Former Development Program Participant
Pros
AT&T employees that participated in the Leadership Development Program value the current participants but the rest of the company is ambivalent to the program. Mention of LDP opens up a lot of doors to a lot of executives at AT&T. There is so much knowledge in the company and if you can tap into colleagues that are willing to teach you, take that opportunity.
Cons
Current leadership of the company disbanded the leadership development program. Main reason that was given was due to the fact that too many LDP graduates were leaving the company for external opportunities (hint-hint treat your new employees better so that they do not leave after just a few years). Unfortunately the generalist knowledge of a graduate from the program was not valued, so development programs are now all done by the specific business unit. Good for those that want to get directly into an area of the business, bad for cross training.