30 years of
WORLDWIDE EXPERIENCE
DEVELOPING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS
We offer two Leadership Academy Programs
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The Foundation Academy provides a solid basis of leadership theory, tips, tools, and practical skills all intended to facilitate the success of the NEW and/or EMERGING leader. As new and/or emerging leaders, Foundation Academy participants engage in opportunities for building leadership capacity, gaining useful knowledge, perspectives, and understandings about themselves and their leadership environment. This program is designed to facilitate personal and professional growth, drawing from theoretical and practical experiences in order to help participants find their voice and build confidence.
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Program participants include, but are not limited to, the Program Chair, Director, Department Leader, Administrative Leader, Student Service and Human Resource Leader, Associate Dean, Dean, Associate Vice President, or Vice President.
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The Academy for Foundation Leadership is limited to 60 participants per program.
FEATURES & DESIGN
As new and emerging leaders, Foundation Academy participants engage in a journey of self-discovery and development that builds on two key themes: “Know yourself” and “Know your world”. Based on the concept of training over time, participants utilize knowledge and insight about themselves to expand case studies and discussions relevant to the demands placed on higher education and organizational leaders. Each session integrates theoretical leadership concepts and practical experiences, allowing participants to thoroughly understand, internalize, and apply leadership models and competencies.
Four basic criteria are incorporated in both the design and delivery of the Foundation Academy:
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• Active engagement of participants
• Meaningful and relevant curriculum
• Content that is useful and applicable to learning in the job setting
• Measurable development outcomes
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Outcomes of the Foundation Academy include:
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• Facilitate the discovery of knowledge about one’s self and the world in which higher education and organizational leaders must operate.
• Gain key insights to identify adaptive challenges and learn how to embrace and apply the change process to teams and organizations.
• Explore options for “finding your signature voice” as the leader in your life and organization, with an increased understanding of organizational culture and behaviors to make ethical decisions associated with managing the enterprise of education.
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Academy facilitators and participants build a sense of commitment and community by developing shared images of the future they seek to create, as well as guiding principles and practices that are needed to achieve that future.
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Academy facilitators are subject matter experts and practitioners in the field of higher education and leadership. They work to establish a good foundation of knowledge in both areas in order to aid participant growth and development.
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Guest speakers may be added to help contextualize the discussion and ensure participants gain perspective of the many issues being confronted by higher education and organizational leaders.
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The overall focus of the Foundation Academy is to establish a high quality, cost-effective leadership development program, empowering practitioners to better engage the world around them while feeling more confident exercising their leadership voice in an era of increasing challenge, uncertainty, and change.
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
The Foundation Academy consists of two, 5-day residential sessions, one year apart. These sessions are identified as Part 1 of 2, and Part 2 of 2. A yearlong practicum experience occurs between these training sessions, with support and guidance provided by Academy Facilitators, self-selected mentors, and an Academy liaison.
The Practicum includes:
Individualized Professional Development Plan (IPDP)
Participants develop and implement individualized action plans to address leadership topics and competencies covered in the first training session, Part 1. Participants expand their plan to include other leadership topics covered during the second training session, Part 2.
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Mentoring and Coaching
After completing Part 1 of the Foundation Academy, participants self-select an internal and/or external mentor who will provide support, guidance, and feedback during the practicum year. A mentor selection form is submitted to the Academy, providing information about the chosen mentor.
Academy facilitators provide coaching and further guidance and support during the Foundation Academy. Participants also select a "Program Buddy" for peer support during their practicum experience.
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Reflective Practice and Journaling
During the practicum experience, participants are encouraged to continually reflect on their leadership capacity and their IPDP. Reflection helps participants establish a benchmark journal of where they are now, determine what they have learned from their objectives and experiences, and what they will do as a transformative leader in the future.
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Online Connection
Participants are encouraged to remain engaged in online discussions and webinars. Academy Facilitators are also available during these online connections.
Lifetime Academy Membership is available to all participants, providing an additional forum of collaboration and learning. Membership benefits include a broad spectrum of materials, publications, and events that further enhance leader skill sets, curiosity, and insight.
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Leadership Surveys
Several assessments are incorporated into the content and cost of the Foundation Academy, allowing participants useful knowledge and insights about themselves in their personal and leadership environments. In addition, a 360-degree evaluation tool is utilized, allowing participants to evaluate personal growth and development, as well as reflect on the information provided by supervisors and colleagues. With “pre” and “post” leadership survey instruments, these evaluations are measured over time.
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Graduate Credit
The Academy partners with specific organizations for graduate-level credit, available for successful completion of Foundation Academy competencies. This aspect is limited to our specific partners, and their specific programs associated for graduate credit.
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Academy Certificate of Completion
With completion of the Foundation Academy, each graduate is recognized with a framed “Certificate of Completion” and a Foundation Academy pin, celebrating his/her efforts and successful attainment of the Foundation Program competencies.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The Advanced Academy builds and expands on prior leadership training, knowledge, and experience, helping higher education leaders become more effective as change agents and system influencers. Taking a more global look at higher education, the Academy converges theoretical research and discoveries, practical experience and discussions, and surveys and case studies to accelerate credibility and enhance leadership capacity. Participants explore and apply strategies that inspire trust, confront bias, establish team resilience, and align vision to reality so they lead with integrity and create an inclusive organizational culture.
Based on the concept of training and development over time, the Advanced Academy consists of two, 3-day residential training platforms, scheduled a year apart, identified as Session One and Two. Participants complete a year-long practicum project between training sessions, supported and guided by Academy facilitators and coaching conversations, self-selected mentors, webinars, and program resources.
FEATURES & DESIGN
The Advanced Academy is learner-centered and designed to help leaders think big and adapt quickly, develop and execute strategy, coach and improve performance, and reframe situations for better decision making. Participants are actively involved in discussion groups, situational experiments, and development outcomes, with meaningful opportunities to reflect on, clarify, and debate issues relevant to the dynamics of higher education and organizational culture.
Feature and design criteria incorporated throughout the program:
• Active and engaged participant contribution
• Meaningful, thought-provoking, and relevant curriculum and case studies
• Practical and applicable strategies, resources, and projects for continuous learning
• Measurable development outcomes
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Advanced Academy outcomes:
• Apply theoretical knowledge, practical experience, defined contributions, and collective stories and case studies to accelerate credibility as a leader and build confidence in leadership capacity.
• Implement the 4 Essential Roles of Leadership:
• Create conditions that inspire trust,
• Craft a compelling vision and strategy,
• Align core systems to execute strategy, and
• Help team members reach their full potential through regular coaching and feedback.
• Live and lead with integrity by establishing leadership values that align with organizational values, address unconscious bias, and understand emotional intelligence mindsets.
• Intentionally establish an engaged culture, focused on meaningful teamwork in an environment of trust.
• Explore and develop innovative and optimistic perspectives and techniques that help leaders reframe situations to find clarity and meaning amid intricate and perplexing issues within their teams and higher education organizations.
• Examine the variables associated with decision making and evaluate the environmental factors that influence our decisions and team decisions.
Participants and facilitators work together in community with a defined set of guiding principles, practices, and values to create a shared cohort vision for desired objectives, learning opportunities, and meaningful results.
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All program facilitators are practitioners in the field of higher education. They are Academy certified, with annual specialized program training.
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Academy facilitators work collectively and independently with participants to establish an inclusive and trusting culture that encourages authentic communication and inquiry to promote innovation, experimentation, discovery, and reflection that influences and impacts positive change.
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Advanced Academy participants establish a network of colleagues across the global spectrum of higher education. These relationships build the cohort’s community of leadership, informing, supporting, and strengthening their creative thinking and visioning process to continuously engage participants throughout the Academy year
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
Practicum Project
Participants engage in an independent project, incorporating the strategies, resources, and learning from program concepts, materials, and activities for deeper personal and team application and execution. The goal of the practicum project is to make an immediate impact by creating a timeline for putting learning into action.
Participants identify a current or upcoming team project, challenge, or change process they are leading or will lead, and implement personal and team action items to improve leadership effectiveness and influence alignment, cohesion, creativity, clarity, and communication within a team environment.
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Assessments, Documents, and Reports
As participants work through the Academy Program and Practicum, they complete a series of assessments, documents, and reports to help identify their strengths, discoveries, reflections, and the impact of individual leadership goals, as well as illustrate the progress, success, and challenges of their team’s project or process.
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Mentoring and Coaching
Participants self-select an internal and/or external mentor who will provide support, guidance, and feedback during the practicum year. The Academy provides a mentor guidebook for review and reflection.
Academy facilitators serve as coaches during the Academy year to offer support, guidance, feedback, and resources. Coaching conversations and check-ins are scheduled to meet to the needs of participants.
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Reflective Practice and Journaling
During the practicum experience, participants are encouraged to actively reflect on their leadership journey. Reflective practice establishes a benchmark journal, whether written or in thought, providing insight into what is learned from experiences, successes, and failures. The information gained helps leaders focus on and plan for what they will do moving forward.
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Resources for Connection and Ongoing Learning
Participants are encouraged to remain engaged with the Academy’s leadership community and social media platforms. Cohort webinars are available, as well as daily resources through the Academy’s blog “WhatAboutLeadership” and FranklinCovey’s “All Access Pass.”
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Academy for Advanced Leadership Certificate of Completion
Graduates of the Advanced Academy are presented with a framed “Certificate of Completion” and Advanced Academy pin. This recognition celebrates intentional and successful attainment of the Advanced Program curriculum, practicum, and competencies.
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