Transforming Emerging Leaders Into Confident Leaders

Equipping a new crop of leaders in the independent home improvement channel, the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) wrapped up its college-level premier management school. The Retail Management Certification Program (RMCP) develops store managers and emerging leaders into confident leaders who improve performance inside their own stores. The program includes elements of virtual learning and in-person experiences, with the program’s second visit taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana.

During the second and final visit, students attended sessions that covered leadership, developing leaders, using KPIs, utilizing AI, loss prevention, developing SOPs, pricing, strategic growth and customer experience, all taught by college professors and industry experts.

Ben Craddock, manager of Ace Hardware Midway, has been with his company for five years and while he didn’t plan on becoming a leader at the operation, it’s a role he’s quickly grown in. Craddock found RMCP to be invaluable as he grows in the company.

“Attending RMCP got me back into the groove again. I was feeling stagnant but coming here, getting out of my comfort zone with everybody that was here in RMCP, all the classes, the speakers have been fantastic,” Craddock says. “Because of RMCP, I am better prepared to take my store to the next level, whether it be operationally or sales-wise, and level up my entire staff and work through them to really grow my business.”

RMCP instructors Josiah Gates and Kristina Donnelly find it rewarding to see the energy and commitment to the hardware industry and the student working to learn and grow their stores. Donnelly is The Aubuchon Company‘s CFO and Gates serves as the company’s chief growth officer and was part of the first RMCP class in 2013.

“I had the privilege of taking the first class and working closely with Scott Wright and others on developing the program and enhancing the program to make it what it is today for the students who are coming to the class,” Gates says. 

Making financial education accessible to young leaders is core to what Gates and Donnelly want to bring to the students in RMCP.

“When we come to the class and share our real performance and really how we approach things, versus just reading it in a book, it is a better way to learn. You have the stories and the context and all of that, and that’s how you drive the point home,” Donnelly says. “Anybody can put a math equation on the screen and talk through measurements, but to really understand why and how things can go wrong and how they can go great makes a difference. This class is different because you can talk in an open forum, be really open and share with these people who want to learn.”

One of the biggest areas students attending RMCP grow in is leadership, with much of the curriculum focused on leadership development, how to become better leaders, becoming catalysts within their companies and raising the level of performance of other people in the company, says NHPA president and publisher Scott Wright. 

“We love to see that next generation coming through this program so they do not have to bear the burden all on their own. They can learn from our instructors, who come from universities like Butler University and Ball State University, and from industry experts who have spent their entire careers in this industry and specialize in certain areas of the business,” Wright says. “They can also learn from their fellow students, and more importantly, build a network that they can rely on far beyond the timeframe of this course.”

Beyond the practical operational lessons that students are taking back to their stores, Gates agrees that there is even more benefit in the networking and connections students build in the class.

“Networking and collaborating with each of the students, regardless of your affiliation, further strengthens the industry, and there’s people that you can lean on and grow with. I’ve personally witnessed that throughout the years,” Gates says. “When I took the class in 2013, I knew no one in the industry, and now I know so many more people. People who I can lean on, people who can lean on us. It’s just very rewarding.”