can do big things with a sharp mind and the
right determination, and you can start down that path today.
DON’T LOSE FOCUS.
How about considering this opportunity to become a leader in the
ever-growing parking industry?
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CHAPTER 1
Opportunity is on the horizon.
If you built the skills required in school, or in your past experience, and you think you have the passion and drive it will take to
not only keep up during a lunch rush or a new property opening, but to complete a curriculum that teaches you how to lead
others into those battles, the Leadership Development Course might be your ticket to take hold of your future. As the first step
toward a management career in the hospitality/parking industry, participants in LDC will develop a broad range of leadership
and analytical skills through on the job learning and targeted training. These are skills that are specifically honed for AmeriPark,
but translate to other industries as well.
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SECTION 1
Timelines or Sidelines: Your choice.
You may take the Leadership Development Course to prepare
yourself for potential future opportunities. On the other hand, we
may see something in you that tells us you’ve
got the right stuff, and we might ask you to
consider the course. Either way, we aren’t going to sugar-coat what we’re asking of you.
ties, it will likely hook you from the start. A sure sign of how the remainder of the course will go is to examine how its going about 1/3
of the way in, at about 4-5 weeks. If you are
learning, understanding, and using the things
you’re taking in, then you’ll see the positive
impact it has and you’ll be hooked. Selfdevelopment in the professional world can be
addictive to you and contagious to those
around you, and for the most part that’s a
great thing. Just don’t go nuts. :)
LDC is an intensive 3 month curriculum program that will provide you with real experience in at least 3 functional areas that include: Management, Training and Development, Parking Software training, Parking
Business Analytics and Leadership skills.
The various skills involved in your LDC training will largely be identical to anyone else
who participates in the course, although your
sponsor and the future position we might be
grooming you for will vary. That means that
some might have it “harder” than others, or
so it seems. We want every graduate from
LDC to be fully capable of tackling the challenges they’ll face, so we put a lot of effort
into the training process.
One last thing on the timelines we have in
place. While we are pitching LDC as difficult
but incredibly useful, it’s not something you
click “register” for and all of a sudden you’re
“in”. There is an application process, regional
and HR approval to go through, and a sponsor to gain. Even then, there are books to order and so on. Don’t let that discourage your
chances of participation. Instead, let it sink in
that we take it seriously and so should you.
Focus on the big-picture stuff and start asking yourself why you would be a good candidate for the Leadership Development
Course. Because, after all, you’re gonna
have to tell us why you should be in the course. That’s the first
step. More on that shortly.
When considering LDC’s impact on your
“me” time, don’t worry yourself with how it will
impose on your time. We might make a big stink about that part,
but if you are excited about growing your career and your capabili3
SECTION 2
C.I.T. tested. QUALITY approved.
C.I.T. Tested
Quality Approved
The Leadership Development Course was first tested as a custom
program in the South Florida market, called “Captain-in-Training”,
or “CIT” (pronounced, kit). As the sponsor involvement was recognized, we came up with a curriculum course of what is rightfully
called “Leadership Development”. We realize that we can’t just
hand you a book and expect you to “get it”. We are a people company, after all. We need interaction. We need dialogue. In order to
train people, we need people. That’s the key to the success of the
C.I.T. program, and that’s where your sponsor comes in.
The Quality Assurance & Quality Control (QA/QC) team at AmeriPark is dedicated to objectively focusing on benchmarking and improving quality. Included in that realm is the quality of employee
training and preparation, which directly relates to employee satisfaction. In all the guest service and hard work, we do have fun.
We take joy in serving guests, and that is the correlation between
guest satisfaction and employee satisfaction. A happy employee
serves better than a stressed employee. LDC insures that you
aren’t blindsided by the difficulties of leadership, preparing you for
whats ahead and dramatically improving your overall experience.
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SECTION 3
Help me help you.
Your previous experience and education are considerations that
weigh heavily on qualifying for LDC. However, your observed abilities and attributes are the ultimate qualifier. In order to enroll in
LDC, you must have a sponsor who can testify to your performance. We need to know someone who knows you. Someone who
knows your work style, your work ethic, your work demeanor. And
that “someone” needs to be an LDC graduate who knows what it
takes to be a leader at AmeriPark. Their approval isn’t all we need
from them, either.
LDC and completing it within the strict timelines it demands. It is
actually asking a lot of the sponsor. There is practical one-on-one
time with your sponsor on troubleshooting equipment, understanding client relationships or creating strategic schedules. The sponsor is also responsible for reporting on your progress, so it is in
their best interest to only choose to sponsor someone they truly
believe has got what it takes. They are going to hold you accountable, so don’t make it hard on them.
Your sponsor, themselves a graduate of LDC, will act as both an
overseer and contributor to your success in making the most of
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CHAPTER 2
What makes you different?
The word “develop” actually means “to aid in the growth of”. The Leadership Development Course is designed to give assistance to your
personal leadership skills. It is not going to give you leadership skills as much as it is going to grow the valuable skills and attributes that
you already have. Leadership is something that might be lying dormant inside, or perhaps it is something you are very familiar with. With
that said, we want you to tell us about what you already recognize within yourself that makes you feel like leadership material. Better
yet, tell us what makes you feel like AmeriPark leadership material. The two ways to do that are simple and unique at the same time.
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WE WANT YOU! (to submit a video or letter)
LDC application video
LDC application statement
Put together a video approximately 2-3 minutes in length where
you tell us why you are future AmeriPark leadership material and
submit the link to your sponsor. If your sponsor chooses to take
you on as an LDC candidate, they will forward the link to their regional manager and Human Resources. They might ask you to
take it a little more seriously, but here’s hoping that step will not be
necessary. Human Resources will focus on the qualifying details,
the video, sponsorship support and regional manager approval before making a decision.
Put together a statement that is no longer than 1 page (approximately 2-3 paragraphs) telling us why you are AmeriPark leadership material. Submit the statement to your sponsor via email. You
can attach a Microsoft Word document to the email or you can
paste the statement in the body of the email to your sponsor. If approved by your sponsor, they will forward to their regional manager and Human Resources. Human Resources will consider all
qualifying details, the written statement, sponsorship support and
regional manager approval before making a decision.
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CHAPTER 3
Do you qualify? If you don’t, know you don’t.
The title on the page contains a fun play on words, but we are serious about the message. If you don’t qualify for the Leadership
Development Course for any reason, it is important that you know why you don’t qualify. It might highlight something you need to work
on. It might highlight that you’re barely keeping up in the position you’re in now, and putting you into this course would only further strain
you. This is why the role of the sponsor is so important. They have the reward of sponsoring you balanced with the strain of sponsoring
someone who isn’t ready for LDC yet.
On the other hand, you may not qualify because you do not have a qualified sponsor at your property or in your area. Your regional
manager, who is the secondary sponsor, might look past some of the qualifying requirements that are not met on occasion, and
sometimes they won’t. It shows determination to seek to be accepted into LDC if you do not completely qualify (hint, hint). No promises,
but how will you know if you never try? After all, determination is a strong suit of any leader. It takes self-will and motivation to lead
others. It takes integrity to “round up the troops” and get to work when everything inside you wants to be lazy or skip steps or take the
easy way out. If you don’t qualify, work towards meeting the qualifying requirements or maybe give it a shot anyway.
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LDC Qualifiers
Sponsor verified requirement
1. At least 6 continuous
months with AmeriPark.
2. A fanatic for service
3. A passion for people
4. Contributor to the daily
operation at your location
5. A collaborative team player
6. Proven ability to get results
7. Proficient written and oral
communication skills
8. Timely in all regards
9. Professional & friendly
conduct and demeanor
10.Proven problem-solving
skills
Extra Credit
1. Geographic Mobility
(willingness to relocate)
2. 4-year degree or equivalent
work experience (or a mix of
both college courses and
work experience)
We are looking for you to be a resource to your
team for training, motivating, coaching and developing someday. An encouraging teammate is an
early indicator of a future motivator. We need to
see you bring a solution every time you bring a
“problem” our way in your current position. A
solution-oriented teammate is going to make a
great leader, and therefore a great LDC candidate.
3. Strong Bi-lingual ability
(English/Spanish is optimal)
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Current indicators of future behavior are important factors at the early stage of your career with
AmeriPark. For the most part, your current behaviors, observed over time, are what we can likely
expect your future behaviors to resemble.
We are a company that puts a lot of trust in the
hands of our people. They don’t tell us they’re
trustworthy, they demonstrate it. Their actions
speak much louder than their words in every category.
CHAPTER 4
We want you to win.
Now that you have a good idea of what the Leadership Development Course is all about, the only question that remains is whether or
not you want to do it. All obstacles aside, you need to ask yourself 1) do you have what it takes, and 2) are you willing to give it all
you’ve got? We want you to win. We’re vested in your success. As part of the program, you’ll be paired with two sponsors: One
secondary sponsor that is likely a Regional Manager, and one primary sponsor who believes in you enough to sponsor you through
graduation. At the time of completing all required coursework and public service, you’ll have one final assignment.
If you believe you are AmeriPark leadership material, you’ve got a video to make or a statement to write.
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SECTION 1
Wait! There’s more. You’ve got the floor.
When it comes time to graduate from LDC, you’ll use some of
those intangible skills you learned during the course to present to
AmeriPark management on what you have learned and where
AmeriPark has the biggest opportunities to improve. We will highly
value the insight of someone who has spent 3-6 months working
at a location while simultaneously learning about business, leadership and development. Your insight might be the trigger that
changes a policy or procedure, and you’ll have an impact on many
people. Either way, it is a requirement to graduate!
Your presentation skills will also give us insight into how you might
work with a client, or how you might handle a proposal. As a growing company, we have opportunity in more than one area and we
love to promote from within. A lasting impression can turn into
something down the road as we grow and expand.
We hope that you consider this an exciting way to close out the
LDC preview. We are excited about the future and we are excited
for you. Its never too soon to start on your LDC application... we
will let you get to it. May the odds be ever in your favor.
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COPYRIGHT 2013
© AmeriPark, LLC 2013
The copyright on the first edition of The AmeriPark Leadership Development Course Preview, a training book, PDF, iBook or otherwise viewable online or in print, forbids infringement of published
and private works that infringe upon the original works of the
document and photos, text and creative within.
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