Women in Executive Leadership Program
The Women in Executive Leadership (WEL) program is a strategic initiative designed to help participants build skills that will foster advancement into executive roles. The program enables participants to take an introspective look at one's own leadership style; highlighting skills and traits that women must leverage to support their professional growth, while also identifying behaviors that may sabotage one's career. The WEL program provides business training with a focus on both the hard and soft skills essential at the highest levels of leadership.
Program Objectives
WEL is an intensive course that provides high potential individuals with the skills necessary to succeed in executive leadership positions. The program is designed specifically for highly driven professionals whose goal is to attain executive roles within their organizations, or to achieve the ultimate level of professional success on their own entrepreneurial path.
Led by successful business experts, experienced faculty and leadership coaches, this course employs active learning techniques including collaborative tasks, lectures, readings, discussions and participant presentations. All participants work with an executive level mentor of their choosing to create a strategic Individual Development Plan that will provide immediate ROI. Networking opportunities and public speaking are an important part of the program. Participants benefit from building strong relationships with other highly-driven leaders. Graduates of the program gain access to monthly mastermind sessions to support continued growth.
Program Focus
Participants will:
- Explore issues that are specific to women's experience in the workplace; including communication styles, negotiation skills, overcoming subtle gender bias or stereotypes (including one's own pre-programmed biases), and risk-taking;
- Gain a "big picture" view of business topics thus enhancing the decision making process;
- Learn how to leverage natural strengths to deliver superior strategies and bottom line results;
- Build a cohort network and ongoing connection with other community achievers;
- Learn from accomplished mentors who guide them through the process of building an Individual Development Plan.
Community and Corporate Sponsors
Thank you to our past program sponsors: People's Trust Insurance, The Women's Executive Club and Paradise Bank.
Fall 2023 - September 9, 23, October 7, 21, November 4,18, December 2
Introduction
In our introductory session, you will meet your fellow participants and begin to explore your own understanding of leadership. We will dive into how our thoughts govern our feelings, actions and results. We will start to focus on recognizing thoughts, behaviors and actions that sabotage or support our careers. We will give a brief overview of topics that will be addressed during the course and you will also identify individual goals that you want to achieve as a result of this course.
Creating your Professional Board of Advisors
All leaders understand that "who you know" matters and that getting people to want to help you succeed is crucial for career success. This session will help participants understand the importance of networking for career success. Participants will analyze their existing networks and create a networking plan that will serve to connect them with career influencers. The session will also explore the importance of women on boards and the status of corporate female leadership going forward.
Mentoring & Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Having a mentor gives you a sounding board for ideas for major decisions and gives you access to your mentor's knowledge and experience. The mentorship component of this program will be discussed in detail. All participants will identify and secure a senior-level mentor. Participants will also begin to build a personal and professional roadmap (Individual Development Plan) that will encompass both your desired destination and the steps, experience, and development you will need to make progress on the journey. The IDP will be an ongoing project throughout the course and will require out-of-class work.
Leadership and Motivation
Leadership is less about your needs, and more about the needs of the people and the organization you are leading. Leadership styles should be adapted to the particular demands of the situation, the particular requirements of the people involved and the particular challenges facing the organization. In this session, you will come to understand your leadership styles and how to best leverage for any given situation. Leadership communication and motivation will be discussed using the DiSC assessment. This session will also explore change in the workplace and best techniques to stay purpose driven, communicate clear goals, and to provide inspiration.
Communication that Supports or Sabotages
Good communication means the intended message is received by the audience without any distortions in meaning. Good communicators are generally superior employees and leaders because their teams understand the task at hand, and get the job done on time and on budget. This session will focus on oral communication; from one-on-one conversations to small group settings or presentations in front of a large audience.
Negotiation
Negotiation plays an extremely important role in career advancement. This largely interactive session will teach you how to prepare for negotiation and allow you to roll-play an actual negotiation that you can take back to your work environment.
Public Speaking
In this session, we explore the fundamentals to successful public speaking. We address the new paradigm of presenting online, as well as some of the traditional best practices with respect to public speaking. Participants will practice presenting their Individual Development Plans and will receive group feedback to help them prepare for their final class presentation.
Entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurial spirit is important whether you want to start your own business, or simply take your business unit to the next level. This session will encourage participants to be entrepreneurial leaders that find sustainable solutions to economic and social problems. The session will include a panel of successful female entrepreneurs who will share some of their pitfalls and how they were able to overcome obstacles to achieve success.
Power, Politics and Influence
The concept of power is an integral part of leadership. Effective leaders influence other people’s actions, thoughts, and emotions to achieve a common goal. In this session, we will learn how best to navigate through the organizational politics to effectively influence, motivate, and engage others within the organizational structure.
Strategy and Buy-In
Business strategy is a commitment to a set of coherent, mutually reinforcing plans aimed at attaining a specific goal. Great strategies promote alignment among various groups within an organization; clarify objectives and priorities, and help focus efforts around them. Many leaders fail to recognize the importance of their own influence while setting and implementing strategy. This course will delve into strategy and how to most effectively influence everyone in the organization to ensure maximum buy-in.
Participant Presentations and Moving Forward with Courage
Participants will present their Individual Development Plans to their cohort colleagues. The afternoon will be an eye opening and limit-challenging experience. Karen Pfeffer and Connie Phelan will lead us on an exploration of what "fear" is, what holds us back and how to move forward in courage. Families and co-workers are invited to attend this session, which will be followed by presentation of Certificates and a small reception.
Program Details
- Class meets every other Saturday (September 9, 23, October 7, 21, November 4,18, December 2)
- Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Hours: 42Hours – PDUs
- Sessions: 7 Saturday sessions and out-of-class assignments and meetings with mentors
- Location: Boca Raton Campus
- Investment: $2,750 – Includes materials, instruction, and any other expenses. (Note: a 20% discount will be applied to two or more participants from the same company) **EARLY BIRD: Register and pay by July 16, 2023 and pay only $2475!
- Contact Paige Garrido at pgarrido@fau.edu for more information. Class size is limited.
Contact Us
Paige Pavlik Garrido
Assistant Director, Corporate Training & Talent Development
phone: (561) 297-4819
email: pgarrido@fau.edu