sfs
Strategies
for Success
Strategies for Success is a highly interactive leadership development
program that is run in-house to future leaders of a corporation. It is
delivered by some of Boston's most successful current and former senior
women executives. The program offers compelling benefits for both the
company and 25-35 of its high potential women managers identified to be
the emerging women leaders.
Differentiators:
• Delivers practical knowledge and "street wisdom"
only
available
through first hand experience;
• Panelists share expertise and lessons learned in a frank
and
candid manner,
rarely accessible by anyone other than those
closest to
them;
• The content is based on the experience of women who have
"been
there" and "done it" before, unlike traditional leadership
development
programs.
Objectives/Benefits for the Company include:
• Ability to groom your future women leaders for greater
responsibility
and organizational impact;
• A tangible mechanism for the company to demonstrate that
it
values its
female leaders and is committed to developing
them;
• A powerful retention strategy to help insure that the company
will keep
its best and brightest;
• Maximize effective company contributions of emerging women
leaders.
Objectives/Benefits for the participants include:
• A forum to learn from peers and female leaders the strategies
and behaviors that
lead to career success;
• An opportunity to focus on personal skills and competencies
that are
in place to achieve career success; and to examine
the behaviors
that prevent career success;
• An increased awareness of organizational dynamics and how
it impacts
one's ability to achieve career success;
• Key skills and tools to enable the emerging leader to function
better currently,
and enhance the likelihood of moving
successfully
to the next level;
• Inspiration and confidence to develop their careers and
assume increasing
leadership responsibility in the company,
over the
long term.
The program is divided into four sections:
I. Preparation for the Company. We begin with a needs assessment
and planning session with company executives to understand the unique
challenges and needs of your future women leaders and to develop our joint
goals for the program. We also work together to identify the program leaders
who will be the best fit and discuss potential follow-up opportunities.
II. Preparation for attendees. Attendees complete an Influencing
Style Inventory questionnaire aimed at answering the central question:
What one or two things may have enhanced or hindered your effectiveness
in the corporation? We also ask attendees for their thoughts on the topics
covered during the program and any specific questions they would like
to have addressed. The goal of this preparation work is to encourage participants
to begin looking inward — self reflection.
III. Full-day conference. The full-day conference opens with
the senior woman from the company laying out the rationale behind this
conference and what she hopes everyone will come away with at the end
of the day. We then feature expert resources from the TCI community, including
representatives from our Board of Directors, Advisory Boards, and our
extensive network of senior women in greater Boston. These leaders share
expertise and lessons learned in a frank and candid manner.
The program is organized around the central theme of how to "play
the game," be yourself, and effect change. Structured content is
broken into three segments conforming to the theme:
Navigating the Corporation — gender dynamics and playing the game
• Living in a man's world — gender in the workplace
• Female versus male perceptions of the workplace and
language
differences
• Understanding company values, culture, and political
sensitivities
• Networking for business
• Strategies for overcoming difficult situations
• Dress for success
Personal Influence — how to establish yourself and be yourself
• Understanding your style — leadership and communication
• Influencing to deliver and to get what you need
• What we do is who we are — your reputation precedes
you
• The big picture — how you and your job fit together
• Doing a good job is not good enough
• Life outside of work
• Career development strategies
• Recognition and visibility — cost/benefit analysis
Effecting Change —"tempered radicalism"
• Your role as
a change agent — tempered radicalism
• Modifying the way the company relates to women
• Identifying what helps empower us
IV. Follow-up activities. After the conference, The Commonwealth
Institute provides the company with an executive summary of key findings,
which can be distributed to all conference participants. We would also
be pleased to provide senior-level speakers to present at the company's
in-house networking events.
For more information about Strategies
for Success, contact Aileen Gorman, Executive Director at 617 859 0080
or agorman@commonwealthinstitute.org
.
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