RGI’s Management Trainee program has seen storied success across the company but none more prevalent than Dwayne Gabbard’s tenure with the program.
Gabbard, Arkansas’ Area Production Manager, has been a mentor for the program for the past eight years. Gabbard mirrors the approach to leadership of Tim Gorman, Division Vice President of Alabama (formerly SMA Vice President of Arkansas). Gorman and Gabbard both impress upon their teams the importance of professional development.
Gabbard’s recent trainees have taken on major responsibilities across the company including Jacob Hinton, Area Production Manager for Middle Tennessee, Thabiso Bolebano, Area Production Manager for East Tennessee, and Bobby McDonnell, Area Production Manager for Western Kentucky.
Gabbard’s approach to leadership is simple: Impress upon them the importance of accountability from their first day, then let them fail. He noted, “Successes don’t teach us near as much as our failures do. When I feel like it’s a soft-fail opportunity, I’ll step back and let it happen. From the first day, our trainees have a set of responsibilities. First and foremost, managers have to be accountable. You can learn the other pieces. As you compound responsibilities with a focus on accountability, it creates a well-respected manager.”
When asked about how he’s been so successful with his trainees, he said, “You almost have to have a love for the mentorship even more than your own career path. I knew that I could make an impression on RGI by helping others. Every move you make, every decision you make, has to be about pushing your mentees forward. If that’s one legacy I can leave behind, I hope to do it.”
Gabbard noted the importance of spending time with trainees at career fairs and industry nights. Often, Gabbard looks predominantly for candidates who want to be leaders of men and women.
When asked about advice for young professionals at RGI or those looking to make steps in their career, Gabbard noted, “Never be afraid to make that call. You can make a mistake or make the wrong call but the fact that you stepped up to make the call, that’s how you become a leader. My folks, they take a swing, and sometimes they miss, but their teams get used to seeing them up to bat and respect them for it.”
“The program has been impactful to me. I have been fortunate enough to work with great leaders who were confident enough in me to give me opportunities to learn how our organization operates across all integrated business lines which better prepared me to grow in my roles as Plant manager and now Area Manager. I would say that my success is attributed to the latitude I was given by both Tim Gorman and Dwayne Gabbard to apply myself and take risks from early on. Both Tim and Dwayne were always incredibly supportive.
“The culture in Arkansas is so positive and everyone in the team operates to see others succeed, it’s admirable.” – Thabiso Bolebano, Area Production Manager (East TN)
“The aspect I enjoyed most about my time as a management trainee was having the ability to softly fail and learn from those mistakes. Thrown into what can be deemed as a “sink or swim” environment, was more of a “reach out to a lifeline or swim” environment. Surrounded in a culture where everyone around you wants you to succeed builds confidence and allowed me to thrive in my time as a trainee.” – Bobby McDonnell, Area Production Manager (Western Kentucky)
