The Fellowship Effect: Lessons in Success from the Education and Career Mobility Fellowship

Last week, the first cohort of the Education and Career Mobility Fellowship - which is designed for early- and mid-career professionals in education, skilling, and career mobility - met in Indianapolis for our third and final seminar. Over our ten months in Fellowship - which I had the privilege of facilitating as senior director of the Aspen Institute's UpSkill America initiative - we learned about maximizing success in educational outcomes and creating career mobility for frontline workers. We shared strategies for "leading from the middle," influencing without authority, building KPIs that speak to leadership priorities, and developing programs that put equity in the center. We learned about ourselves, building skills, boosting confidence, and figuring out our superpowers and long-term goals.

By all accounts, we were successful. We're still collecting final evaluations, but over the course of the program, 100% of our Fellows agree that they've gained learning that will be valuable to their teams and organizations, that they'd recommend the Fellowship to their peers and leaders, that the Fellowship has influenced their ability to innovate and think differently, and that they have leaned on the Fellowship network to solve problems and test ideas.

This program is something I've wanted to do for years, and I'm beyond grateful to our partners at Guild for providing the support to do it.

But can I brag a minute about these Fellows? Because we may have provided the packaging, but THEY are the gift.

The first cohort of the Education and Career Mobility Fellowship

Over the course of the year, a third of the Fellows launched new education and training programs or significantly updated existing programs. Another third were promoted, changed departments, or changed roles. We celebrated one engagement and look forward to seeing the wedding photos of two Fellows next month! The Fellows are working in environments that are growing more complex every day, with changing priorities, new products, reorganizations, and emerging technologies forcing shifts in strategy and constant upskilling on Fellows' part. They have handled these changes with grace, and they have emerged on the other end even more committed to building equitable, effective solutions that create real opportunities for frontline workers, not to mention value for their companies. Millions of employees in dozens of companies - in industries as diverse as retail, banking, food service, airlines, logistics, health care, hospitality, and more - will benefit from the new knowledge, skills, and connections our Fellows can bring to the table.

We accomplished the professional goals of this Fellowship, but by far the most important outcome of is the deep, trusting relationships the Fellows built with one another. They have built a community - one that will benefit them as individuals over their careers, and one that will benefit the companies Fellows work for. Instead of solving problems independently, starting from scratch in developing new initiatives, Fellows reach out to each other. They avoid pitfalls. They get to workshop ideas with Fellows struggling with the same problems. They benefit from the deep experiences others have had in their careers. All of this saves time and money for companies, and it improves the programs and initiatives available to frontline workers. Our field will grow and improve because of it. We call this "The Fellowship Effect."

I am incredibly proud of every single Fellow in this Cohort, and I'm grateful to them. They showed up eager to learn, vulnerable in sharing their questions, and confident in helping their peers. They built deep trust with each other, based on respect and shared commitment to being a part of our "Revolution for Good." Each of them will move forward in their careers with a support and solutions network, ready to do this important, hard work.

As we get ready to announce the second cohort of the Fellowship in just a few weeks, I feel confident in saying that the future of education and career mobility is in great hands.

About UpSkill America

UpSkill America, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, supports employers and workforce organizations to expand and improve high-quality educational and career advancement opportunities for America's front-line workers. We seek to create a movement of employers, civic organizations, workforce intermediaries, and policymakers working collaboratively to implement education, training, and development strategies that result in better jobs and opportunities for front-line workers, more competitive businesses, and stronger communities. Follow us on LinkedIn and learn more at upskillamerica.org.