By Kate Pearch, Chief Strategy Officer at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP and AWF Board Member

Inspire Atlanta Impact

Nearly eight years ago, a group of women leaders from a diverse group of Atlanta businesses sat in a Buckhead conference room, discussing a common need for a leadership program for the high-potential women in their organization. This program needed to provide personal, professional, and philanthropic guidance. In addition, they wanted to find a way to help the women and girls in Atlanta living in poverty. From this meeting, the Inspire Atlanta program was born.

Inspire Atlanta is a program of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation (AWF) that helps develop women into more confident and impactful leaders, equipping them with the tools, skills, and networks to excel in their careers. Each class has helped to create a powerful group of women who are still impacting their organizations and the community in numerous ways. Inspire Atlanta also raises significant funds for AWF, and for the last two years, it has supported its All Girls Forward: Girls Empowerment Program.

I was fortunate to be in that Buckhead conference room many years ago, and I have been astonished by the impact of this program and its growth over the last eight years. My company, Morris, Manning & Martin (MMM), has had a participant in Inspire Atlanta for the last six years. We have leveraged this program to create a pipeline of high-potential women who have demonstrated their leadership potential, expanded their networks, and continue to contribute to the firm in increasingly impactful ways.

Being MMM’s Inspire Atlanta nominee is an honor, and these women are supported by the firm and our clients throughout the program. We have seen incredible benefits for these women and our firm from the program. I hope that by sharing what we have learned and the benefits we have gained, I can inspire more companies and executives to join this journey.

Key Advantages For The Company

One of the key advantages for a company is the cultivation of leadership skills during the program. Inspire Atlanta participants receive training in communication, negotiation, and strategic thinking, all of which are critical in leadership roles. By empowering a woman in your organization to grow in these areas, you are building a stronger leadership pipeline that will benefit the company in the long term.

By supporting a woman in the Inspire program, your company demonstrates that it values diverse leadership perspectives and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace culture. Promoting gender diversity at leadership levels has been shown to improve decision-making, innovation, and business outcomes.

The network-building aspect of Inspire Atlanta is another key benefit for your organization. Participants will connect with other emerging and established women leaders across industries. These new relationships often lead to valuable partnerships, collaborations, and insights that can directly impact your company’s growth and reach within the Atlanta business community.

Inspire Atlanta encourages participants to think beyond their own professional development by engaging them in philanthropic initiatives. This instills a deeper sense of social responsibility, which can translate into a stronger alignment with your company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals. The leadership experience gained through community involvement can also help the participant bring fresh, purpose-driven ideas back into your organization, enriching the overall workplace environment.

Your organization also benefits from the boost in employee morale and loyalty. When employees feel supported in their personal and professional development, they are more likely to stay engaged and committed to their employer. Supporting a high-potential woman in a prestigious leadership program like Inspire Atlanta signals that your company invests in its people, which can reduce turnover and improve job satisfaction.

Ultimately, participating in Inspire Atlanta fosters leadership development that can lead to improved performance across your organization. I can attest that high-potential women who grow through this program come back more confident, capable, and ready to take on greater challenges. This investment in one woman can have a ripple effect, inspiring others and contributing to a more dynamic, engaged leadership team.

From enhancing leadership skills and fostering diversity to boosting employee morale and improving public perception, the positive outcomes are clear. I hope your company will join MMM and nominate a woman today.

Nominations due October 31st.

 

About the Author

In her role as Chief Strategy Officer at Morris, Manning & Martin, Kate creates and implements growth strategies, including client, partner, and revenue expansion. Her responsibilities include strategic development, practice growth, and leadership succession programs, as well as communications,

public relations, marketing, and business development. She leads the Marketing & Business Development Department and serves on the firm’s Management Committee. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Kate serves on the firm’s MMMPact Committee, which directs MMM’s corporate social responsibility outreach, and directed the MMM Women’s Initiative, a division of MMMPact focusing on mentorship business development and retention for women attorneys. Kate is also actively involved in her community. She is a Board Director for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and serves as the Community Relations Chair for the Dunwoody, Georgia chapter of the Young Men’s Service League.