Spring 2021 Program
March 25 - June 24, 2021
Location: Live Online
Program Fee: $7,500
Faculty director Dr. Martha Miller and UCLA Anderson Women’s Leadership Institute alums discuss the experience and impact of the program
For 20 years, UCLA Anderson’s Women’s Leadership Institute has been developing smart and authentic leaders who are skilled at building organizational value, savvy at navigating hidden obstacles to advancement and ready to take their careers to the next level.
The program is offered as a live online learning journey that employs the three-phase ACT learning model.
This session examines the obstacles that are still keeping women’s talents from being fully utilized and recognized at work, and offers research-based suggestions for action. By the end of the session, participants will walk away with a concrete game plan to improve opportunities for themselves and others.
After an exercise to surface participants’ strengths and goals, Dr. Connie Gersick presents the lay of the land regarding the progress and challenges faced by women in the work environment. Key points include:
The Birkman Method Assessment is a leadership and personal development tool that assumes leaders perform better when they are acutely aware of their own behaviors and needs (and those of their teams), and how those behaviors and needs impact others. The reports contain information on usual behaviors, needs and underlying motivation, and usual stress behaviors exhibited when needs aren’t met. The assessment also includes insight into dominant styles of problem solving and other life situations, perceptual filters and styles of communication. Participants will be encouraged to think about their approach within their organization — what difference your style makes, what opportunities it presents and what potential roadblocks.
What are the decision making traps that lead good managers to make bad decisions? What are the considerations needed to evaluate situations and mitigate risk? This session explores the psychology of decision making, both at the individual and the group level. Participants learn how to make more strategic, sound decisions and how to exert influence when others are involved in the decision making process. Participants will explore perceptions and attitudes, improve their ability to influence others involved and make better decisions with confidence.
What does it take to successfully navigate the organization? Do you know what kinds of jobs routinely lead upward in the organization? How do you present yourself to be considered for one of those jobs? In this session, participants will learn how to project executive readiness through knowledge of the content needed and the style that is most effective at communicating presence, ability and confidence. Participants will also decode the relative importance of activities they engage in within a job: how discretion, visibility and relevance of their work affect their credibility and viability for promotion.
Success at the executive and managerial level depends on forming and maintaining both internal and external networks, as well as utilizing productive mentoring relationships. In this session, we:
Strategic thinking is an essential leadership capability. In this session, we discuss a remarkable case study of outstanding leadership and strategic thinking that exemplifies the most critical issues a leader must address in order to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Through lectures, case study and small group work, participants learn the value and application of the following leadership skills: articulating purpose; using chaos strategically; identifying situations limited by the “Tyranny of OR”; bringing the future to the present to reduce uncertainty; and using creative chaotic conversations to expand possibilities.
Effective leaders need to be able to work with a variety of people through different challenges in dynamic environments. Most leaders over-rely on a specific leadership style or approach, regardless of the situation. To develop one’s leadership capabilities, however, it is critical to broaden one’s leadership style portfolio in order to deliver added value and ensure strategic success in any complex situation. The objective of this session is to help participants develop an understanding of their own strengths as a leader, evaluate how they might successfully use other leadership styles and consider how to use this knowledge to identify specific actions they can take that will enhance the effectiveness of their leadership.
In this sessions participants will examine the types of leadership skills and attributes required of female leaders. They will learn how to effectively manage change through individuals and teams, and understand the associated dynamics of change management through an organization. Participants will also learn to manage the impact of changing business conditions to transform and lead their organizations. In group work and lectures, the participants will discuss proven strategies for injecting positive change into their own organizations and create actionable items to use when they leave the classroom.
Starting with extensive assessments, and concluding with an in-depth action plan that reinforces insights gained, you can gauge your progress in real-time and apply what you’ve learned immediately at work.
Leadership Assessment Tools
Assessment tools help you better understand your personal leadership style and their results will not only inform your program experience but also guide your post-program career choices and professional development.
Coaching
Divided into coaching clusters, participants serve as peer mentors during the program and as members of a virtual developmental community afterward. Each coaching cluster will work with a professional coach to ensure progress is tracked and goals are achieved. You will also have the chance to work with a coach individually to define your personal goals and develop specific leadership competencies.
Action Journal
This comprehensive reference resource is the compass that will guide your progress through the institute. It contains personal application questions, space to note your “ah-ha” moments and additional post-program readings. In essence, the Action Journal tells you what you can expect from each session and how it applies to your workplace. It will also help you to understand what is expected of you.
The ACT Learning Model
Adapt
The first phase of the program is structured to help participants adapt as leaders. Adapting is the process of preparing for change. And this foundational work begins with a series of virtual learning opportunities:
• Participants engage in a kick-off web conference that provides them with a program overview
• They complete a personal assessment and a Leadership Competencies Assessment, along with additional pre-program assignments
• They engage in their first individual coaching session
Catalyze
The second phase of the program prepares participants to catalyze their learning through the development of a wide array of leadership skills that help them communicate their vision and inspire others to join them in driving organizational change. During these sessions, participants are provided with the appropriate tools to help them translate their learning into actionable next steps at work.
Transform
The third phase of the program helps participants transform their individual professional goals into organizational action. This transformation hinges on how they apply the first two phases of their learning journey to inspire those around them in pursuit of innovative strategies to create organizational value — in short, how successfully they can adapt and catalyze.
Progress is tracked in their Leadership Action Plan, a tool customized to their personal development goals but designed to facilitate the application of their expanded skill sets to their organization’s needs.
In addition, participants engage in two more individual coaching sessions and two webinars with their “coaching clusters” — peer groups convened to focus on application of program learning.
This unique institute will have a tremendously positive impact on you, and also on the organization that supports your participation.
enhance your credibility and strengthen your position within your organization; create and sustain effective developmental relationships and alliances that advance your career; maximize your personal, professional and organizational potential through better teamwork and team leadership; think, lead and manage in ways that celebrate your individual attributes and perspectives; develop valuable personal and business connections with fellow managers from leading organizations and corporations.
builds better leaders who are more prepared for organizational advancement; increases employee retention rates and succession planning efforts; develops and ensures a more inclusive management team that can draw on the full diversity of its experiences and perspectives; fortifies positioning as a corporate leader in the area of social responsibility.
Who Should Attend?
The UCLA Anderson Women’s Leadership Institute is designed for mid- to senior-level leaders, typically with five or more years of experience managing people and/or projects in a corporate, public-sector, entrepreneurial, or nonprofit environment. All leaders who wish to better understand women’s leadership challenges, or who are responsible for the career development of others are encouraged to attend.
Program Format and Fees
The UCLA Women’s Leadership Institute is a live online immersion in releasing your leadership potential. The fee of $7,500 includes: Birkman Assessment, Leadership Capabilities Assessment, three individualized coaching sessions, two coaching cluster web conferences, an Action Journal and other educational materials needed to complete the program.