Building Better Leaders: Inside the UPS Leadership Academy Experience – A LeadingBetter Case Study
Building Better Leaders: How UPS Airlines and Leadership Louisville Center Partnered to Shape the Future of Leadership
When the pace of change accelerates, the way leaders lead must evolve with it. That’s what inspired UPS Airlines to launch the UPS Leadership Academy, a private cohort designed and facilitated in partnership with the Leadership Louisville Center and its LeadingBetter™ partner brand. The six-month development experience gives UPS’s top talent the tools, self-awareness, and community needed to thrive as the next generation of enterprise leaders.
What the LeadingBetter & UPS Leadership Academy Offers:
- A selective, six-month cohort experience
- Participants are nominated as high-potential leaders ready to take on greater responsibility.
- High-impact learning in small groups
- Blends interactive workshops, one-on-one coaching, and access to Leadership Louisville’s premier leadership resources.
- Cross-functional connection
- Participants learn alongside peers from across business units, expanding their perspective and internal networks.
Key Benefits for Leaders and the Business:
- Camaraderie and long-term networks
- Graduates stay connected as trusted peers and thought partners across UPS.
- Greater confidence and capability
- Leaders gain practical tools, self-awareness, and a “safe space” to learn, grow, and lead with purpose.
- Real-world impact
- Improved communication, collaboration, and cross-functional effectiveness that help move the business forward.
A Shared Vision for Modern Leadership
As Sharnika Glenn, Vice President of Human Resources for UPS Airlines, explains:
“The leader of ten years ago is not necessarily the same kind of leader we need today. We wanted to take our leadership development opportunities to the next level, and Leadership Louisville Center came to the table with cutting-edge approaches that met that challenge.”
UPS already offered strong internal programs, but this initiative sought to go deeper, creating an environment where selected high-potential leaders could learn together, test new ideas, and gain external perspectives on leadership.
The result: a customized six-month academy blending the LeadingBetter curriculum, personalized coaching, and real-time application on the job. Leaders were nominated by their managers and chosen for their readiness to take on greater responsibility.
Learning Together, Growing Together
Inside the cohort, participants engage in small-group learning, self-assessment, and discussion-based sessions that focus on “leading self, leading others, and leading the business.”
“Our leaders have told us they feel better equipped and more confident in their leadership capabilities,” said Glenn. “They also build lasting relationships, learning from colleagues across functions they might not have known before.”
That network effect has become one of the Academy’s defining strengths. Leaders who might have stayed siloed now share ideas, mentor each other, and approach challenges with a wider lens.
Christopher Harris, a UPS Airlines manager and Leadership Academy graduate, described how the experience reshaped his daily leadership:
“We learned so much, but one thing that stood out from day one was understanding our leadership styles through the DISC module. It helped me see how to adjust my approach for each person and situation. I went back to my team seeing how I could change myself to help others succeed.”
Extending the Impact Across the Business
For UPS, this investment in leadership has had a ripple effect across the organization.
Tina Chesher, HRBP Manager at UPS Louisville Worldport, shared:
“These programs build real confidence. Our leaders come away with stronger communication skills and cross-functional understanding that helps move the business forward.”
The confidence, clarity, and connection that participants gain have translated into better collaboration and innovation across departments.
As industries transform and leadership demands shift, both organizations share a commitment to building stronger, more connected, more self-aware leaders who can navigate what’s ahead.
“The pace of change is faster than ever,” Glenn added. “That’s why Leadership Louisville Center and LeadingBetter are needed now more than ever – to help all of us lead Louisville forward.”
A Partnership Rooted in Purpose
UPS Airlines has partnered with the Leadership Louisville Center for decades, sending leaders through flagship civic programs such as Focus Louisville, Leadership Louisville, Bingham Fellows, and Ignite Louisville. The Leadership Academy is the latest evolution of that long relationship.
“Leadership Louisville keeps us at the forefront of what leadership needs to be,” said Glenn. “They have their finger on the pulse of the future, helping us shape the leaders who will guide UPS, and Louisville, into what’s next.”
Michael Francisconi, Chief Counsel and Vice President of Legal for UPS Airlines, sees that ripple effect as both strategic and civic:
“Leadership Louisville Center gives us an opportunity to rub shoulders with the leaders of the city – from civic to business to education. That connection strengthens UPS, and it strengthens our community.”
If your organization is ready to elevate its leadership pipeline through a private cohort experience like the UPS Leadership Academy, LeadingBetter™ can design a fully customized academy to meet your goals.
This is just one way organizations are partnering with LeadingBetter™.
How Organizations Partner with Us
From targeted private trainings that address specific leadership skills, to open-enrollment workshops that build individual capabilities across industries, to comprehensive academies that transform entire teams, LeadingBetter™ offers flexible, proven paths to help leaders at every level grow.
Let’s talk about which approach fits your leadership development needs. Contact us to get started.