By Susan L. Hodges
Source: Equipment Leasing & Financing – The Magazine for Industry Executives
Nate Gibbons spent the first several years of his equipment finance career chasing success. “Success had a very different meaning for me when I first entered the workforce, and to be completely transparent, it was primarily about advancing my career and becoming a person of influence,” says Gibbons, Chief Operating Officer for Innovation Finance in Fairport, New York, and Chair of ELFA’s Emerging Talent Advisory Council (ETAC). Then he had a revelation. “It occurred to me that I actually started having more success when I focused less on helping myself and more on helping the people around me,” he says. “The personal achievements I was trying to manipulate began happening naturally.”
“[ETAC is] here to groom and empower you to do more for your organization and the industry, and do it sooner in your career.”
—Nate Gibbons, Innovation Finance
If that sounds like so much kumbaya, read on because Gibbons is arguably one of the best-known young professionals in the industry today. By sharing his ideas and outlook with others, he met people, made new friends and came to the attention of industry leaders. “I certainly underestimated how impactful the friendships and networking would be,” he says. “You might be volunteering on an ELFA committee and suddenly be asked to take part in an opportunity that would never have been presented to you otherwise. I never imagined how many close friends I’d generate in an association full of my competitors.”
This summer Gibbons and other members of ETAC will host Emergence2018, a two-day leadership development event designed to help the industry’s emerging leaders consider steps they can take to develop their careers and add greater value to the industry. In support of the theme “Think. Act. Empower Like a Leader” the conference will include sessions on career mapping, networking, and executive coaching.
