Channel’s sustained growth over the last several years has created opportunities across the organization while raising an important question: How can a company continue expanding while ensuring its people are prepared to lead through greater complexity, broader responsibilities and constant change?
For Channel, the answer has been to approach leadership development with the same intentionality it brings to business growth. In 2022, the company began building a more deliberate development strategy to help employees expand their skills, take on more responsibilities and envision a long-term future within the organization. STRIPES Leadership Program became an important part of that strategy, combining personal development, industry exposure and practical application in a way that complements Channel’s internal programs.
Through its work with both STRIPES and Monitor, an opportunity emerged to show the industry what transformation through leadership development can look like in practice. The word “transformation” is used often, but its meaning can be difficult to make tangible. This case study aims to do that by showing the shifts that can take place over the course of the program — not only for individual participants, but also for the organizations they are part of. With more than 45 companies having enrolled leaders in STRIPES, that impact extends beyond any one participant or organization to the broader equipment finance industry.
MAKING THE CASE: A DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY BUILT FOR GROWTH
The Channel leadership team recognized the need to support employees at multiple stages of their careers and give high-potential team members opportunities to broaden their understanding of leadership, the business and the equipment finance industry.
Channel views development as a series of stepping stones rather than a single program. Employees receive foundational tools, assessments, internal training, coaching and management development opportunities throughout their careers. STRIPES serves as another step in that progression, taking participants beyond their immediate responsibilities and exposing them to professionals, challenges and ideas from across the industry.
Internal programs give employees a strong understanding of Channel’s culture, processes and expectations, but they cannot fully recreate the experience of learning alongside peers from other organizations. Through STRIPES, participants encounter different business models, leadership challenges and ways of thinking they may not otherwise see in their day-to-day roles.
“STRIPES stood out to us because it offered training that internal development programs alone cannot provide — meaningful industry exposure,” Brad Peterson, Channel’s co-founder and executive board member, explains. “The decision also aligned with Channel’s longstanding commitment to the equipment finance industry and the associations we’re involved with. As STRIPES was being established, we saw an opportunity not only to invest in employee growth but also to support a program that would strengthen leadership across the broader industry. That combination made it a natural fit.”
Channel identifies potential STRIPES participants through its annual performance review process. Strong candidates have built a solid foundation in their current roles and demonstrated readiness for the next stage of their development. Often, they are emerging leaders looking to expand their industry knowledge, strengthen their leadership capabilities and develop new approaches to managing teams and driving results.
“The results have continued to justify our investment. Participants return with valuable skills and experiences that help them contribute in new ways. In several cases, this has led directly to projects and improvements that benefit the organization,” Rob Ceribelli, Channel’s president, says.
THE LEADERSHIP GYM: THE SAME PROGRAM, VARYING RESULTS
The experiences of three STRIPES participants and graduates — Jessica Schmidt, Parker Anderson and Adrienne Sharma — show how the same program can support different but complementary forms of growth.
Schmidt, now head of program management, entered STRIPES as a program manager seeking to increase her impact at Channel and within the industry, learn from other professionals and become a more effective leader. One of her most significant realizations came during STRIPES’ three-day, in-person launch: her own assumptions and past experiences were creating barriers without her realizing it.
That awareness changed how Schmidt approaches important conversations. Rather than entering with a fixed interpretation, she now pauses to challenge her assumptions and reflect on her own reactions. Before and after difficult discussions, she considers what she may be bringing into the interaction and how it could affect the outcome.
The practice has helped Schmidt listen more carefully, communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships across teams. By recognizing when preconceived ideas may be interfering, she can create more collaborative conversations in which others feel heard.
STRIPES also helped Schmidt become more comfortable with the concept of “failing well.” Instead of treating mistakes as proof that an idea should not have been attempted, she now sees them as opportunities to learn, adjust and improve. That shift has allowed her to approach growth with greater openness and self-compassion.
The program’s “be, do, have” distinction further changed how Schmidt views leadership. Rather than starting with the actions she needs to take or the results she wants to achieve, she first considers who she wants to be as a leader. For Schmidt, that means leading with kindness, courage and an open mind.
Anderson, a senior account manager, entered STRIPES seeking practical tools to better support his team, Channel’s partners and their customers. During the program, an industry executive introduced him to the concept of servant leadership, reinforcing the importance of supporting others’ growth and development as a leader.
“One of the biggest changes has been becoming more comfortable with delegating work to others. When something doesn’t go as planned, I focus on coaching and development rather than stepping in and doing it myself,” Anderson says.
That mindset also shapes Anderson’s approach to difficult conversations and accountability. He addresses challenges earlier than before through clear, consistent communication and views accountability not merely as a way to correct performance, but as an opportunity to help another person grow. This allows him to set clear standards while working collaboratively with employees to find solutions and encourage their development.
For Sharma, Channel’s regulatory compliance manager, STRIPES reinforced the idea that leadership is an attitude rather than a title. She entered the program wanting to lead with greater intention, strengthen her ability to support and mentor others and continue advancing in her career.
The program challenged Sharma to focus on what is possible rather than let self-doubt limit her thinking. It also strengthened her approach to change management, emphasizing the importance of establishing a clear vision that people can understand and see themselves in.
Sharma has applied a more human-centered lens to change and process improvement. Regulatory and operational initiatives can easily become focused on technical requirements alone, so she now spends more time considering the customer and employee experience behind the work and how changes will affect the people expected to implement or experience them.
The 360-degree feedback assessments administered anonymously through STRIPES helped Sharma identify opportunities to delegate more effectively. She has become more intentional about sharing ownership rather than carrying every responsibility herself. She also approaches challenges more holistically, resisting the urge to jump immediately to a solution and instead considering the broader situation, the people involved and the perspectives that may be missing.
Sharma says the program even had an impact on her personal life. “STRIPES helped me realize that leadership isn’t limited to the workplace and that we have opportunities every day to positively influence the people around us. It shifted my mindset to focus on what’s possible, helped me better navigate different personalities and perspectives, and reinforced how powerful intentional influence can be in all areas of life.”
THE RESULTS: FROM INDIVIDUAL GROWTH TO ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
The value of leadership development ultimately shows up in what participants do with the experience afterward. At Channel, graduates have opportunities to test new approaches, apply ideas and continue developing through new projects, conversations and responsibilities.
Across its graduate group, Channel has observed several common changes. Participants often return with greater self-assurance, more willingness to adapt and a stronger understanding of how different parts of the business connect. They also become more comfortable contributing ideas to larger discussions and stepping forward when opportunities arise.
Exposure to professionals from other equipment finance companies is a significant part of that growth. “Whether it was adapting to new technology or managing change, it was reassuring to hear how others were approaching similar situations and learn from their experiences,” Schmidt shares. “The program also taught me the importance of having a clear vision or ‘north star’ that people can rally around. This helped me better understand how leaders can guide teams through uncertainty while keeping people focused on a shared goal.”
Anderson, Schmidt and Sharma have brought those outside perspectives back to Channel. They may not formally teach every STRIPES concept to colleagues, but the learning shows up in how they lead meetings, solve problems, communicate across departments and manage projects. In turn, coworkers are exposed to new approaches to collaboration, accountability, change and decision-making.
As graduates take on more responsibility, they also become resources, mentors and informal coaches for others. Their willingness to share what they have learned creates a multiplying effect: development begins to influence not only the employees who attended STRIPES, but also the people and teams around them.
That broader impact is one reason the Channel leadership team has continued enrolling participants in STRIPES. “Rather than relying on a single participant to bring back these skills and ideas, Channel has built a growing network of STRIPES graduates who share common experiences. As more employees complete the program, the ideas, relationships and insights gained through the experience become more deeply em- bedded across the organization.”
That growing network reinforces Channel’s culture of internal development. Graduates demonstrate what it looks like to stretch beyond their comfort zones, take on capstone projects tied to business goals, seek different viewpoints and invest in personal and professional growth. When employees see colleagues complete the program, apply what they have learned and move into new opportunities, leadership development becomes tangible —and so does the possibility of their own growth.
WHY IT WORKS
STRIPES gives Channel another setting in which to observe employees as they tackle complex projects, build new relationships and respond to unfamiliar challenges. Combined with internal development and coaching, the program helps the company identify and prepare a strong pipeline of future leaders.
Just as importantly, the investment sends employees a message about their future. By dedicating time and resources to leadership development, Channel signals that it wants people to grow with the organization. As the company expands, employees can see that new opportunities are not reserved only for outside hires or current executives; Channel is intentionally helping its people build the skills and experiences needed to take the next step.
“Channel’s culture gave me the opportunity to immediately put what I learned into practice. I felt supported in trying different approaches, applying new ideas and continuing my development beyond the program end,” Schmidt says.
The graduates’ experiences also show that leadership growth does not always begin with a promotion or formal change in authority. It can start with listening differently, delegating instead of taking over, challenging an assumption, sharing ownership, addressing a difficult conversation earlier or choosing a more constructive response to failure.
Those shifts may appear small in isolation, but when multiplied across teams and reinforced over time, they can shape how an organization operates.
For Channel, the case for leadership development is both cultural and practical. It gives employees a framework for examining how they lead while generating ideas and behaviors that can improve the business.
By combining internal development with external programs and industry exposure, Channel is building a progression of opportunities that helps strong performers become more capable, intentional leaders. The result is an investment that supports the individual, strengthens the organization and contributes to the future of the equipment finance industry.
Erin Rafter is an associate editor of Monitor and program manager of STRIPES Leadership Program.