Women’s Executive Leadership Program
The Impact Center’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program is a new model of leadership — a model where achievement is guided by purpose and reflects the diversity of the world we live in. At The Impact Center, we work with leaders to forge a path toward personal, organizational, and societal transformation through coaching, capacity-building, and community connection.
A New Model of Leadership
The Women’s Executive Leadership Program focuses on accelerating participants’ professional development and strengthening their identity as leaders. The Program is designed for women committed to growth, in themselves and others.
Through a curated and thoughtful curriculum, executive coach, along with a preeminent community of peer support, the Program provides participants with the structure and know-how to reflect on their own paths as leaders and to make deliberate decisions about their next steps.
About the program
The Impact Center’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program is a four-month-long program available twice a year with a cohort in the fall and the spring. Each cohort includes:
Virtual kick-off
First three-day executive retreat
Six weeks of virtual peer mentoring
Six 1:1 sessions with an executive coach
Second three-day executive retreat
The Program features:
Small class sizes (12-15) to build a cross-sector network;
Access to a personalized curriculum and one-on-one sessions with an executive coach;
Leadership workshops run by The Impact Center;
Peer mentoring groups with other Program participants;
A welcome box with exclusive Women’s Leadership Institute merchandise; and
Induction into a lifelong alumni network.
Participants will come away with:
A leadership vision to articulate your strengths, goals, and plans for ongoing professional development and growth;
A customized and actionable plan to make progress on one's individual development;
Tools to immediately tackle real-work goals and challenges with a more informed and intentional approach to leadership;
Concrete strategies to navigate the unique experience of women in executive, corporate, and leadership roles;
Inclusion in a community of talented women professionals from across geographies and industries to learn from and grow with;
Access to an active, diverse alumnae network upon graduation from the program for ongoing support, advice, network connections, and community; and
Development of a mentor capacity through which the takeaways of the Program can be shared with colleagues and team members; and
A plan for what’s next.
“The Women’s Executive Leadership Program provides the structure, content, and peer support to do what leaders so rarely have time and space to do — reflect on their leadership and careers in the context of who they are and what they want to achieve with their lives.”
Participant qualifications
The Impact Center’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program welcomes applications from all leaders who identify as women or as non-binary.
The Women’s Executive Leadership Program is designed for women who have recently arrived in a position of leadership, who are on the precipice of leadership, or who are facing an inflection point in their careers.
Participants include mid-to-senior level women professionals* who are assuming increased leadership responsibilities or scope and/or who are seeking a structure and community to reflect on what they want to contribute and where they are going as leaders.
Participants should have:
A track record of accomplished leadership, demonstrating increased responsibilities across time;
A readiness to invest in themselves and in their peers;
The ability to set aside the time and energy necessary for robust participation;
A shared commitment to helping others succeed; and
A desire to make a positive impact on society.
Past participants include Executive Directors, Directors, Senior Directors, Vice Presidents, and Partners. Learn more about past participants of the Program.
“The Women’s Executive Leadership Program is an opportunity for self reflection, personal investment and growth. I am benefitting from a renewed sense of purpose, an amazing new network of colleagues, and a structure for taking the steps I need to achieve my goals.”
Program fees
Typically, employers assist with the Program’s cost either in part or in whole. The Impact Center has prepared documents, such as a value proposition, that will allow you to more confidently approach your employer about the opportunity. Contact us to learn more.
Limited financial aid opportunities are also available on a per-cohort basis.
Past Participants
Whether it’s leaving the financial sector to lead a nonprofit or working up through the ranks of law enforcement to become the first woman police commissioner in the community, past participants continue to demonstrate the transformational power of authentic leadership. Learn more about the Women’s Executive Leadership Program’s past participants.
FAQs
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There are five parts to the Program:
Program Launch and Assessment
The Program’s Launch event brings participants together to meet their classmates and initiates a series of self assessments to identify strengths, opportunities for growth, and core values that will be important to growth across the Program.
First Executive Retreat
During the Program’s first executive retreat participants will create a leadership vision, receive instruction from Impact Center staff and facilitators, and continue to make connections with other participants through a series of shared experiences and exercises aimed at relationship building, internal reflection and growth, and strengthening a leadership identity.
Facilitated Sessions and Peer Mentoring
Following the first retreat, the Class will gather regularly, alternating between facilitated sessions with the Impact Center team and peer mentoring sessions with classmates.
Executive Coaching
Participants will be matched with an executive coach and have the opportunity to schedule six 1:1 sessions throughout the Program.
Second Executive Retreat
The second executive retreat will culminate with participants presenting a Capstone Presentation sharing their path of growth across the program, receiving feedback from classmates, and identifying action steps for continued implementation.
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Participants can expect to commit a maximum of one hour per week for the duration of the Program. In total, the Program consists of nearly 70 hours of content, including an estimated 16 hours of assessments and pre-work, 38 hours in Executive Retreats, six 1-hour sessions with an Executive Coach, two 1-hour leadership workshops, and eight 1-hour peer mentoring sessions.
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The Women’s Executive Leadership Program brings together women across all sectors and fields; we have had Program participants in law, medicine, academia, politics, nonprofit, finance, technology, and more. It’s a fantastic opportunity to build a cross-sector network of women leaders.
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Absolutely! At The Impact Center we believe that leadership is more than just a line on your resume or LinkedIn profile. It’s how you show up in every aspect of your life. Our Program is here to help you decide what comes next and how to get there — whether that’s within your current role or beyond it.
APPLICATIONS ARE open!
Applications for the Women's Executive Leadership Program are accepted on a rolling basis.
Questions?
Contact us for more information about the Program or use the calendar below to schedule a 15-minute informational call with a member of our staff.
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