Key Takeaways from the 2025 LEAD CLE Professional Development Conference

Written by 2025 Lead CLE: Professional Development Conference Attendee, Sophia Marcum, Associate Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo

Professional development played a major role in shaping my college experience and launching my career. Since graduating nearly three years ago, I’ll admit that attending formal development events slipped down my priority list amid busy schedules and stacked to-do lists. Still, I knew it was a habit worth rebuilding as it is essential for both personal and professional growth. That’s when I discovered ENGAGE Cleveland through their Young Professional Week, which ultimately led me to LEAD CLE, a two-day conference designed for emerging leaders and young professionals. Held at the Cleveland Public Library, it was not only a convenient walk from the office but also an inspiring setting to learn and connect.

Day one kicked off with energetic speakers covering topics like workplace etiquette, mastering conversations, leveraging feedback for growth, and building professionalism and presence. These are areas that can feel easy to overlook in day-to-day life, yet they’re foundational for success. A few takeaways stood out to me:

The exponential impact that preparation has on building trust and executing ideas.
A mindset shift from bracing for feedback to using it as a springboard for development, which was especially timely as we head into performance review season.

Day two was also full of invaluable insights relating to leadership and career navigation. I especially enjoyed the session on mastering prioritization and decision-making, as that is something that can be difficult to manage in both a busy professional and personal schedule. As someone who is always on the go, it is important to pause and make every decision intentional. We also explored the different values each of us hold and how those can transfer into the workplace as skills, which uncovered some other areas that might need some extra attention to build.

On top of the amazing lessons learned in the classroom, it was great to connect with other professionals in the greater Cleveland workplace. I look forward to applying the skills I developed over these two days and staying in touch with the others I met along the way and of course attending again next fall.