Better communication, stronger teams

By Emma Peterson.

The Bilingual Leadership Program helps roofing professionals strengthen communication, bridge cultural differences and build stronger, more connected teams.

In an episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Megan Ellsworth got the chance to chat with Monica Vornbrock, co-founder of The Glo Group, about the development of the Bilingual Leadership Program and why this type of professional development is key to the long-term success of the roofing industry.

Monica started by giving some background on how the Bilingual Leadership Program came to be, sharing:

Lorna Rojas, HR National Recruiter at Tremco, and I had a conversation about the importance of communication in leadership. And a big part of that in our industry is making sure we can communicate across cultural and linguistic barriers...Our goal with this training was to build a pipeline of leaders who understand their team member's different cultures and are able to effectively communicate expectations so that everyone succeeds.

With that idea in mind, Lorna and Monica reached out to Chris Navarro, Amy Staska and the rest of the team at the National Roofing Contractors Association for help making the idea a reality. Monica recalled, “We brought up this idea of an integrative program that is both in Spanish and English and focuses on how leaders can bridge cultural gaps. And they really liked the idea.”

And this year saw the launch of the Bilingual Leadership Pilot Program! As Monica put it, “This year we held our pilot program. It’s organized in a virtual live format and includes six segments that make up the big course.” She went on, “Each piece of the program basically helps your leaders know how to show up for their Hispanic workforce, because, at the end of the day, we all want to be seen, we all want to be respected and we all want to be valued. And for Hispanic contractors, learning even a little of our communication styles and culture is huge.”

Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording to learn more about the Bilingual Leadership Program!